See Inside Why can most people remember a color, but only a few can remember pitch?
—David Hardie, Perth, Australia
Robert O. Duncan, a behavioral scientist at York College, the City University of New York, responds: Although most of us believe we are better at identifying colors than sounds, our ability to identify the exact frequency of light associated with a color is actually no better than our ability to name a pitch.
Our perception of visible light depends on context. You might go shopping for house paints, for example, and be shocked to find that the particular shade of white you selected in the store makes your kitchen look pink! You may have chosen the wrong shade of white because the ambient light in the store differs from that of your home. If we could accurately identify colors, we would never make such mistakes. People may think they are more adept at identifying colors, however, because they tend to associate hues with specific objects, which do not change. For instance, we will generally perceive an apple to be red because the light reflecting off its surface remains fairly constant from moment to moment.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Why can most people remember a color, but only a few can remember pitch?: Scientific American
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