Who here is Color blind?

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jgln

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I am, well I don't see things black and white and I do see colors but I have failed the tests for it or came close. I can easily pick out yellow, orange, red, blue, green, brown etc and even purple and pink in most cases but it is the shades that can sometimes confuse me. I have even seen people who are not color blind have trouble identifying some colors. Those numbers in the circle test do identify deficiencies but do not tell if you can identify one color from another just because you see them differently than others.

Years ago I worked a job that required I take a yearly eye exam and always had trouble with it. I worked there for about 8 years and never was it a problem for me to do my job which a lot required me to identify colored wires.

I just received my 60 day layoff notice from the company I work for over 11 years now and I am thinking about going back to work for the other company but I am stressing over the eye exam again.

Anyway I was wondering how you deal with it and if it an obstacle for you. I will be very upset if I can't get a job doing what I did very well for many years all because of this test.
 
I'm Red/Green color blind. Like you it's the 'shades' that throw me for a loop. I'm an electrician so things like com cables etc. can throw me for a loop. The company I worked for purchased numbered wire instead of colors. Not sure if they were just being nice or afraid of the ADA. Don't stress about it. It's not anything you can help....or study for.
 
I had a teacher in High School who is 100% color blind. He sees in black and white. I have never been able to wrap my head around that. At least he's not blind I guess.
 
I'm Red/Green color blind. Like you it's the 'shades' that throw me for a loop. I'm an electrician so things like com cables etc. can throw me for a loop. The company I worked for purchased numbered wire instead of colors. Not sure if they were just being nice or afraid of the ADA. Don't stress about it. It's not anything you can help....or study for.

Today I put the aqua fiber in the green slot.

Com wires can be difficult even for someone who isn't colorblind. Many times, actually most times, you are terminated in a low-light scenario (under a desk, in a ceiling, behind a rack, et al) where those shades start to blend together. That's why companies make testers.
 
+1 on Red/Green. Scored a 95% on the pilot written tests when I was in the Air Force, but could not pass even the color threshold test (they sit you in a dark room and flash tiny colored dot lights at you) let alone those damn DOTS! I hate those DOTS! When I tell people that I am color blind, those who have no clue - just as you said - think I see things in black and white. That is not the case. I have trouble with browns and greens, and shades of blue (there must be red in some of them) and have confused purple with blue because of this But for the most part, most greens for me look brown.
 
I need to follow this thread. I have some concerns over my son. Every so often he'll mess up on a color. Nothing significant, just mixing up a green with a blue or brown or something along those lines. It really hasn't been a big deal, but I've always wondered... Would a optometrist be able to test for color blindness accurately? If not, then how would I be able to find out for sure.

Again, I don't really see it as a big deal, but it would be nice to know if he has any (deficiencies, I guess?) that may cause him to have trouble in school. If there are, then I'd like to find ways to work around them if its even necessary. Aside from this issue, his sight seems great. When we visit the doctor, he can easily read the 20/15 line and sometimes the 20/10.
 
+1 on Red/Green. Scored a 95% on the pilot written tests when I was in the Air Force, but could not pass even the color threshold test (they sit you in a dark room and flash tiny colored dot lights at you) let alone those damn DOTS! I hate those DOTS! When I tell people that I am color blind, those who have no clue - just as you said - think I see things in black and white. That is not the case. I have trouble with browns and greens, and shades of blue (there must be red in some of them) and have confused purple with blue because of this But for the most part, most greens for me look brown.

Exactly the same experience as me. I ended up working in logistics in the Air Force. I didn't have much other options.
 
i am color blind as well red greens and blues and purples that are close together, among other things. I hate the dot pic's as well.

In my case it is passed down on the mothers side to the males. so my uncles are color blind as well and if my sisters have boys odds are they will be too.
 
I'm red/green. I always thought I was sick the day we learned colors in school. It's always nice when I have to ask the passenger if the light is flashing red or yellow at night "Hey quick,..."
 
Exactly the same experience as me. I ended up working in logistics in the Air Force. I didn't have much other options.

I went into intelligence, an oxymoron for sure, but it was a good time. What is kind of funny now is that I have been talking to a couple of private pilot instructors who said they can get me connected with a doctor that would certify me for the sport pilot level (daylight only, visual flight rules) so I may get to fly after all.
 
I'm shade blind, I don't see colors well.
 
