People perceive color by means of certain photopigments in the retina that are sensitive to certain wavelengths of light.
Apparent Paradox
People perceive color by means of certain photopigments in the retina that are sensitive to certain wavelengths of light.
People who are color blind are unable to distinguish between red and green, for example, due to an absence of certain photopigments.
What is difficult to explain, however, is that in a study of people who easily distinguish red from green, 10 to 20 percent failed to report distinctions between many shades of red that the majority of the subjects were able to distinguish.
Evaluate
The last statement is the result that needs to be explained. What’s the drive for explanation? The pivot at the beginning of that statement rules out the possibility that the absence of certain photopigments is not the explanation. Four of the following answers will provide an explanation for why 10-20% of those who can distinguish between green and red cannot distinguish between certain shades of red.