Dealing with Colour Blindness

Summary

The article recounts the personal experience of someone who discovered their color blindness at the age of 17 and provides insights into the condition's impact on daily life and career choices.

Abstract

The author shares a personal narrative about the unexpected discovery of their color blindness during a game with friends in high school. After failing a YouTube color blindness test and receiving confirmation from an ophthalmologist, the author learned about the limitations color blindness could impose on certain career paths. Despite this, the author emphasizes that color blindness has not significantly hindered their life, although it has led to some social challenges, such as friends' teasing and misconceptions about the condition. The article concludes by noting that many successful individuals are also color-blind and encourages others to share their experiences, while also promoting an AI service called ZAI.chat.

Opinions

The author initially dismissed the possibility of being color-blind, demonstrating a common lack of awareness about the condition.
There is a misconception among the public about color blindness, as evidenced by the author's friend's question about seeing in black and white.
The author downplays the impact of color blindness on their life, suggesting that it does not deserve much sympathy because it allows for a relatively normal lifestyle.
The author expresses gratitude for not being affected in critical areas such as driving and for not aspiring to careers where color perception is vital.
The article implies that societal understanding of color blindness is limited, and it advocates for greater awareness and empathy towards those with the condition.
By listing well-known figures who are also color-blind, the author aims to normalize the condition and inspire others who may be dealing with similar challenges.

I was colour-blind from birth but didn’t realize it until I turned 17

During one of the recess periods in high school, I joined my friend for a game which is a slightly modified version of Hopscotch. It was my turn and I had to jump towards the purple colour. Instead, I jumped towards the blue colour. My friend was surprised and told me that I was playing it wrong. I was trying to reason with him saying that I jumped in the purple block but then another friend showed up and he also claimed that it was actually blue.

That’s when my friend felt that I could be colour-blind. He advised me to take a simple colour blindness test on YouTube. I went ahead and started the test. This test is also known as Ishihara Plate test where certain numbers will be mentioned within colours and we have to correctly identify the number which is hidden. I watched the video and there were about 15 rounds, I couldn’t even recognize a single number. I saw my mother and sister identifying the numbers with ease and that’s when it hit me that I am colour-blind.

My dad took me to an ophthalmologist and he conducted the same test and it had the same results. He confirmed that I was colour-blind. The doctor comforted me by saying that it isn’t a big problem but I cannot apply for certain jobs. I curiously asked him “Which jobs?”. He responded by saying “Painter obviously, then pilot, army, air force, navy etc”. Well, it was a good thing that I was not keen on pursuing a career in any of those fields. Now that I think about it, even being a part of the bomb disposal squad is out of the equation. Imagine the red wire triggers the bomb and I mistake it for green and bam.

I get back home and inform my best friend that I am colour-blind. I am not making this up when I am telling this but he asked me this.

While watching TV, does everything appear in black and white for you?

The funny thing is that he was genuinely curious and concerned. I replied, “Nooooo!!! That’s not how colour blindness works, it is just that I cannot really differentiate between certain shades”. That’s when I realized that the majority of people really don’t have any idea about colour blindness. It’s just that it is difficult to distinguish between certain colours. Like I find blue, purple, violet & indigo as blue. That’s about it.

I wonder how a normal person views the world but it hasn’t really held me back in any aspect. Honestly, if it wasn’t for that game I would never have known and it would still have not made a difference to me. That’s probably why colour-blind people don’t get that much sympathy which absolutely makes sense because we get to lead a very normal life. The only challenging part of being colour-blind is having to deal with your friends. They always annoy you by asking “Which is this colour?” and even if I give the right answer they just reply telling me that it’s wrong. And the never-ending jokes on colour blindness. That’s the only hard part of being colour-blind. It doesn’t even affect my driving so I am grateful and happy.

Also, you are not alone, you would be surprised to know that these people are also colour-blind.

Mark Zuckerberg

Bill Clinton

Elton John

Keanu Reeves

Prince William

Benedict Cumberbatch

So if you happen to be colour-blind, that is totally okay. You can lead a very normal life. If you are colour-blind then I would like to know how you figured that you were colourblind. Feel free to share your personal experiences in the comment section.

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