# How good of an eye for colour do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 10, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970 "2008-09-10T18:04:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/41 "2008-09-10T22:26:02Z")
Score: A perfect “0” Sex: Male Age: 42 I had the most difficulty with the last group. Aside from monitor quality, the ambient light in the room can increase or decrease the difficulty. I turned off my overhead light, but there was still a lot of light coming through the window blinds, so I draped my bathrobe over my head and monitor in an attempt to block as much ambient light as possible. Also, before taking the test you should make sure your monitor is set at its highest color setting. On a Mac that means “Millions of colors”. Is it still “True Color” on Windows machines? A lower setting means some subtle color differences are lost. > [@Green Bean](#): > > I’m quite certain that in each color range, there were quite a few groups of 2-3 blocks that were alike. In other words, 3 blocks would look the same, then the next 3 blocks would be the same as each other, but noticeably different from the group before. I can check this easily enough using a color picker to sample the colors and get the numerical values. First row of colors, left to right, Hue values only (since that’s what the test asks you to arrange by): 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 34, 36, 38, 41, 43, 47, 48, 50, 57 So every color chip is indeed unique. And no, I didn’t use the color picker to cheat on the test. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/42 "2008-09-10T22:30:44Z")
I got a 68 and a headache. Damn! (Female, 22.) ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/43 "2008-09-10T22:41:12Z")
Male, 37 I got a 21 and crossed eyes It shows you what hues you were off on and mine were the green hues. ---
**Author:** ![ProudlyDefiant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@ProudlyDefiant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProudlyDefiant)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/44 "2008-09-10T22:43:31Z")
Scored 0, female age 21 ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/45 "2008-09-10T23:55:51Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I am suspecting that the very high scores reported on the comparison page are people who moved two blocks, and then got annoyed and ended the game. Just for fun, I went back and clicked “Score Test” without moving a single block. That way, I got a score of 969. However, every time the test loads, it must arrange the swatches in a different order; I tried it a second time (again without moving a block) and got a 1041. I repeated the process several times, and never came close to 1464 (the max for my age group). So, to get anything close to the highest score in your age demographic, it seems like you’d have to mess up the blocks intentionally. Or else you’re really, _really_ bad at recognizing variations in hue. I mean, even _ **SkipMagic** _ scored comfortably under the maximum score… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/46 "2008-09-11T00:09:44Z")
Your score: 36 Gender: Male Age range: 20-29 Best score for your gender and age range: 0 Highest score for your gender and age range: 1489 But I’m tired and my monitor is crappy and my keyboard doesn’t work very well and… Still kinda pleased, I thought I would do much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Fearless\_Leader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Fearless\_Leader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fearless_Leader)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/47 "2008-09-11T00:23:56Z")
This was really interesting. Your score: 11 Gender: Female Age range: 20-29 Best score for your gender and age range: 0 Highest score for your gender and age range: 1409 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/48 "2008-09-11T00:39:20Z")
My score: 8, with slightly crossed eyes Gender: Female Age range: 20-29 Best score for your gender and age range: 0 Highest score for your gender and age range: 1409 ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/49 "2008-09-11T00:43:40Z")
Your score: 3 Gender: Female Age range: 60-69 Best score for your gender and age range: 0 Highest score for your gender and age range: 1409 Not too bad! ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/50 "2008-09-11T00:48:59Z")
Male 40-49 I got a four. Must be all those years checking prints. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/51 "2008-09-11T01:20:50Z")
I got a 78. The violet ones were hardest, next to the pink. The green and blue were easy for me. I wonder what my score would be with fresh eyes and daylight. If I have time, I’ll try again in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/52 "2008-09-11T01:21:47Z")
Zero. I must admit I was a little surprised. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/53 "2008-09-11T01:34:20Z")
4 (male, 20-29) And knew I was the least sure about the light blues. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/54 "2008-09-11T01:43:27Z")
I got 16 (female, 41). I’m happy with that - we have a long list of eye problems in my family, and if I retain my vision for the rest of my life, I will be ecstatic. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/55 "2008-09-11T01:53:51Z")
Very cool test. I scored a 23. Probably could have done a little better, but I got impatient. I’m female and 50. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/56 "2008-09-11T02:34:03Z")
Male, 27 I scored a 12 :smack: was sure I had it perfect. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/57 "2008-09-11T02:47:29Z")
Doggone. Your low scores have me beflummoxed. Your score: 24 Gender: Male Age range: 30-39 I am red-green colour-blind, though, a common trait amongst males, and it tends to manifest more in comparison of colours in a narrow range, rather than differentiating extremes. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/58 "2008-09-11T02:56:00Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Score: A perfect “0” > Sex: Male > Age: 42 > > I had the most difficulty with the last group. > > Aside from monitor quality, the ambient light in the room can increase or decrease the difficulty. I turned off my overhead light, but there was still a lot of light coming through the window blinds, so I draped my bathrobe over my head and monitor in an attempt to block as much ambient light as possible. > > Also, before taking the test you should make sure your monitor is set at its highest color setting. On a Mac that means “Millions of colors”. Is it still “True Color” on Windows machines? A lower setting means some subtle color differences are lost. > I can check this easily enough using a color picker to sample the colors and get the numerical values. > > First row of colors, left to right, Hue values only (since that’s what the test asks you to arrange by): > > 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 34, 36, 38, 41, 43, 47, 48, 50, 57 > > So every color chip is indeed unique. And no, I didn’t use the color picker to cheat on the test. Thank you for checking that. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/59 "2008-09-11T02:57:40Z")
Female, age 31. I got a 55, which doesn’t surprise me in the least given I disagree with people over what is purple and what is blue a lot of times. I knew ahead of time that colors are _not_ my strong suit. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970/60 "2008-09-11T02:59:10Z")
# Your score: 84 # Gender: Male # Age range: 20-29 I win! Where’s my prize? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-of-an-eye-for-colour-do-you-have/462970.md?page=4)