Calibrating color vision

Abstract

Why do some colors look special? Color vision is our ability to distinguish the spectral characteristics of light. Wavelength varies continuously, yet we perceive spectra in terms of a small number of dimensions anchored by salient landmarks. These dimensions define a color space, within which colors appear to vary in hue (direction) or saturation (distance) relative to a neutral gray (Figure 1). Coding relative to a norm may reflect a general strategy in perception. For example, individual faces may be judged by how they differ from a neutral or average face.