Some concluding thoughts

Clyde L. Hardin

doi:10.1117/12.464709

6 June 2002 Some concluding thoughts

Clyde L. Hardin

Proceedings Volume 4421, 9th Congress of the International Colour Association; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.464709
Event: 9th Congress of the International Color Association, 2001, Rochester, NY, United States

Abstract

So what does color do for the human animal? Jack Werner and Lois Swirnoff say that it helps delimit form. Rolf Kuehni disputes this, arguing that achromats are able to discern form, as are the rest of us when we view achromatic images. Closer examination shows that both are right. For the most part, achromatic contrasts suffice. But there are situations, particularly in the dappled environment of a forest floor, when the achromatic image is ambiguous, and color helps one to segment it: I see bits of lion behind that bush! In her "Dimensional Color" work, Lois makes a similar point by showing how different applications of color will disambiguate a figure in different ways. Roif might well reply that the examples that Jack and Lois produce are minor as compared with the great variety of scenes for which achromatic contrast suffices to detect significant forms. Were these worth the evolutionary cost of innovating chromatic vision?

Citation Download Citation

Clyde L. Hardin "Some concluding thoughts", Proc. SPIE 4421, 9th Congress of the International Colour Association, (6 June 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.464709

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