- Did the human mind and human society impose circularity onto the color spectrum in order to contain it? Was this encouraged by the physiology of our eyes, in which various wavelengths are perceived, and mixed (mapping from a one-dimensional color space to a higher-dimensional color space)? Or might it be more a matter of the influence of pigments, and the age-old technology of mixing paints?
Might the color wheel be a metaphorical blend between the color spectrum and the mixing behavior of pigment?
Read also the first response to this blog about Newton's contribution.
davidbriggs:
The answer is physiological. According to the zone theory of colour vision, colour does not reside in the linear spectrum but is created by the visual system in the form of two opponent signals, red vs green and yellow vs blue. With their four possible combinations these create a circular range of hues: red, red and yellow, yellow, yellow and green, green, green and blue, blue, blue and red. When all wavelengths are present the red vs green and yellow vs blue opponent signals both cancel out, and we see the light as white: http://www.huevaluechroma.com/036.php
posted 3422 days ago