I stumbled upon Kuchiki Rukia’s blog (she’s one of the Sanrio Town moderators), and she asked a question which I found really interesting:

How would you describe color to someone who is blind?

Being someone whose username involves color, of course I couldn’t pass this up!

Actually, there have been debates on how blind people dream. Do they “see” things while they’re asleep, or, are they the same as when they’re awake, that is, do they perceive the (dream) world via their other senses? There should first be a distinction between those who have been blind from birth or those who lost their sight gradually/because of an accident. For the latter, they actually do dream in color, because they have had memories of seeing things. For the former, however, their other senses are heightened, although some may be able to see blurry shapes. Interestingly, it’s actually quite rare for someone to be completely blind. Some do see even for just a bit, whether these are blurry shapes, dull colors, etc., so there is a chance that they might be able to “bring” these things that they’ve “seen” into their dreams. However, because there really is a problem with their eyesight, their other senses are heightened, so I’m guessing that’s where their dreams are focused on.

Anyway, going back to the question… Like Kuchiki Rukia, I would try and explain the colors via their other senses, and probably more focused on the sense of touch, as well as emotions, like what sensations evoke what color and such. Like, yellow would be like the sun, which is nice, warm, and happy. Red, being a more intense shade, would be fire, which is hot and, in a way, aggressive. White would be like ice, which is solid and clean at the same time. Blue would be something calm, like water. Brown would be the earth. Gray would be something dull or boring (sorry for those who love the colors), and as such, a rock, which is hard, solid, and immovable, would be a good object to make the person perceive it. I’d describe silver as basically the same thing, except make it a bit more metallic/colder. Pink would be something like the feel of flower petals.

For green, I’d probably have to go for the sense of smell on this one, and make the person smell pine trees.

I guess it would be easier to describe the colors to them with the things they’re familiar with, so if they haven’t really felt these, then I could improvise and describe it in relation to things that are familiar to them. Theoretically, their other senses are heightened because of their disability, so it would be easier to describe the slight differences between colors (like rose and magenta) because of their capacity to distinguish small changes in things.

I find blind people amazing, really, especially those who are so brave and courageous about facing the world. I have nothing but respect for them, and, given the chance, I would love to encourage them in their daily fight.