Ep116 " What is Color? Part 2: Why royals wear purple"

This episode explores the perception of color, emphasizing that it is a brain construct, not an inherent property of light. It details how humans see more colors than their ancestors due to modern technology and examines the phenomenon of "impossible colors" and methods to glimpse them. The episode further discusses achromatopsia, or complete color blindness, resulting from brain damage, and the surprising advantages of colorblindness in specific tasks like spotting camouflage. Synesthesia is explored as an example of how color perception varies, and the cultural significance of color is examined, including its role in language, political symbolism, and historical associations like purple's connection to royalty. The episode concludes by considering the future of color perception, including the potential for genetic engineering to expand the human visual spectrum and the creation of new colors like "Olo" through targeted photoreceptor stimulation.