I am color blind

Left: Ishihara Plate displaying the number 45 (source: http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Color45.jpg)

I am color blind. I have deuteranomaly , which means that I perceive colors utilizing all three cones (red, green, and blue) in my eyes, but I have trouble with sensing colors with my green cones. Others forms of color blindness are classified under monochromacy and dichromacy. Those individuals perceive colors using only one or two cones. Because all three of my cones are functioning, my color blindness is not as severe as those with mono or dichromacy, but I still occasionally run across problems with my form of colorblindness. Because I have trouble with the green cones in my eyes, I am more sensitive to red light, and thus I have trouble distinguishing between some colors, especially red and green. I can easy identify most of the colors I see, but I cannot pass the Ishihara/PseudoIsochromatic Plate test (I missed it by one) that is used by the U.S. military. Individuals who cannot pass the Ishihara/PIP or FALANT (used as an alternate test by the U.S. Navy) are restricted from certain duties, one of which is aviation. In aviation, red and green lights are used to distinguish between the port (left) and starboard (right) sides of an aircraft to help pilots determine the orientation of other aircraft they see in the dark. Red and green lights are used because the longer wavelength and thus lower frequency of red and green light waves are less susceptible to scattering in the atmosphere, and can therefore be seen at the greatest distances. I can actually distinguish between the red and green used in aviation and can still get an unrestricted civilian pilot’s license from the FAA (there are actually a handful of colorblind airline captains!) if I pass the more practical color test in which I am tested with a light gun from the control tower and asked to identify if it is displaying red, green, or yellow, but military is most likely out of the question because of their stricter requirements. But other than that, being colorblind is awesome!

*sigh*