It's either a 13 or a 45 or maybe a fish....

Another post of relevance to all the premeds out there.

Color blindness is one of the most common sex linked genetic disorders. It is estimated that around 1 in 12 men suffer from one form or another.

Unfortunately the quick test I put up in lecture today suffered from being scanned, then rendered by my computer then projected by a different device. I would not worry unduly if you couldn't see that image!

This isn't just a problem for projected images, a great many monitors are calibrated incorrectly (ie the displayed color may differ significantly from the intended color). This may render color blindness tests useless so if you suspect you may be color blind you should get yourself tested on printed material where the colors are reproduced accurately.

Having said that, there are plenty of color blindness tests on the web, for example here or here if you prefer the more standard PseudoIsochromatic Plate Ishihara Compatible Color Vision Test

If you work in a clinic or doctor's office, or know someone who does, here is a cool color blindness testing poster for children - diagnosing problems early is important to prevent learning problems. (The answers are here.)

Whilst doing some reading on this issue I came across a couple of interesting programs to help people deal with, understand, and accomodate color blindness. Vischeck simulates colorblind vision so that you can check how pictures and documents on your webpage will appear to color blind people.

Daltonize helps you correct images for colorblind viewers. In many cases the 'true' color of something may be irrelevant but the fact that it is different from its surroundings is very important. This program will alter the contrast and other characteristics of an image to make it more useable for color-blind people.