From the sky to the sea, there are several things on Earth that we all know are blue.
But where does blue end and green begin?
In the hope of answering this question, Dr. Patrick Mineault, a researcher in neuroscience and artificial intelligence, has developed a new test.
The test, titled “Is My Blue Your Blue?”, shows you a series of different shades and simply asks whether you think each one is blue or green.
So how does your color perception compare to the rest of the population?
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During the proofYou will be shown a series of six shades and asked to click one of two buttons: “This is blue” or “This is green.”
“Colours are often represented in the HSL (hue, saturation, lightness) colour space,” explained Dr Mineault.
‘Shade 120 is green and shade 240 is blue. The test focuses on blue-green shades between 150 and 210.’
At the end of the test, you will be shown where your blue-green limit is and how you compare to the rest of the population.
“In early experiments, we found that people’s responses clustered around 175, which happens to be the same turquoise color as HTML,” said Dr. Mineault.
‘This is interesting, because the nominal boundary between blue and green is at 180, the HTML color called cyan.
During the test, you will be shown a series of six tones and asked to click one of two buttons: “This is blue” or “This is green.”
At the end of the test, you will be shown where your blue-green limit is and how you compare to the rest of the population.
“That means most people’s boundaries are shifting toward saying that cyan is blue.”
MailOnline’s Shivali Best took the test and found her limit was 176.
“Your limit is shade 176, bluer than 75% of the population. For you, turquoise is green,” the test tells me.
While we all learn basic colours as children, Dr. Mineault explains that colour perception is “difficult to measure.”
“Vision scientists use specialized calibrated equipment for color perception,” he said.
‘Graphic designers use physical color cards, such as Pantone, to communicate colors unambiguously.
‘Here we use your monitor or phone to test how you categorize colors.’
Dr. Mineault stresses that the test is “far from perfect” as the calibration of monitors and screens can be different.
MailOnline’s Shivali Best took the test and found her limit was 176. “Your limit is shade 176, bluer than 75% of the population. To you, turquoise is green,” the test tells me.
“The validity of the inference is limited by monitor calibration, ambient lighting, and filters such as night mode,” he added.
‘Despite these limitations, the results should have good test-retest reliability on the same device, under the same ambient light, which can be verified by performing the test multiple times.’
If you get very different results from your friends, don’t panic.
“Getting atypical results does not mean there is something wrong with your vision,” Dr. Mineault explained.
‘It could mean you have an idiosyncratic way of naming colors, or that your monitor and lighting are unusual.’
At the end of the test, you will have the option to submit your answers anonymously so that researchers can aggregate them for future research.
Dr Mineault said: “We do not store any information that could identify you personally.”
