LostConjugate said:
very wide?
I am not sure if you are grasping how small a range of frequencies a cone resonates with. It is something like .000001% of the entire electromagnetic spectrum (just guessing). Photons can carry all sorts of energy anywhere from 10^-33eV to 10^28eV I think.
I don't see how resonance has much of any meaning here. A cone cell does not oscillate back and forth nor does it store vibrational energy. Only a certain range of frequencies will make it to the cone cell and cause the chemical reaction that eventually results in a signal being sent to the brain. Attempting to explain senses and other things in terms of "resonance" is simply confusing in this circumstance. While one could argue how resonance applies to the senses and consciousness, that is beyond the scope of the current thread and belongs elsewhere in my opinion.
In regards to color perception, we need to be clear with what we mean. A cone that is labeled as Blue responds BEST to blue light. To my knowledge it has a cone shaped section covered with a pigment that absorbs less light near the blue end of the spectrum and more light as the frequencies get further away, hence giving it the response range it has. The retinal doesn't particularly care what frequency of light within this range hits it. The other 2 cells operate similarly but react better to different portions of the visual spectrum. The combination of the 3 cells and the signals they send determines the input the brain receives and interprets.
So obviously wavelength plays a great role in color perception, but it does not play the ONLY role. Physical damage to the cone cells, nerves, or brain can cause someone to have an altered perception of color. In addition, your mental state can also cause you to perceive color differently. (Among perceiving other things differently as well)
Furthermore, your brain compensates for different light intensities and even partially for entirely missing frequencies. Take out part of the blue end of the spectrum from a light source and you can usually still tell what color an object is as long as you have something to compare it too. Not as well as you could in pure white light, but enough for everday situations usually. Taken out more frequencies obviously reduces the effectiveness of this in general.
I don't see it as simple as saying color perception is based on X. A basic understanding of the whole process is needed in my opinion. Also, I see a difference between what you see normally and what you might see under the influence of drugs, injury, or something else that affects color perception. Just because your brain puts the signals together doesn't mean that it is the only thing responsible for color perception unless the discussion is ONLY about the way the brain puts together those signals and interprets them. (Which this discussion doesn't appear to be that focused to me)