Find the different shade
In each round, click as fast as you can on the square whose color differs from the others.
The experiment starts as soon as the page has loaded (JavaScript is required).
Try the experiment: your result will appear here, next to what most people do.
What just happened (read it after the experiment)
What most people do: For most people, some rounds take a second, others five or more.
Some differences jump out at you, others take effort. Speed depends partly on words: we tell two shades apart faster when our language gives them two names.
In 2007, Jonathan Winawer and his colleagues showed that Russian speakers, who have two words for light blue and dark blue, tell those shades apart faster than English speakers. The Himba of Namibia, whose language divides up colors differently, inspired other famous experiments, which are still debated.
Your eyes see the shades; your words help you tell them apart.
More experiments
Sources
- Jonathan Winawer et al., “Russian blues reveal effects of language on color discrimination,” PNAS, 2007.