I'm red/green. I always thought I was sick the day we learned colors in school. It's always nice when I have to ask the passenger if the light is flashing red or yellow at night "Hey quick,..."

I do the same thing LMAO. My girlfriend was like seriously, I'm like yea hurry up.

I'm a data comm/telcom tech and Cat5e wires are a *****. Wanted to be an electrical engineer. Couldn't do it. Couldn't read the bands on resistors..
 
I need to follow this thread. I have some concerns over my son. Every so often he'll mess up on a color. Nothing significant, just mixing up a green with a blue or brown or something along those lines. It really hasn't been a big deal, but I've always wondered... Would a optometrist be able to test for color blindness accurately? If not, then how would I be able to find out for sure...

Look online for colorblindness tests - they're pretty good translated to a decent screen. Then you can test your son.
 
I am colorblind as well, I can identify the primary colors, but aside from that all bets are off, at night the overhead street lights look the same as a green traffic light, and I cant tell the difference between the yellow and red lights, I am always asked "how do you drive if you cant see the green ones?" my reply is always that you dont stop at the green ones, you drive through them, and I stop on yellow or red anyway, so no big deal.

Being a mechanic and having to diagnose an electrical problem can be challanging, but I ask a co-worker if I am unsure, and I rely a lot on pin locations in connectors and from there I can reason if the color is correct for what I am looking for.

My brother is 100% colorblind, it was always fun watching him come out wearing goofy color combinations, "you look good bro, have fun on your date!" :D
 
My dad's red/green colorblind. That may be part of why he joined the Air Force. 37 years of wearing the same suit that was picked out and color-coordinated for him.

It's sorta fun, now that he's retired, because he has to put thought into what to wear.
 
Colorblind here also. I think the dot test told me I was "blue/green" colorblinded.

The only annoying aspect of it is when you tell people you are colorblind, you are now the sole contestant in the game of "what color is that?" as they begin to point out random objects in the room and ask you what color it is. Then when you get them all correct they decide to diagnose you as not color blind.

Every now and again though, I will get dressed and my wife give me a look as if I got dressed in the dark. I then know that I have messed something up and go back up stairs and try again.
 
I'm Red/Green color blind. Like you it's the 'shades' that throw me for a loop. I'm an electrician so things like com cables etc. can throw me for a loop. The company I worked for purchased numbered wire instead of colors. Not sure if they were just being nice or afraid of the ADA. Don't stress about it. It's not anything you can help....or study for.

When getting or keeping a good paying job you know you can do depends on passing that test it is hard not to worry about it. In my everyday life it does not bother me, me life is full of color.
 
Today I put the aqua fiber in the green slot.

Com wires can be difficult even for someone who isn't colorblind. Many times, actually most times, you are terminated in a low-light scenario (under a desk, in a ceiling, behind a rack, et al) where those shades start to blend together. That's why companies make testers.

Yes, everything I build while working for that company got tested before power was applied. Mainly it was continuity or resistance testing but even then a brown wire where a red one should be would not fly and reworking takes time and money. Actually, testing was one of the jobs I held after the visual testing was done.
 
Today I put the aqua fiber in the green slot.

Com wires can be difficult even for someone who isn't colorblind. Many times, actually most times, you are terminated in a low-light scenario (under a desk, in a ceiling, behind a rack, et al) where those shades start to blend together. That's why companies make testers.

Yes, light plays a big part for obvious reasons. On a sunny day I have no problem picking the red peppers from the green but once the sun starts to set I have to give up. My fiancee on the other hand could still see the difference with less light, but again not in the dark for obvious reasons.
 
+1 on Red/Green. Scored a 95% on the pilot written tests when I was in the Air Force, but could not pass even the color threshold test (they sit you in a dark room and flash tiny colored dot lights at you) let alone those damn DOTS! I hate those DOTS! When I tell people that I am color blind, those who have no clue - just as you said - think I see things in black and white. That is not the case. I have trouble with browns and greens, and shades of blue (there must be red in some of them) and have confused purple with blue because of this But for the most part, most greens for me look brown.

As a very young kid I used to say grass was red and my sister would tell me "No it is GREEN!!" I don't know why I was saying that though because today I can clearly see that it is green and I see the difference between the two. I guess I was confused on what the names of colors were??
 
