TEACH THE CORRECT COLOR THEORY IN SCHOOL Teachers in public schools are still teaching the wrong color theory to children.

Here is a list of reasons why this is done, why it is wrong for teachers to do it, and what must be done to correct the problem:

• REASONS THE WRONG PRIMARIES ARE STILL TAUGHT:

  Tradition dies hard. Art schools are still teaching the wrong primaries. The "masters" used the wrong primaries. Artists worship the masters. Teachers teach it the way they learned it at school. The names of some colors are too broad. Cheap boxes of crayons and paints do not contain the correct primaries. Art supply stores still sell books and color wheels showing the wrong primaries. The wrong primaries do work, but cannot produce many bright colors. Oil colors do work with the wrong primaries, but for different reasons. Not enough is taught about the correct primaries for teachers to learn them. Most elementary teachers are experts in language or social studies, not science. Until recently, the correct primaries were available only as toxic compounds.

  The old primaries.

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• WHY THE CORRECT PRIMARIES MUST BE TAUGHT:
  1. There are actually two sets of primaries: light, and pigment.
  2. Color photography requires both sets of correct primaries.
  3. Full color printing requires the pigment primaries.
  4. Color TV uses the light primaries.
  5. Anyone creating colors on a computer screen needs the light primaries.
  6. Anyone printing colors on a color printer needs the pigment primaries.
  7. Any medium except oil paint will fail using the old primaries.
  8. Oil paint uses both types of mixing.
  9. Sometimes the old primaries work only through leakage of imperfect pigments.

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• WHAT ARE THE CORRECT NAMES OF COLORS?
  1. "Blue" covers too many colors:
     •     - Cyan, the color of robin eggs and peacock feather spots, is Isaac Newton's original blue.
     • Teal, turquoise, robin egg blue, and peacock blue are other names for cyan.
     •     - Newton's indigo, the color of most blue ballpoint pens, is the scientists' blue.
     •     - Today's indigo has a lot more violet than Newton's indigo.
     •     - Navy is a dark version of Newton's indigo.
     •     - Royal blue,
     •     - azure blue,
     •     - true blue,
     •     - cerulean blue, and
     •     - sky blue are in between.
  2. "Red" covers too many colors:
     •     - Magenta is not in the spectrum. It is the color of redbud trees in spring.
     • Fuchsia is another name for magenta.
     •     - Scarlet is Newton's red. It is the color of the ripest red tomatoes.
     • Cardinal red is another name for scarlet.
     • Scarlet is the scientist's red.
     •     - Cerise and
     •     - carmine are in between.
     •     - Vermillion is oranger than scarlet.
  3. Today, Newton would say the spectrum contains:
     •     - red,
     •     - orange,
     •     - yellow,
     •     - green,
     •     - cyan,
     •     - blue, and
     •     - violet.

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• LET'S STANDARDIZE COLOR NAMES:
  • We need more precise colors names, so we can better describe them.
    Here is a suggestion of hue names, equally spaced around the color wheel
    * = Primary color
    1.     - magenta*,
    2.     - cerise,
    3.     - red*,
    4.     - orange,
    5.     - yellow*,
    6.     - leaf,
    7.     - green*,
    8.     - aqua,
    9.     - cyan*,
    10.     - azure,
    11.     - blue*, and
    12.     - violet.

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• WHAT ARE THE OLD PRIMARY COLORS?
  1. The old artist's primaries are:
     •     - Red, which is scarlet.
     •     - Yellow, which is the color of daffodils, and
     •     - Blue, which is Newton's indigo.
  2. Greens and violets are produced only where the pigments leak other colors.
  3. Mixing transparent pigments in old primaries makes dull greens and violets.
  4. These colors are found in a Crayola (TM) box of 8 crayons.
  5. Four-color school watercolor paint boxes are made with these colors, plus black.
  6. Most materials for teaching colors at schools use these primaries.
  7. Many toys made in these colors are mistakenly labeled "educational."
  8. These primaries work better for oil colors because:
     • The blue usually used turns to cyan at low concentrations.
     • The red usually used turns to magenta at low concentrations.
     • Opaque pigments mix using light primaries, but with darker results.
  9. A toy top was made that attempted to mix these colors like light. The greens and oranges were almost white. With pure pigments, the green would have been white.

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• WHAT ARE THE CORRECT PIGMENT PRIMARY COLORS?
  1. The correct pigment primaries are:
     •     - Magenta (fuchsia), which is the correct pigment primary "red,"
     •     - Yellow, which is the color of daffodils, and
     •     - Cyan (teal), which is the correct pigment primary "blue." It was "blue" to Newton.
  2. Rich greens, blues, and violets are possible
  3. Only the yellow is found in a Crayola (TM) box of 8 crayons.
  4. The Crayola (TM) colors Magenta, Yellow, and Teal are the correct primaries.
  5. These primaries may or may not work with certain oil pigments.
  6. The secondary colors of pigment are the light primaries.
  7. Look at colored comics with a magnifier and see dots of pigment primary.
  8. Full color printing is done with these primaries.
  9. Ink jet color printers use these primaries.

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• WHAT ARE THE LIGHT PRIMARY COLORS?
  1. The light primaries are:
     •     - Red, which is scarlet.
     •     - Green, which is the color of most leaves, and
     •     - Blue, which is Newton's indigo.
  2. Overlapping beams of different colored light mix using these primaries.
  3. Tiny nonoverlapping dots of color mix in this way.
  4. All three colors are found in a Crayola (TM) box of 8 crayons.
  5. Reflective glitter mixes like light.
  6. The secondary colors of light are the pigment primaries.
  7. Look at a color TV with a magnifier to see dots of light primaries.
  8. A spinning disk with sectors of light primaries on it mixes in this way.
  9. That toy top should have used the light primaries.

