Most people with color vision deficiency do not think of it as a disability, and most of the time they are right. It shows up in small moments instead: the charging light that is either red or green, the two socks that might be navy and black, the meat that might still be pink.
It is also far more common than most people assume. A guide that Japan's Ministry of Education wrote for teachers and sent to schools across the country in 2003 says color vision deficiency affects roughly 5 percent of boys and 0.2 percent of girls. In a class of forty, that is usually one boy, sometimes two.
The same guide makes a point worth repeating. Most of those children have no real trouble at school, and the deficiency rarely gets in the way of everyday life. What it asks for is a little consideration in the specific places where color carries the information.
Where color does all the talking
- Status lights. Chargers, routers, earbud cases, the little lamp on the rice cooker. Red, green and orange are the usual set, and they are often exactly the colors that are hard to tell apart.
- Clothes. Navy and black, brown and dark green, gray and pale pink. You find out you got it wrong when somebody else mentions it.
- Food. Ripeness of fruit, whether meat is cooked, whether bread has gone moldy.
- Maps and charts. Subway maps, weather maps, slides at work where the only difference between two lines is their color.
- Forms and labels. The red box you were supposed to fill in, the green sticker that means a document has been checked.
None of these are dramatic. Together they add up to a steady low level of guessing, and a habit of asking people around you, which gets tiring for everyone.
How to ask
With Glimpse you point the phone, or just look if you are wearing the glasses, and ask. A few ways of asking work better than others.
Ask for a comparison, not just a name. Are these two socks the same color? gets you a more useful answer than what color is this sock, because the question you actually have is whether they match.
Ask what the color means. Is the light on this charger red or green, and what does that usually mean? You do not just want the color. You want to know if it is charged.
Ask about the line, not the color. On a map, try which line goes to Shibuya, or which colored line is the one with the letter G. Tokyo subway lines also have a letter, like G for the Ginza Line, printed next to the color on station signs. Once you know to look for it, it helps a lot.
Ask follow ups. There is no wake word, so once a session is open you can keep going. Is this shirt navy? Does it go with these pants? What about the gray ones?
Where to be careful
A camera does not see color the way a paint chart does. Warm indoor lighting pushes everything toward orange, and a phone adjusts its colors automatically. For clothes, ask near a window in daylight if you can. If two answers disagree, trust the one taken in better light.
For food safety, color is the wrong test for anyone. A meat thermometer tells you more than any camera ever will, and that is true whether your color vision is typical or not.
And it can be wrong while sounding certain. For anything where a mistake costs you, like a status light on medical equipment, check with the manual or a person. There is more on that in what AI glasses cannot do.
Save the things you always forget
If there are a few items you mix up again and again, say so once. Remember, my navy jacket is the one with brown buttons. Remember, on my charger a steady light means full. Glimpse keeps those notes after the app is closed, so the next time you only have to ask.
Not a test
Glimpse cannot tell you whether you have color vision deficiency, or what kind. If you are unsure, an eye doctor can test it properly in a few minutes. This is for the person who already knows and is tired of guessing at socks.
Try it on the drawer
Open the drawer with the darkest clothes in it, stand near a window, and ask about the three pieces you are least sure of. It is free on the iPhone with minutes every day, and the same thing works hands free with Glimpse Glasses.
Common questions
Can Glimpse test me for color blindness?
No. It is not a medical device and it does not test vision. An eye doctor can do that properly. Glimpse is for the everyday question of what color something is.
How accurate is it at naming colors?
Good in daylight, less reliable under warm indoor light, which shifts colors for any camera. For clothes, ask near a window. For anything important, double check.
Can it tell me if meat is cooked?
It can describe how it looks, but color is not a safe test for anyone. Use a meat thermometer.