# Totally Colorblind **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-colorblind/279553 "2004-12-13T05:08:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-colorblind/279553/1 "2004-12-13T05:08:37Z")
If a person was totally colourblind (i.e. able to see _only_ in black and white) what things could they do (if anything) to try to compensate for this? Does anyone actually have a condition like this? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-colorblind/279553/2 "2004-12-13T05:19:21Z")
Frome here: [http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00043350.html](http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00043350.html) Total color blindness. Total color blindness is called achromatopsia. This very rare hereditary disorder results in vision that is black, white, and shades of gray. It affects one person in 33,000 (1/33,000) in the United States, males and females equally. People with achromatopsia usually have poor visual acuity and extreme sensitivity to light. Their vision is significantly impaired and they protect their light-sensitive eyes by squinting in even ordinary light. ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-colorblind/279553/3 "2004-12-13T07:23:25Z")
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maskun): > [@](#): > > Maskun is a medical condition (also called achromatopsia) characterized by a low cone count or lack of function in cone cells; these are the light receptors responsible for colour perception. It is endemic on Pohnpei and was described by Oliver Sacks in Island of the Colourblind. Sacks went there with a Norwegian who had maskun, and the book narrates his experiences on the island. > > People with maskun have difficulty seeing in bright daylight because their rod cells (the receptors responsible for detecting brightness) are saturated. People with normal colour vision do not perceive things in the same way as those with maskun, because they depend on colour more than on luminosity to identify objects and patterns, whereas achromatopics depend almost entirely on luminosity to identify patterns. The closest that normal-sighted persons can come to experiencing maskun-type vision is in the dark, when the rod cells become the predominant receptors for vision due to their sensitivity to variations in brightness. Achromatopsia can vary in its severity from being mild enough that it is not diagnosed to causing near blindness. It is a relatively rare condition requiring two recessive genes. The condition is generally stable over the course of one’s life. many achromats function normally with the aid of darkened lenses, while others use guide dogs, canes, and are considered legally blind. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-colorblind/279553/4 "2004-12-13T07:41:42Z")
I higly recommend this [book](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?pwb=1&ean=9780375700736) on the subject. The chapter devoted to total colorblindness is fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-colorblind/279553/5 "2004-12-13T10:51:55Z")
[The Achromatopsia Network](http://www.achromat.org/) As an added bit of trivia - the lead singer of _Steppenwolf_, John Kay, has this condition. I always thought it a bit ironic that someone who made his fame and fortune signing about the joys of the open road in “Born to be Wild” and the like has never been able to drive due to vision problems. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-colorblind/279553/6 "2004-12-13T10:52:59Z")
:smack: SINGING about the joys of the open road… (where’s the caffeine? I think I’m a quart low…) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-colorblind/279553/7 "2004-12-14T03:24:27Z")
LOL, the boyfriend of a guy I was good friends with back in the day was totally colorblind=) One time he went shopping for new ked Hi-tops for preaching in, and _thought_ he got a black pair…everybody commented on how nice the red sneakers looked with his black suit and reversed collar=) MrAru had a parrish priest named Cyru Hanie [or however the welsh spell the surname, that is how it sounds=)] who was mostly color blind and painted as a hobby, by loading his pallette with the main colors always in the same place. Oddly enough, if he painted a tree frex, the trunk would be in brownish tones and the leafy areas mostly greenish but apparently _not_ the traditional values of browns and greens [like instead of leaf green, it might be aqua/tealish]