How Some Humans Can See 100x More Colors

The most common human vision is trichromacy, where we have access to 3 types of cone cells: blue, green, and red. When mixed together, these cells can allow us to see close to 1 million color variations. But some humans are born with an extra cone and can see 100x more color variations, seeing the World in a more vibrant way than most other Humans.

Tetrachromacy is present in some individuals, most frequently in women. A genetic variation can lead to the development of a fourth type of cone cell, typically between the red and green receptors in terms of light sensitivity. This variation arises from a mutation in the X chromosome; because women have two X chromosomes, they are more likely to have this mutation and thus exhibit tetrachromacy.

The phenomenon of tetrachromacy is more common in the animal kingdom, particularly among birds, fish, and some insects, which use their enhanced color vision to detect subtle changes in their environment, find food, or select mates. In humans, the condition is much rarer and often goes unrecognized because the visual world is designed for trichromatic vision, and tetrachromats may not even be aware of their enhanced color perception.

Tetrachromacy is a great example of a human superpower that is not considered "normal." We are still in the early days of discovering what this enhanced vision allows certain humans to do, beyond art, where some artists have already demonstrated its power.

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