Page 646 - Atlas of Creation Volume 4

Are Colors Only in Our Brains?

What we perceive as light consists solely of signals interpreted in our visual cortex. Therefore, co-
lors, which stem from light and pervade our entire lives, are nothing more than interpretations by the
brain.

The names of different colors are assigned to photons of various frequencies. We are able to distin-
guish colors such as red and yellow according to the degree of photon vibration: Thus different colors
have different scales of vibration. Paper and snow appear white because they reflect all frequencies, and
the combination of these gives rise to white. Leaves are green, because they reflect only photons at a fre-
quency that gives rise to the appearance of green, while they absorb all the others. Glass is transparent,

because photons can pass through it and reach our eyes without encountering any obstruction. A black
fabric reflects very little light back because it absorbs almost all the photons that strike it. As a result,
few photons reach our eyes, and we perceive the fabric as dark or black.

A mirror copies an image because it has a smooth reflective surface, and the moment
that light rays strike it, almost all bounce off and their parallel nature is not dis-
torted.
Color perception begins in the cone cells in the eye’s retinal layer. In
the retina, there are three main groups of cone cells, each of which react

to particular light wavelengths. The first of these three groups is sensiti-
ve to red, the second to blue, and the third to green. As a result of these
three different groups being stimulated in different proportions, milli-

ons of different color shades are perceived. However, it is not eno-
ugh for light to reach the cone cells in order for us to see colors.
Jeremy Nathans, a researcher from the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, states how the cone cells in the

644 Atlas of Creation Vol. 4