What about color? The concept of color surfaces a good number of important sociological/social psychological concepts: interpretation, meaning, acceptability, cultural context. We can skip over the issue of not seeing the same colors (our physiology is pretty much standard issue) but our cultural context can throw our perceptions of a color into an entirely different arena.
Since I recently attended the Maira Kalman exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center, I'm inspired to present a few colors that approximate in their own tiny way the lovely, intensely colorful gouache paintings on display. Ms. Kalman's vibrant color usage and pattern sensitivity reminds me of Matisse's. (It's a stretch, but it does.) My favorite piece in the show was a painting of a rubber band.
Below I've attempted to electronically reproduce two versions of her rosy colors. Design note: proximity, size, and location can affect perceptions of value and intensity. Ask yourself if that might be happening here.
That's all we'll cover today. Just meditate on how much color influences your life. And how it can be additive or subtractive. And think about the fact that you can't see much of the actual spectrum. Nor can you really perceive color in low light conditions because of your eye structure. And cogitate on anything else you know about color. Do some research. Surprise yourself.
No links: If you stuck with me for the initial exploration, you'll note that there were no links on the first go-round. None here, either. If you want to know something, I'm giving you the opportunity to find out for yourself. Consider it a form of imposed technological phenomenology.
Why: You're far more likely to remember something that you've investigated yourself than something that's easily provided to you. I'd link to the psychology research that proves this, but then that would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?