Page 34 - Matter: The Other Name for Illusion
P. 34

retina, there are three groups of cone cells, each of which reacts to different
                       frequencies of light. The first group is sensitive to red light, the second is
                       sensitive to blue light, and the third is sensitive to green light. With the
                                         different levels of stimulations of these cone cells, millions
                                           of different colors are formed. However, the light

                                           reaching the cone cells cannot form colors by itself. As
                                                Jeremy Nathans of John Hopkins Medical University
                                                explains, the cells in the eye do not form the colors:
                                                All that a single cone can do is capture light and tell
                                           you something about its intensity. It tells you nothing
                                           about color. 7

                                                The cone cells translate the information they get
                                           about colors to electrical signals thanks to their pigments.
                                           The nerve cells connected with these cells transmit these
                                           electrical signals to a special area in the brain. The place
                                           where we see a world full of color throughout our lives is
                                           this special area in the brain.
                                                            This demonstrates that there are no
                                                        colors or light beyond our brains. There is

             There is no light                          only energy which moves in the form of
             and no color
                                                        electromagnetic waves and particles. Both
             outside of our
             brains. Colors and                         color and light exist in our brains. We do not
             light are formed in                        actually see a red rose as red simply
             our brains.
                                                        because it is red. Our brain's











                       In the retina in the eye, there
                       exist three groups of cone cells,
                       each of which react to different
                       wavelengths of light. The first of
                       these groups is sensitive to red light, the
                       second is sensitive to blue light and the
                       third is sensitive to green light. Different
                       levels of stimulus to each of the three sets of cone cells gives rise to our
                       ability to see a world full of color in millions of different tones.


             32         MATTER: THE OTHER NAME FOR ILLUSION
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