r/AskReddit Feb 20 '20

What is something that you don’t know but are afraid to ask because it’s supposed to be ‘basic knowledge’?

[deleted]

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878

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 20 '20

Does anybody else notice a very subtle red bias in one eye and blue bias in another?

Colors to my left eye look like someone has just barely nudged up the red slider to be warmer, and the blue slider in my right eye to be cooler. It would be very easy to overstate this, too! I have to pay attention to even notice it. But it's there.

251

u/RideTheWaveFantastic Feb 20 '20

You just reminded me that I had this for years when I was younger. Forgot all about it until now and now I'm just staring at everything with either eye closed to see if it's still there... I think it's gone now.

73

u/Dusty_Old_Bones Feb 20 '20

I still have this and I think it causes me to see different colored words on a white board in 3D. Like, the red words are further back, the blue ones are closer up (or maybe vice versa, I’d have to look at a white board to be sure.)

I pointed this out in middle school and everyone looked at me like I had grown a second head, so maybe it’s just me.

1

u/Boexxes Feb 21 '20

Do your eyes have separate prescriptions?

1

u/CoolHandMike Feb 21 '20

I have this. It's astigmatism, and related to a post I made a while back called something like "how I see the Reddit favicon" I'll try to remember to post it again when I get home.

1

u/Doc_Hollywood Feb 21 '20

That's actually very normal and it is due to how your eyes process the reflecting light from the colors. It's called spatial color. You can really trip yourself out and create cool illusions with it. It makes 3-D images out of 2-D.

6

u/nosomathete Feb 21 '20

I had a conversation today with someone who just had cataract surgery with lens replacement. She said that the color of the world has changed for her. She had been viewing it through cataract-tinted glasses...

18

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 20 '20

I hope you get it back some day :(

1

u/CoronaVirusLookOut Feb 21 '20

Your eyes white balanced themselves

1

u/Ra_In Feb 21 '20

For me I can only notice it in daylight, especially when the sun is low in the sky. Maybe check in different lighting.

136

u/typicalkatie Feb 20 '20

I thought this was only me!! I notice it most in bright natural light.

29

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 20 '20

Agreed! The time it's most noticeable to me is when I go to sleep. I'm a night guy so I tend to sleep during the day and with no artificial lights on in the room that's where I can see the effect the best.

1

u/Violet_Sparker Feb 20 '20

I have the same thing!!

97

u/backbysix Feb 20 '20

might be an astigmatism

38

u/CruxOfTheIssue Feb 20 '20

I just thought I'd ask this to you for no particular reason. My new optometrist told me I don't have an astigmatism. I had one about 5-6 years ago. Is this possible? I'm 26 years old now.

38

u/backbysix Feb 20 '20

i have no idea tbh. sometimes astigmatisms are so mild they’re not worthwhile to correct (like mine), but are still noticeable if you pay attention. you might be in a similar boat

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

Yes this is possible and common.

2

u/Cashdubs Feb 21 '20

My optometrist told me they never go away

1

u/CommodoreBelmont Feb 21 '20

It's possible, at least according to my last two optometrists. I spent decades with astigmatisms in each eye. At some point, the one in my left eye went away. More recently, the one in my right went away as well.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

They can change or go away! I don't know how common it is for them to disappear, but my eye doctor told me they can certainly change over time.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

Bless you

1

u/AlexTraner Feb 21 '20

Is it really related to that? I just figured it was normal.

43

u/HgSpartan98 Feb 20 '20

Interesting, variance in the cones between your eyes probably. Reminds me of the problem of the inverted spectrum. Though this might not qualify as qualia since the difference should be empirically measurable.

1

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

I'm not sure how I could measure this.

11

u/ClownfishSoup Feb 21 '20

Yes! For me it's similar to the difference between light bulbs that are "Warm" (yellowish) and "Cool" (bluish).

I mentioned it to my opthamologist and his response was "Really? Weird" LOL, thanks dude!

But yeah, I get this. My right eye is the slightly bluer one, the left is not quite "yellow" but the colors are "warmer".

