'Aha'

<Task: Describe an 'aha' moment in one of my many PGCE (#NOS) classes that links with 'Colour'>


In our Philosophy of Education lecture we discussed 'Truth'. What is truth? Truth, the class concluded is fact. Facts can be proven scientifically. Therefore: 

Truth = Facts  

It took the lecturer only a couple of minutes to destroy that theory. How many perceived facts, 'proven' by science have later been disproved? Facts are merely facts until more information is made available that replaces the one fact by another. Facts are merely a reflection of our time. 
In colonised Africa, it was believed that malaria was spread through "bad air" that came from the native settlements. To prevent the spread of the "bad air" (see Miasma theory) a strip of unoccupied land was always put between the native settlement and the european residential areas. As we all know now, malaria is spread by mosquitos and not "bad air" from unhygienic living conditions. 

"A representation by Robert Seymour of the cholera epidemic of the 19th century
depicts the spread of the disease in the form of poisonous air."

  
Similarly, colour is not a fact and neither is it truth. If I say 'that plant is green', is it really? What green is it? For me, it is a fact. It is green, and that specific green. I can see that with my own eyes. What do you see though? Colour is a matter of perception created by the reflection of light which is then perceived by the eye. No two people will perceive the exact same object to be the exact same shade. To demonstrate, look at this:

What colour is this dress?

A couple of days ago a large debate started over whether this dress is white with gold fringes or blue with black fringes. 
I say it is most definitely white and gold. It is, in actual fact, blue and black. 

The reason behind the phenomena of people thinking it is white and gold is because in the process of the light reflecting from the object and perceived by the eye, a perceptual boundary gets hit and the eye tricks the brain into believing it is another colour to what it actually is.  



"What is truth?" Pilate, Roman procurator, asked. (John 18:38)

Jesus is the way the truth and the life. (John 14:6) 

No fact is truth, therefore truth overrides fact. "Your [God] word is truth" (John 17:17). No matter what the circumstances, no matter what the era, who God is and His word remains true. Like Bouwer Bosch aptly put it, " 'n Kind word geborê, God is goed. My ma het kanker, God bly goed.". 
Who am I to say that? Easier said than believed - A week after making that quote my facebook status, my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer. God is still truly good. 

Truth = Jesus


* For more on:
John: Jesus, The way, truth and life
Disproven scientific facts
What colour is this dress

A definition

I thought the obvious place to start would be at the definition.. It turns out 'Colour' is not that simple. 'Colour' can be a noun and a verb, in each form having between 4 and 10 definitions. However, to avoid getting side-tracked, I will stick with the one I initially intended to get to know.


Colour (ˈkʌlə) 
noun

A visual perception of the eye as a result of the way light is reflected off an object. 

Colour derives from a spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. 

Not being much of a scientist/biologist myself, this picture doesn't mean much to me (although I feel it adds to the legitimacy of this entry, and why discriminate against the scientists/biologists?).
For the rest of us though this picture makes it pretty clear:

Light enters the eye.. and ba BAM! There is colour!

"The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light." 

                                                  

                                                 Genesis 1:2-3

The start of the journey

Most journey's have a beginning and an end. The end destination is what we all tend to strive for. We are not happy until we have made it, we have arrived. Be it knowing what you will be 'when you grow up', standing at the wedding altar with 'the one' or arriving at Ouma and Oupie's farm for the December holiday. 

Sometimes, I think that the journey is actually more important than the destination. What makes it an adventure - not knowing where you will end up. 

So here's to an adventure. 13 weeks of enquiry into the world of colour. What I will find? I don't know. But what I do know is that I will be different from what I was today, before I started.

Start: Colour
End destination: Unknown