NEIGHBORING COLOURS

The visual system cannot differentiate or equate

the same wavelengths independent of adjacent stimuli.

Adjacent colours change the perception of a colour.

examples: THREE COLOURS APPEAR AS FOUR:

Using the SAME GREEN on a blue background,

and on a reddish background,

is interpreted by the brain as different colours (two distinct wavelengths).

Appears ‘warmer’ green Appears ‘cooler’ green

Due to cool background Due to warm background

This is due to the visual system’s attempt to highlight differences of adjacent colours. In this case,

the green on blue will be shifted towards yellow-green

– the colour further away from blue;

the green on red will be shifted towards the blue-green range

– the colour further away from red.

FOUR COLOURS APPEAR AS THREE

Conversely, different colours can appear the same by placing on different backgrounds, e.g.: DIFFERENT GREENs on blue and red

In reverse of the example above,

if a yellow-green object is placed on a reddish background,

it will appear more blue-green (than on a white or black background)

(because the yellow wavelengths in the green

will be diminished by the red.

Similarly,

If a blue-green object is placed on a blue background,

it will be perceived as more yellow-green

(because the blue wavelengths in the green

will be dimished by the purer blue.

The visual system suggests colours ‘compete’ for attention and distinctions between one and another becomes more obvious.

Esoterically …

We could suppose two Ray 2 types …

A Ray 2 person in a Ray 1 environment,

would appear VERY Ray 2 (even stereotypically so)

whereas:

a Ray 2 person in a Ray 2 environment,

may show significant differences, and could even appear ‘as’ a Ray 1 if he had those wavelengths, in contrast to the group’s overall or pure Ray 2 types.