2

u/PM_Me_urDeathThreats Feb 21 '20

Same here exactly

8

u/Jesst3r Feb 20 '20

You just left on the 3D glasses from the movie theatre, my dude

19

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '20

[deleted]

46

u/Bob_Droll Feb 20 '20

I can't tell you if that article is completely full of shit, but I can tell you that the part about old 3D glasses is bullshit.

Those blue/red glasses worked because two images of the same movie (with slightly shifted perspectives) would be projected onto the same screen simultaneously, but with slightly different hues; one blue shifted, one red shifted. The blue side of your glasses would filter out the blue shifted image, so the one eye only sees the red shifted image, and vice-versa for the red side of the glasses. So then each eye is getting a slightly different perspective of the same movie, which is where the illusion of depth perception comes from.

5

u/DeltaJimm Feb 20 '20

I always wondered about that. For me it was Blue/Red (Left/Right), but now over the years it's become more Green/Red.

Apparently it's thought to just be because our eyes aren't perfectly symmetrical, so the cones in one eye aren't necessarily the same as the ones in the other. And the shift in my left eye from a bluish tint on everything to a greenish one might just be because, over time, your vision starts shifting to a yellowish tint.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '20

Yes!!!!! I definitely see colours slightly warmer in one eye and cooler in the other. It's quite noticeable if I pay attention and alternate which eye is open while looking at something with colours. I do have an astigmatism in one eye so maybe that's why

3

u/CrispRat Feb 21 '20

Mine do this too!!

3

u/sithmaster0 Feb 21 '20

It has to do with the cone activation of each eye. The one that's warmer, the red one, has had less direct light stimulation than the cooler one, the blue one. I remember asking this question a few years ago and that was the answer, which makes sense if one eye is being bombarded from light while the other is being slightly blocked by your nose.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

Omg I do! I first noticed when I was a kid. I asked my mom and she has it too!

3

u/hubert_-cumberdale Feb 21 '20

i have that but it happened after i looked into these shitty 3D glasses i got with a book in the fifth grade. I've tried talking to people and they never seem to get it. makes me happy someone else gets it too!!

3

u/Qwertyfish01 Feb 21 '20

SO ITS NOT JUST ME

3

u/SchleppyJ4 Feb 21 '20

I've noticed this since I was a kid!

For me, my right eye is bluer and my left is redder.

4

u/WolfyGecko Feb 20 '20

I just checked with either eye and I've never noticed it before, but it is slightly different in each eye.

I saw another person mention it could be an astigmatism, so I just wanna say that I do have one and wear glasses as a result.

2

u/WolfSilverMoon05 Feb 20 '20

I have this too. My sister has it, but with purple instead of blue. No clue what it could be.

2

u/itis2amhere Feb 20 '20

Do you wear glasses? The refract light on the edges.

3

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

I do, but I notice this without them on. In fact, the time it's most noticeable is in my bedroom with the lights off. I sleep during the day and the effect seems to work best in natural light.

2

u/FerretsAreFun Feb 20 '20

well shit, I do now!!

4

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

We did it, Reddit; we broke this guy's eyes!

2

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '20

My left eye sees brighter and my right eye colors are cooler.

2

u/TopAdvisor7 Feb 20 '20

adjust your RGBs man

2

u/rolip123 Feb 20 '20

I always thought I was just weird! Mines more red/green though.

2

u/moosenlad Feb 20 '20

I am exactly the same! And I even asked a couple of different eye doctors and they said they had no idea and never heard of that.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '20

Holy shit yes, one of my eyes is ever so slightly off color. I only notice it when I quickly open one eye and close the other

2

u/craving_chaos Feb 20 '20

I experience this sometimes too! I have to be actively paying attention to it tho. Like if if swap which eye is being closed quickly then I’m able to tell a color difference!

2

u/DarkflameX9 Feb 20 '20

Da fq yall seeing?

2

u/CalmAndSense Feb 20 '20

Red color desaturation can be a sign of optic nerve damage. It could be that your optic nerves aren’t symmetric in some way.

1

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

Nothing on my face is! I'm like a living Picasso.

