The Demands of Geometry on Color Vision

Abstract

While studies of human color vision have made enormous strides, an overarching rationale for the circular sense of color relationships generated by two classes of color opponent neurons and three cone types is still lacking. Here we suggest that color circularity, color opponency and trichromacy may have arisen, at least in part, because of the geometrical requirements needed to unambiguously distinguish all possible spectrally different regions on a plane.