Give me Red!

"Reality is merely a perception, albeit a very persistent one."

                        - Albert Einstein

The Asian Paints advertisement with the catchy tagline “Merawala red!” or “Merawala green!” popped in my head when I was pondering over the reality of colour. Colour is merely a ‘sensation’ felt by the brain when the eye transfers light bouncing off an object. If that defines colour, then how can we standardize the sensation to each and every brain? Is it right to generalize colours (or sensations) felt or perceived by the brain? Merawala “Red” could be very different from anybody else’s Red. But, since I was taught to identify the sensation as red, my sensation has been termed the same as yours. If this was to be true, could it be possible that all of us have the same favourite colour? But, this is difficult to believe. What if my brain is recording red as green but I keep calling it red? Lots of questions there. Now, let’s get down to some problem solving.

The Reality of my world could be very different from anyone else’s. Some realize the difference and some don’t. The mind works way beyond what it sees. Sight is just one of the sensations. Humans have been unable to come up with a language that can help convey these perceptions to each and every living being homogeneously. Imagine a world where each and every individual feels the same way and reacts the same way for every single event or action that takes place. Probably losing way in the complexities of the human brain can be totally cancelled out if a common language of expression can be formed for the whole of mankind. At present, we are not communicating. We are perceiving. If the expression is not perceived in the same way as the expresser of emotions, the message has clearly not been conveyed. So the root cause of all the mismatch in communicating is the difference in perception.

One common language. One common expression that evokes the same desires, feelings and reactions. If discovered, we probably have an answer to all questions in life.