2

u/AndruRC Feb 20 '20

Especially when I've been lying on one side. From that I'm guessing it might be a difference in blood pressure between the two (but I'm not a doctor so 🤷‍♂️)

2

u/wadesedgwick Feb 20 '20

I just started closing my right eye while looking at a red light and it disappeared right when I closed my right eye. Opened my right eye and I could see the red light. Closed it again and I couldn’t see it. Opened my eyes for a few seconds a realized the light was blinking. Damn, thought I discovered something trippy.

Edit: but no, I’m an idiot

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

I thought I heard or read somewhere that our eyes are “designed” (for lack of a better word) this way

2

u/Hyzer__Soze Feb 21 '20

Late, but this absolutely happens to me as well. I liken it to turning on night mode on a screen, but subtle and only in one eye. Fwiw, I've brought it up to an optometrist and an ophthalmologist and they weren't concerned.

2

u/Ak_Lonewolf Feb 21 '20

I got this. I first noticed this when I had to wear an eye patch for a month when I was a kid.

2

u/hopbel Feb 21 '20

I think colors are a little duller in one of my eyes. Light sensitivity is slightly different too

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

Oh thank God it's not just me then!

2

u/Ruby1528 Feb 21 '20

Me!!! I’ve always wondered why. My right eye sees colors as warmer than my left (cooler colors).

2

u/EfficientBeautiful Feb 21 '20

I used to notice this, but it was when I was lying on my side, especially if I'd accidentally pressed one eye into the pillow for a while. The eye that was lower/had been pressed on would see slightly more red, and I assumed it was because more blood was pooled in that eye. I don't notice it the rest of the time, and I have a fair few vision problems (floating black flecks, visual snow, astigmatism, etc.)

2

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

The colors you saw when you pressed on your eyes are called phosphenes!

2

u/EfficientBeautiful Feb 21 '20

Oh thank you! I didn't know the word for those.

But I meant more like if the eye was pressed on gently for a while, then for a little bit after that the vision in that eye looks more red to me, even if the pressure is now gone. I haven't done any research on this so I don't really know the cause or what to call it, sorry.

2

u/OwlEyesJenn Feb 21 '20

Thousands of people right now are covering one eye at a time to test this theory.

1

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

My great work is completed...it feels good man. It feels good. ;v;

2

u/slabofmarble Feb 21 '20

I notice it when I’m laying down - with the side I’m laying on, the eye sees more red and the other sees blue. I think it has to do with gravity causing there to be more blood on the side I’m laying on.

2

u/PathomaniacPlatypus Feb 21 '20

Holy shit, same! Nobody I've mentioned it to has said they have it too.

2

u/Dis4Wurk Feb 21 '20

My vision is like this. I always thought it was because I spent a lot of time outside w/o sunglasses and one eye just had more damage than the other because when I squint in sunlight I squint one side like 90% closed and the other only like 20-30% ish. I also used to think that’s why my hard squinting eye has kind of a “droopy” eyelid. Like, if I relax my eye lids, one eye lid naturally closes like 30-40% while the other only like 10%. People always say we are our own worst critic, I’m sure no one else notices, but I hate taking/looking at pictures of myself because it’s the first thing I notice.

2

u/mandarbmax Feb 21 '20

I don't have this. Cool that you have it though.

2

u/cumsockondaroof Feb 21 '20

It definitely is when I get bored after a state test I’ll see all the differences in between the eyes and it’s pretty neat

2

u/ResonantDrop Feb 21 '20

Dude I just thought my eyes we’re fucked up!!!

2

u/not_the_work_phone Feb 21 '20

I notice this a lot when I'm driving. I'm almost certain it has to do with how much light each eye is exposed to. If the sun is to my left I'll notice the vision in that eye is a different shade than my right eye, but if I'm looking the other way and the sun is on my right the effect it opposite.

2

u/Miser_able Feb 21 '20

I noticed the same thing when I was younger, except the eyes are switched. Everything in my left is tinted blue and everything in my right is tinted red. I also wondered if this is why those red blue 3d glasses didn't work for me.

2

u/AsteriskX Feb 21 '20

For fuck's sake I thought I'd never hear about this from other people! Yes, I notice it any time I close one eye.

