I have an opinion that differs from everyone else's
For example, I really like purple as a colour. Whilst I appreciate the hues and tones of other colours, purple just stands out as the most awesome of colours for me*. Somebody should write an article about it, after all, it's been around a hell of a lot longer than that Bowie song.

*Except maybe black; but technically, black isn't a colour in its own right, it's an absence of colour. I read it in a book once.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:28, 41 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

It's not an absence of colour
it's the colour that absorbs all incoming light as opposed to white things, which reflect all incoming light.

And anyway, you're so totally wrong, purple is massively overrated it's just cunts that read the observer colour magazine that like purple.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:30, Reply)

You may be right about the black thing

( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:33, Reply)

I resisting the urge to be pedantic here.

(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:43, Reply)

you forgot the 'm then

(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:46, Reply)

+ am

(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:48, Reply)

Shit it.
Once again, being forced to do some work mid-reply makes me look like a mong.
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:49, Reply)

but I can't
IT'S NOT ALL LIGHT ITS VISIBLE LIGHT AND THE PERCEPTION OF COLOUR IS NOT JUST BASED ON THE SENSATION OF DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS AND INTENSITY OF LIGHT IT HAS A PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPONENT AS CAN BE PROVEN WHEN LOOKING AT COAL IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT AND CHALK IN LOW LIGHT, THE COAL WILL REFLECT MORE LIGHT THAN THE CHALK BUT YOU STILL SEE IT AS BLACKER BECAUSE ITS A MIXTURE OF A LEARNED RESPONSE AND CONTRAST.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:48, Reply)

I***********'m***********
such a dick sometimes.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:49, Reply)

Well,
the mechanisms for lightness and colour constancy aren't fully understood so they aren't necessarily a learned response.
Retinal ganglion cells, y'all.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:07, Reply)

Hmmmm.
I am dubious about this. It sounds a lot like one of those "how do you scientists explain THAT then, eh?" arguments that are clearly wrong but that require a lot of tedious physics to refute properly. I'm sure that black shiny things are still black and matt white things are still white, and your ability to use them as a mirror (or not) is unrelated to their actual colour.
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:20, Reply)

No, it's true
in that our visual system is able to somehow discount changes in light levels so that we perceive lightness and colour as remaining pretty stable and constant despite regular fluctuations in illumination (e.g. the sun coming out from behind a cloud).

This is a good thing - it allows us to see objects as objects rather than continually reassess them if we have to judge changes in their appearance. It's not straightforward adaptation - there's more to it than that - but the jury's still out on how it all works.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:26, Reply)

man
you talking like that gets me hot
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:33, Reply)

I used my best conference presentation voice for that.

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:35, Reply)

saucy

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:37, Reply)

I reckon, right,
that the absorption spectra will remain constant regardless of the level of light, and this is what gives us our perception of colour. And also, I still think colour and reflectivity are different - shape plays an important role, in that things that aren't perfectly flat won't seem as reflective even though the substance they are made of is exactly the same.
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:41, Reply)

I reckon
a shiny sphere that's as shiny as a shiny flat thing will look just as shiny.

Tell you what, let's set up an experiment. One that involves the risk of potential blindness, though we'll hide that from the ethics commitee. We can probably get away with a relatively small sample size since its a low level visual study but we can use a non-parametric test in addition to means analysis. I recommend a two-alternative forced choice procedure in conjunction with a staircase method to give us a threshold estimate of shininess. I also recommend poking particpants in the eye with a stick if they don't give me the results I want.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:51, Reply)

steady on
I'm not going to be able to get out from under my desk!
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:53, Reply)

I have you down for the 9am slot.
Bring goggles.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:53, Reply)

*swoons*

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:54, Reply)

Hmmm, perhaps "smooth" instead of "flat".
One eye at a time, or should we make the study double-blind?

*ashames*
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 16:01, Reply)

BOOM BOOM!
I didn't see that coming.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 16:14, Reply)

Oh hush.
If I hadn't said it Vipros would have, and then he'd have been all smug about it.
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 16:32, Reply)

I wouldn't
I'm not a scientist, I'm an engineer. I don't know about experiments.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 16:47, Reply)

Purple is brilliant
and has never released unrelentingly twee bilge masquerading as music.

Or been shot to DEATH by a fan.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:33, Reply)

I got shot to death by a pot of Summer Apple Dulux, once.
I got better.
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:38, Reply)

neither have I, so I must be brilliant too

( Lisette von Falcon, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:38, Reply)

Then by default, you are.

( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:40, Reply)

You like PURPLE?
You ham-touching philistine! Everyone knows that GREEN is the superior secondary colour. It's influences (Blue and Yellow) were so much better. Stupid Purple, trying to mix Red with the great inspirations of Blue. What a cock of a colour.
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:50, Reply)

Green really is my favourite colour
so I'm TOTALLY WITH YOUR THERE.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:53, Reply)

We should totally paint the internet green.

(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:56, Reply)

I'm down with that
green is my favourite colour also
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:56, Reply)

mine too

( Peej, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 16:06, Reply)

I like green too
as my awesome coat will testify.

But purple is synonymous with Cadbury's chocolate and the Hulk's trousers and is therefore officially brilliant.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:57, Reply)

The Hulk?
The Hulk?
The Incredible Hulk, who was GREEN? Less of this Purple bollocks!
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:58, Reply)

But The Hulk himself is Green!
How can you focus on his shorts, when it's the monster himself that's made of win! You're a fool man! A FOOL!
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:58, Reply)

I think I can guess why he focusses on the shorts
Yeah? You know what I'm getting at.

_{They're purple and he likes purple.}
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:59, Reply)

Yeah, he likes purple.
And throbbing. Throbbing and purple is what he likes.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:04, Reply)

You're so perceptive, young al.

( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 15:08, Reply)

You just can't help slurple the purple.
*loves Vimto best of all the purple soft drinks*
( girlinthehole, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:53, Reply)