[HCI] Color blindness as an advantage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blind

Very interesting, I would never have thought of it this way. I wonder if there are ways of building information visualization tools along these lines too.


Color blindness is usually classed as a disability; however, in select situations color blind people have advantages over people with normal color vision. Color blind hunters are better at picking out prey against a confusing background, and the military have found that color blind soldiers can sometimes see through camouflage that fools everyone else. Monochromats may have a minor advantage in dark vision, but only in the first five minutes of dark adaptation.

...

The United States Military has found that color blind individuals can be more easily trained as snipers due to the fact that they are more acutely aware of differences in texture and pattern and thereby less likely to be fooled by camouflage patterns.

Comments

tammo21 said…
That's just another feature of natural selection. Unfortunately, with the medical industry the way it is, everything that's different is a disorder, like "restless leg syndrome." No one considers that "disorders" are what caused humanity to evolove over thousands of years. Who knows, when the earth's climate changes, we will see the true meaning of natural selection, but until then, technology has stopped evolution.
6:27 PM
annie said…
Do you have any references for what is stated above? Just wondering
4:02 PM
Chae said…
you might find this post interesting

http://www.colblindor.com/2010/06/02/color-blind-observers-for-national-defense/
5:35 PM
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