I'm from the draft lottery and the Vietnam era. My number was 5 and since I didn’t want to get shot at, I decided to enlist in the Coast Guard. That was the first verification that I was color blind (red / green). Failed the dot test. Coast Guard wouldn’t take me, but the Navy did.

When I was a kid my parents just bitched at me for not learning my colors. :cross:
 
I am colorblind as well, I can identify the primary colors, but aside from that all bets are off, at night the overhead street lights look the same as a green traffic light, and I cant tell the difference between the yellow and red lights, I am always asked "how do you drive if you cant see the green ones?" my reply is always that you dont stop at the green ones, you drive through them, and I stop on yellow or red anyway, so no big deal.

Being a mechanic and having to diagnose an electrical problem can be challanging, but I ask a co-worker if I am unsure, and I rely a lot on pin locations in connectors and from there I can reason if the color is correct for what I am looking for.

My brother is 100% colorblind, it was always fun watching him come out wearing goofy color combinations, "you look good bro, have fun on your date!" :D


The lights are always in a certain order too so that helps. I hate those new traffic lights they use now, I think the idea is so you can't see them from the side to time when your light will change, I don't know. The problem is those lights can kind of illuminate when the sun shines on them in certain ways. There is one light on a curve that I can never tell what is lit during a sunny day. The angle is not straight on. Luckily I rarely get stuck at that light and it is a busy 3 lane light so I usually wait for the other traffic to stop and the cars next to me to go.
 
When I first got the job and failed the test they told me I could go to the eye doctors and get a red contact lens to correct my vision which I did. I went back and was able to pass the test. Now this particular job required over a month of training before I was sent to the floor to work so I did not wear it during that time. When I did get sent to work I went out there not wearing the lens and nobody said anything and I performed the job with no problem. When I went back every year to take the test it was the same test and I knew what the numbers were now and I could pass it. But I have to say every year knowing that test was coming up and the possibility of losing my job because of it made me sick for months beforehand. 8+ years of that stress.

I applied for another position with another company I knew would be doing the same testing so after they told me they wanted to hire me (it was in FL) I fessed up and told them about it and they said they had ways to work around that and to not worry. I actually did not wind up taking the job after all.
 
Wow. I have no idea why it never occurred to me to do this. I really feel like dumba$$ now. Looks like I have a project for the afternoon.

I did this yesterday and some tests were more difficult for me than others. I found one color chart of 20 dots and I was able to identify evey single one of them pretty easily.
 
I did this yesterday and some tests were more difficult for me than others. I found one color chart of 20 dots and I was able to identify evey single one of them pretty easily.
As you probably read, the colors are of course represented by your particular monitor and can vary. I bet you can find a book at your local library that will have the most accurate representations.
 
When I went back every year to take the test it was the same test and I knew what the numbers were now and I could pass it.
Same with the driving test. I don't have a color blind conditional license. When I went to take the test the place was full, so I saw the guy in front of me look into the machine and say, "Red, Green, Blue," when they asked him what colors he saw. I looked into the machine and had no idea what the colors were, but said "Red, Green, Blue." PASSED!
 
Same with the driving test. I don't have a color blind conditional license. When I went to take the test the place was full, so I saw the guy in front of me look into the machine and say, "Red, Green, Blue," when they asked him what colors he saw. I looked into the machine and had no idea what the colors were, but said "Red, Green, Blue." PASSED!

I really wish instead of making us have to deal with colors they gradually change to another system. They could still use colors but maybe use numbers, letters or shapes as well. That would put an end to all this.
 
Wow...glad that MD doesn't have a color test for a drivers license.... Would NJ not give you one if you failed? You can be a 90 year old quad and get a license, but if your color blind no? I have to think for the divers license it wouldn't mater....I hope.
 
Wow...glad that MD doesn't have a color test for a drivers license.... Would NJ not give you one if you failed? You can be a 90 year old quad and get a license, but if your color blind no? I have to think for the divers license it wouldn't mater....I hope.

They do test you but only when you first get your license. Mine was just a image of a red light ( OOO ) and you had to tell when it was red, yellow and green but that was all.
 
I just spoke to one of the guys I used to work with who still works there and he said he can't pass their dots tests either. They show him colored wires and then he can pass. I do rember them pulling that out once but they still try to fool you with shades instead of primary colors.
 
I hate the dot test, I make to about the 4th page of that 8 page dot book and I throw my hands up. Can't figure out greens greys and some blues.
 
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