Every so often a viral “test” makes the rounds on the internet – one that reminds us that even though we are alike in so many ways, we all see the world around us in a slightly different way.
This test to discern how your blue differs from someone else’s is the latest one.
While people may agree that navy is blue and lime is green, what about turquoise? Is it blue or it it green?
That’s what the test at ismy.blue asks you – it wants to know where you place those “between” shades.
In many languages, like Japanese, Korean, and Lakota, the word for blue also describes what English speakers would call green.
In Welsh, the word for blue is actually derived from the word for green.
In some cultures there isn’t a word to separate the two colors at all, and when simple comparisons are done, people from those cultures identify colors a lot differently than people from the West.
Which means that what I think is blue might not be what you think is blue, and those both might be different than what someone halfway across the world thinks is blue.
It’s kind of eye-opening.
And maybe a reminder that even though we’re all human, our cultures, languages, experiences, and even perception is all colored by the place where we’re born.
If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about 50 amazing finds on Google Earth.