Page 34 - Matter: The Other Name for Illusion
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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