värvikontinentsuse

Värvikontinentsus, also known as color constancy, is a phenomenon of human color perception that makes a colored object appear to be the same color under a wide variety of lighting conditions. This means that we perceive the color of an object to be relatively stable despite changes in the light source's spectral distribution. For example, a red apple will look red whether it is viewed under sunlight, fluorescent light, or incandescent light, even though the light reaching our eyes from the apple will have a different spectral composition in each case.

The mechanism behind color constancy is thought to involve the brain's interpretation of the light signals received by the eyes. It's not a simple reflection of light waves but rather a complex process of comparing and adjusting. The brain takes into account the overall illumination of the scene and the relative reflectance of different surfaces to discount the effect of the illuminant. This allows us to recognize objects by their color consistently across different environments.

Several theories attempt to explain color constancy. One prominent idea is the retinex theory, which suggests that the visual system calculates the reflectance of surfaces by comparing the light reflected from a surface with the overall illumination. Other theories focus on the role of memory and prior knowledge about the typical colors of objects. Ultimately, color constancy is a crucial aspect of our visual system that enables us to navigate and understand the world around us by providing a stable perception of object colors. It is an example of how our perception is not a direct recording of sensory input but rather an active construction.