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• WHY DOES IT WORK?

  
  1. The human eye has three kinds of light receptors.
  2. The receptors are individually sensitive to the three light primaries:
     • The red receptor is sensitive to     red,     orange, and     yellow.
     • The red receptor is somewhat sensitive to     green and     violet.
     • The green receptor is sensitive to     yellow,     green, and     cyan.
     • The green receptor is somewhat sensitive to     orange and     azure.
     • The blue receptor is sensitive to     cyan,     blue, and     violet.
     • The blue receptor is partially sensitive to     aqua.
  3. Other colors are mixtures of stimuli on the receptors.
     •     Yellow light equally stimulates the     red and     green receptors.
     •     Orange light stimulates the     red receptor more than the     green receptor.
     •     Cyan light equally stimulates the     green and     blue receptors.
     •     White light is a mix of all colors, and stimulates all three receptors equally.
     •     Magenta light is not in the spectrum. It an equal mix of     red and     blue light, and stimulates those receptors.
     •     Black is the absence of light, and stimulates no receptors.
  4. Mixtures of primary lights stimulate the receptors the same as other colors.
     • A mixture of     red and     green light stimulates both receptors, simulating     yellow light.
     • A mixture of     green and     blue light stimulates both receptors, simulating     cyan light.
     • A mixture of     red and     blue light stimulates both receptors, making     magenta light.
     • A mixture of     red,     green, and     blue light stimulates all receptors, simulating     white light.
     • A mixture of strong     red and weak     green light simulates     orange light.
     • A mixture of strong     red, weak     green, and weak     blue light stimulates all receptors, simulating     pink light.
     • This effect makes color television and color photography possible.
  5. Pigments remove colors from the light falling on them.
     •     White pigment reflects all colors, appearing white.
     •     Magenta pigment absorbs     yellow,     green, and     cyan light.
       Removing those colors from white leaves     red,     blue, and     violet, making     magenta light.
     •     Yellow pigment absorbs     cyan,     blue, and     violet light.
       Removing those colors from white leaves     red,     yellow, and     green, making     yellow light.
     •     Cyan pigment absorbs     red and     yellow, and some of the     violet light.
       Removing those colors from white leaves     green,     cyan, and     blue, making     cyan light.
  6. Mixtures of primary pigments remove the colors removed by each pigment.
     • Mixing     magenta and     yellow pigments removes all colors except     red, leaving red light.
     • Mixing     yellow and     cyan pigments removes all colors except     green, leaving green light.
     • Mixing     magenta and     cyan pigments removes all colors except     blue, leaving blue light.
     • Mixing     magenta,     yellow, and     cyan pigments removes all colors, leaving     no light. It appears black.
  7. Pigments can be diluted, allowing some light to leak through.
     • Mixing diluted     magenta and full-strength     yellow pigments makes     orange.
     • Mixing diluted     magenta and diluted     yellow pigments makes     pink.
     • Mixing full-strength     magenta and     yellow pigments with diluted     cyan pigment makes     brown.
     • Mixing equally diluted     magenta,     yellow, and     cyan pigments makes     gray.
     • Mixing full-strength     magenta and diluted     cyan pigments makes     violet.

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• Different receptor types give different light primary colors:

  HUMAN EYE TYPE	LIGHT PRIMARIES	PIGMENT PRIMARIES
  normal human	- red, green, blue	- magenta, yellow, cyan
  protanomalic	- orange, green, blue	- magenta, chartreuse, cyan
  deuteranomalic	- red, yellow, blue	- magenta, orange, aqua
  protanopic	- green, blue	- green, blue
  deuteranopic	- orange, blue	- orange, blue
  tritanopic	- red, green	- red, green
  monochromatic	- blue	- black
  cone-blind (and normal night vision)	- cyan	- black
  ANIMAL EYE TYPE	LIGHT PRIMARIES	PIGMENT PRIMARIES
  cat	- red, green, blue	- magenta, yellow, cyan
  some fish	- red, green, blue	- magenta, yellow, cyan
  dog	- yellow, cyan	- yellow, cyan
  many birds	- red, yellow, cyan	- purple, orange, green
  most insects	- green, violet, ultraviolet	- green-UV, cyan, violet-UV
  spiders	- green, blue, violet, ultraviolet	(we can't see or name them)
  pit vipers	- infrared, blue	- infrared, blue
  PRIMATES	LIGHT PRIMARIES	PIGMENT PRIMARIES
  old-world	- red, green, blue	- magenta, yellow, cyan
  new-world, 1/2 of females*	- red, green, blue	- magenta, yellow, cyan
  new-world, 1/2 of males, 1/4 of females*	- green, blue	- green, blue
  new-world, 1/2 of males, 1/4 of females*	- orange, blue	- orange, blue
  nocturnal prosimians	- cyan	- black
  HUMAN EYE MATCHING 4-COLOR	LIGHT PRIMARIES	LIGHT SECONDARIES**
  normal human set 1	- red, leaf, aqua, blue	- magenta, yellow, green, cyan
  normal human set 2	- red, yellow, aqua, blue	- magenta, orange, leaf, cyan

  * The X-chromosome has only one space for a color cone gene, and can take either the red or the green cone gene, but not both. The Y-chromosome can not accept a color vision gene. So males must be dichromats, but females can be either dichromats or trichromats. The dichromatic females receive two copies of the same cone gene.

  ** The pigment primaries are those of normal human vision. These are attempts to make a better color monitor that covers more colors.

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