There are different ranges of color blindness and rarely is it full blown (i.e. one can’t see any color…people do NOT see in black and white). I assume this would be true for most animals as well. As for the evolutionary basis for this I have a theory.
Basically color perception in animals arises to cope with prey/predator. Color perception is useful in some situations…and NOT useful in others. There is a theory for example that some canines have some form of color perception in their peripheral vision yet lack the ability to register certain colors in the middle of their vision. This would allow them to track prey through complicated color schemes…prey/predators moving from a color field into a non-color field.
The advantages of colorblindness was not lost on the US Army. Back during WWI and WWII colorblind men were quickly drafted into the military (my grandfather was drafted for this reason…as all men I inherit my color blindness from the daughter of a colorblind man…my grandfather’s sons are NOT colorblind…only the male offspring of his daughters…strangely very very very few women are colorblind…maybe this has to do with primitive male hunting). The reason the military wanted color blind men? Camouflage is ineffective on many types of colorblindness…animals, fabrics, flowers which have depended on “blending” in with their environment to disguise themselves with color are defenseless against an animal that can’t perceive that color. In both world wars, the military literally flew color blind men high over enemy lines to spot camouflaged troops, bunkers, etc.
From an evolutionary standpoint…hunting (either by canine or human) proficiency is increased when your eye is not distracted by purposeful color palates blending together…in my own life I have noticed my incredible ability to spot wildlife, near or far, when out camping/hiking…often doing so at the astonishment of my companions.
Odd. A fellow I went to high school with was gung-ho on joining the Marines. He intended to make his carreer in the military, and he was perfect for it: Smart, in excellent physical shape, disciplined, etc. But he ended up getting turned down, because he was colorblind. Was he actually recruited into some ultra-secret elite force and wasn’t allowed to tell anyone, as I’d always suspected, or has the military changed its regulations on this point?
Oh, and one minor quibble: Not all colorblind men have a colorblind maternal grandfather, although this is the most common case. It’s also possible that your maternal-maternal great grandfather is colorblind, or your great-great grandfather, or so on, with each case half as likely as the last.
This could easily be a difference between the Marines and the Army. Basically, the Marines want everyone to be a standard-issue fighting machine; any other duties are extra. The Army is friendlier to special cases.
Not true (about all men, that is). About half inherit it from the daugher of a colorblind man, and half from the daughter of a normal man and a carrier woman.
lordrader. Welcome to the boards. At least your colorblindness hasn’t affected your ability to read. You linked to the column like a champ.
Could you give us a cite or some positive proof that the military in WWI! and WWII drafted people deliberately with this condition? How do you know this? I’ve not searched for this as a topic, so you could be right. Just hoping you can provide some help.
Also could be a difference in the time periods: he was commenting on duriong WWI and WWII. During a World War, all those limitations somehow seem less important to recruiters!
My problem is, I can’t conceive of colorblindness being a concern in WWI. Whether it was in WWII, well, I’m open to someone showing me the light, no matter what the color.
