A New Theory

In class this week, we learned about a theory called the Young-Helmholz Theory, also known as the Trichromatic Theory. The theory basically states that there are 3 different types of cones, each one sensitive to a different color: the S-Cone, which is sensitive to blue, the L-Cone, which is sensitive to red, and the M-Cone, which is sensitive to green. The problem with the Young-Helmholz Theory is that it doesn't explain two phenomena. The first is the negative afterimage. After long stimulation of looking at colors, we tend to see a continuing image in reversed color when we look at a blank page. We participated in an example of this in class, when we stared at an x surrounded by four different colors for 20 seconds, and in the split second that the four colors disappeared, another four colors, each one a "reverse" of the color before, was visible for a very brief moment. The problem is, according to the Young-Helmholz Theory, is that we shouldn't even be seeing the "reverse" colors. However, the phenomenon I want to focus on is the second phenomenon: colorblindness. People who are colorblind can't tell a distinction between certain colors. There are two kinds: red-green and blue-yellow. So if you can't see the difference between red and green, you can still see yellow, which contradicts the Young-Helmholz Theory, which suggests that cones are stimulated based on wavelengths of light. So how can the Young-Helmholz Theory be reconciled with the contradiction of colorblindness? Easy: the Opponent-Process Theory, which states that with colorblindness, there's a problem with the channels leading to the brain, not with the actual retina itself. There. Problem solved. But if you've been paying attention in class, people like Bradley and Ethan have been trying to develop their own theory/law, especially after learning about the genius-ness of Weber's Law. So I've decided to come up with my own law: Addess's Law. You see, we know that the Opponent-Process Theory is a way to coincide with the problems seemingly present in the Young-Helmholz Theory. However, there's no law/theory that actually states the previous sentence. Therefore, Addess's Law states that the Opponent-Process Theory is a way to address the problems seemingly present in the Young-Helmholz Theory. So obvious, yet nobody's officially said it before...