What is the Definition of Color According to the CIE?

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Color perception, particularly "green," is a complex interplay of subjective experience and biological response to light wavelengths. The sensation of color arises from the interaction of three types of cone receptors in the human eye, which respond to overlapping ranges of wavelengths, allowing for a wide variety of color experiences. While the wavelength of 580 nm is scientifically classified as yellow, individual perception can vary significantly, leading to subjective interpretations of color based on personal and cultural contexts. The discussion highlights that color is not solely defined by wavelength but also involves how the brain processes these signals, leading to phenomena like metamers, where different combinations of wavelengths can produce the same color sensation. Ultimately, color is a subjective experience influenced by biology, language, and culture.
  • #101
It comes mainly from the fact that a dense medium has very broad band reflection/transmission characteristics. Overlapping two passbands by a small amount will exclude most of the incident light but what gets through can be narrow band but low luminance. Under exposed colour prints tend to have saturated colours due to the non linearity of the sensitivity curves.
A transmission filter is much much better than a reflective surface due to the reasons you give although viewing a single coloured card under totally white light would be immune to corruption. Gloss finish photos tend to have 'deeper' colours under the best (non specular) lighting.
 
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  • #102
The various CIE color spaces introduce a variety of human "standard observer" weighting functions. But that is not to define colors. It is to define the perception of a human "standard observer". What about other animals like a bird or a bee? The CIE is meaningless for them. Does that mean color does not exist for them and only exists for a human? That is nonsense. The spectral density of light is universally accepted in physics and it says nothing about a "standard observer". That is the legitimate definition of colors. Colors are independent of who or what is observing it, be it a man, a bird, or a photocell.
 
  • #103
This thread is long since started going in circles. Color is perceptual, frequency is physical. End of story.

FactChecker said:
Human sensory perception is not a good basis for a definition.
It is a perfect basis for terms pertaining to sensory perception. Human sensory perception exists and we need to define words used to talk about it. So obviously some definitions must be based on human sensory perception.

Color is a perceptual concept, not a physical one. On PF we don't get to redefine standard terms simply because we don't like the standard definitions. Regardless of your preferences the CIE is the standard-setting organization and their definition of color is authoritative.

Thread closed.
 
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