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Not sure if it's the right place to ask this, I tried on World Building SE and they recommended me this site, so here I am.

Today, lots of objects are built with the "harmony of colours" or are at least considered aesthetic because of their colour. Simple example: clothes; when you decide to buy some clothes, it's because you like them (right?), and you like them because: their colour, their shape, etc.

But if we didn't see colours as we do? If we only saw them in black and white (like old movies and pictures)?

We wouldn't care if a t-shirt is blue, pink or orange, everything we build would be of a different colour than the one we would assign to it now. Maybe everything would be white or grey?

And, in ancient times (just an example), people were relying on their sight of colours to pick the right berries, how would they do this if they only saw black and white?

How the world would look like if we all saw in black and white. What would someone seeing colours as we do now see then?

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  • See Are dogs colour blind? From an "evolutionary" POW they survived.
    – Mauro ALLEGRANZA
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 9:44
  • @MauroALLEGRANZA Yes, they did. But dogs do not live like humans and never actually did. Also, do dogs eat berries? ;)
    – Thinkr
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 16:15
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    What a beautiful question, mon ami! And ... I'm deeply moved by the answers (the two and the rest that might follow). I have nothing to say except that if I remember to, I'll check back for other answers.
    – Hudjefa
    Commented Aug 25, 2023 at 9:04

2 Answers 2

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There is a genetic condition in humans called achromatopsia in which the person has no color vision. You could ask one of them what it is like.

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    The right answer, however, we're better than "you can ask". @Thinkr, check achromatopsia.info/patient-stories
    – RodolfoAP
    Commented Aug 25, 2023 at 7:54
  • Thank you for this answer ;) I've never met someone like that, I'll read some stories to see. Also, what would the world look like if everybody was attained by chromatopsia? What would someone seeing colours "normally" see? Do you think the range of colours used would be restrained (less colours used than today)?
    – Thinkr
    Commented Aug 25, 2023 at 9:29
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How the world would look like if we all saw in black and white.

I don't see how this is a philosophy question. Check out a Color Blindness Simulator.

More interesting would be how someone with monochromatic vision could discover that colors exist. Also not a philosophy question because it is exactly how we have discovered the portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that fall outside the range of normal vision.

We wouldn't care if a t-shirt is blue, pink or orange, everything we build would be of a different colour than the one we would assign to it now. Maybe everything would be white or grey?

We would care. Even if we couldn't see the colors, people would notice that certain materials changed appearance under different conditions. They would categorize and name those changes and conditions. They would develop a "color" system. They might develop machines and tools that would make differentiating "colors" easier.

Using "old movies and pictures" as an example, different colors appear different shades of gray depending on the film emulsions (light receptors in people's eyes) and lighting conditions. There's an apocryphal tale about actors wearing green makeup because it looked better on black and white television.

What would someone seeing colours as we do now see then?

They would see "normal" colors, unless you are positing a change to the physics of the electromagnetic spectrum or the chemistry and biology of color vision. In which case, it would depend on exactly what changes to reality you decide to posit.

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  • That's a good analysis (thanks for the answer). But even if we built stuff (machines, etc.) to help us differentiate colours, the world wouldn't look as it does now. The range of colours used might be restrained due to the incapability of humans to detect all colours (even from shades of grey). My theory is that they will therefore not use all colours (or even actually few) that we use nowadays in the everyday life. What is you opinion on this?
    – Thinkr
    Commented Aug 25, 2023 at 9:29

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