jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I don't know if I posted about this before, but the idea is that ancient people didn't see - or notice - the color blue. Homer refers to the sea as "wine dark."
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ancient+people+did+not+see+blue

Something occurred to me as I was watching documentaries about ancient Egypt. Not only could they see the color blue, they used it extensively. Anyway, human beings are definitely odd.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

[not to be taken in offence, Jerry] I wish no one had posted about this topic at any time. It is nonsense to me.
What color wine. Wine can be made from blue berries or similar. In California we sometimes have a red tide condition due to an algae that make the water red and also poisons many other forms of sea life for a week to several at a time. I have no idea if there are red tides near Greece but there is a Red Sea not too far away. I think changes in human physiology over such a short period of human history is the last explanation I would look at.

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

I've heard the theory that the earliest humans did not see colors, that colors became known through time with blue being the last. I disagree with that because of the history of the "Great Flood" when the earth and all inhabitants with a few exeptions, was destroyed. In that, a rainbow was formed and humans could see it and its colors. That indcident occurred in a time before the pharoahs and kings of egypt.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

You do realize that there is absolutely no blue pigment in Blue Jays, none at all.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

You heard wrong. The story of Noah and the great flood is just that, a story, a story with a meaning behind it but still, just a story.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

The story of Noah is widely circulated in western civilization. I have no doubt that it is based on a flood. I have strong doubts that the flood was global, but floods do occur. The Babylonians had a similar story about Gilgamesh and Ut-Napishtim. Rivers were certainly important to early humans, and the weather everywhere is variable. Genesis 6 ad 7 describe the story of Noah and God's commandment. There is a difference between the specs in Genesis 6 and the as-built in Genesis 7. Two of every animal is probably not enough to ensure the continuance of a species since there are accidents and predation, not to mention problems feeding herbivores after a flood. (I recall a cartoon showing a pair of unicorns who got to the launch point after the ship had sailed).

I am not familiar with legends in other areas of the world but I would not be surprised to hear that there are other such stories in other civilizations.

Dannj

Maybe they just didn’t call it “blue”😳

SpikeW Loc: Butler PA

I have read that the human eye does not recognize the color magenta. I can live with that.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I never said there wasn't a flood. I'm saying the story of Noah and the Ark is just a story, a story with a message, but still just a story. I attended Christian based schools for over 12 years and studied and discussed Noah's Ark numerous times. As far as the massive vessel Noah built, pretty much by himself, and the gathering of breeding pairs of animals from all around the Earth, it was concluded to be physically impossible, as written, even with divine intervention.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

If human eyes don't recognize magenta, then human eyes can't see magenta. Since I can see magenta, and everyone I know can see magenta, and there are walls in my house that are painted magenta, I'm guessing the human eye is capable of recognizing magenta. We may not all see magenta the same, but we see it none the less.

Stephan G

Color Frequency (THz) Wavelength (nm)
Red 400-484 620-750
Orange 484-508 590-620
Yellow 508-526 570-590
Green 526-606 495-570
Blue 606-668 450-495
Violet 668-789 380-450
Units
❋ THz – terahertz
❋ nm – nanometer

https://sciencestruck.com/color-spectrum-chart

When discussing "color", we have to understand that it is usually with general usage basis. When we need to be precise, we have to move away from arbitrary to specific denotations. How to come to a reasoned, rational definition that can used to peg our conversation? As someone who does painting, it is amazing to go into an art store to peruse the span of colors available in tubes. I use a color wheel to match up. Bottom line, I have to discover what is given as a name descriptor for a particular hue. Or mix a group of colors to work out closest to what I am looking for.

To say that a particular color did not exist is to say that the name has not been pegged to a color wheel. Nor identified with a convention about colors.

For example:
138 Describing Words to Describe The Color White (https://describeweb.com/describing-words-describe-color-white/)

White is the purest color. There are many words that relate to the color “white”, and here is a list with 138 examples.

Linen // Spotless // Sheet White // Vacant // Birch // Sugar White // Flawless // Lilly White // Unsullied// Contrast White // Unspotted // Milky // Well-Kept // Dove White // Faultless // Eburnea //
Cotton White // Obscure // Lace White // Unstained // Leucous // Sanitary // Unsoiled // Simple //
Canvas Beige // Pallid // Transparent // Ivory // White Albino // White Cleansed // Achlorophyllaceous //
Clear // Shell White // Waxen White // Cream // Mother-Of-Pearl // Milk White // Eggshell White //
Uncomplete // Paper White // Chalky // Barren // Unmarked // Albugineous // Faded // Navajo White //
White Chocolate // Nude // Virgin // Frosted White // Crisp // Washed-Out // Plain // Cretaceous //
Ghastly // Washed // Elegant // Mushroom // Candid // Bright // Bare // Argent //
Sheep White // Untouched // Marshmallow White // Winter Snow // Taintless // Pearl White // Whey//
Seashell White // Eggshell // Hygienic // Old Lace White // Raw Cotton White // Diamond // Delicate
Bisque // Pale // Vanilla // Neutral // Unused // Empty // Unblemished // Bleached White //
Spotless White // Ashen White // Tidy // Solid White // Silvery White// Niveous // Candent // Pure white //
Off-White // Trim // Auricomous // Wan // Canescent // Fresh // Polar White// Fair//
Arctic White // Flour White // Unfilled // Chalk White // Immaculate // Coconut White // Graceful//
Ghost White // Hoary // Blanched White // Toothpaste White // Snow White // Unpolluted//
White Smoke // Void Blank // Alabaster // New // Neat // Vacuous // Wedding White // Bloodless
Creamy // Clear // Porcelain // Linen White // Pearly // Shining Star White // Opal //
Cloudy // Powder White// Untarnished // Orderly / Fog White // Antique White // Shining //
Piano Key White // Bone White // Albicant //

SteveFranz Loc: Durham, NC

Something I've never understood about Noah & the Great Flood. If he got two of every animal on earth, how did he get animals that were native to Australia and North & South America? How did all the inland freshwater fish survive after being inundated with salt water?

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

For an omnipotent being, it’s a simple task to separate the salt from fresh water and preserve the animals in distant lands.
/S

Dannj

It’s the BLUE Nile, right?

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Because it's a story with a message, it didn't really happen, at least not as described in the story. There are plenty of Bible stories that deliver a message that are not to be taken literally.