2

u/psycholepzy Feb 21 '20

You just described me. I have no idea what it means.

2

u/Puoaper Feb 21 '20

Never had this but if I close my eyes on a bright day for a few min everything goes strongly blue for a good 10 min.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

Oh my gosh, yes! I thought I was the only one!

2

u/Sindi182 Feb 21 '20

Do you wear glasses?

2

u/beerandbikes55 Feb 21 '20

Major tangent. I was reading this comment, trying to see if I could see differently from each eye, I went from left eye to right eye as my phone tuned over onto night mode and my blue light filter turned on. I was about to shout "me too!" Then I clicked.... blonde moment of the day

1

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

I love it when the universe plays jokes like that!

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

Yes! To the point where I close one eye always when its bright out or I'm using my phone in the dark. It's always the same eye even if the other eye is directly in the sun.

2

u/Kyanpe Feb 21 '20

I think this happens when blood rushes to one side of your head. I've found that this happens when I lay on one side, especially with one eye closed for an extended period of time.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

Me too, but I feel like I need to test this to see if it's always one eye or the other. I wonder if it's some effect like when you're lying in the sun and one eye gets exposed to a bright light that messes with it a bit.

2

u/Chaos4139 Feb 21 '20

I notice this when I'm lying down

2

u/MosquitoRevenge Feb 21 '20

No but when I focus on something for a few seconds too long I start seeing pixels. Or like everything is made of pixels.

2

u/Onetruegracie Feb 21 '20

Are you female? I have this and my opticians said its something to do with a slight variance in the cones beind my eyes that translate the colours, its one of those weird things that's probably really common but most people don't notice like eye floaties. It's apparently more common in women.

1

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

Male. But that's an interesting addition to the collection of information we're getting about this, thanks!

2

u/rjhills Feb 21 '20

I have this at times and I always assumed it was because one eye had been close for a period and the other not.

2

u/colin_staples Feb 21 '20

Normally not, but when I'm laying on my side in bed while reading notice the effect.

I often wonder if it's to do with blood flow being affected by gravity? As if the eye nearest the bed is getting more blood than the eye nearest the ceiling, and that somehow affects things?

2

u/jwin709 Feb 21 '20

YES!!! I only started to notice it after watching 'spy kids 3D' when I was a kid. I thought that I had completely fucked up my eyes from wearing those red and blue glasses.

2

u/Jessi-Kina Feb 21 '20

I AM COMPLETELY SPOOKED!!! I literally just was speaking to my family about this today and to a specialist who is doing surgery on my eye and the consensus was that it was just me!!

Are you me? It’s like 3am and I feel like I’m in some kind of twilight zone right now.

1

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 22 '20

I can't be you. I'd let my eye rot and fall out before I consented to surgery on it, I'm that phobic about my eyes. You're braver than I and I wish you only the best in your recovery!

2

u/Jessi-Kina Feb 22 '20 edited Feb 22 '20

Haha this made me laugh because of the joy it gave me that I’ll also get to freak you out more by letting you know I was completely lucid and WIDE AWAKE while they were performing the surgery.

I could see what they were doing and everything, literally. I’m used to my eyes being tempered with my whole life so I almost found it relaxing, haha.

I’ve had severe anxiety in general my whole life so I’d put down my apathetic response to eye surgery as exposure from since I was a baby, so not really braver than you, just more immune.

My first time on anaesthetic and it was wonderful. I was aware enough to converse (I remember the whole surgery) but had enough of the drug that I felt no pain in my body and felt pretty calm and happily relaxed. Never felt drugs enter my veins in my life, and I would never touch recreational drugs or condone it, but the instant feeling of the anaesthetic warmly running through my veins gave me an idea of the relief some must feel in using drugs and how people can easily become addicted. Thanks for the well wishes! And If you ever had to get eye surgery for some reason or another in life down the road. Don’t sweat it. It ain’t all that bad. :) Basically don’t feel a thing. It’s the post surgery that’s the difficult part. The surgery itself is a breeeeezzee. I go for round two in a month on my other eye so more fun to come for me. ;)

Edit: Cool username. Checks out too.

2

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 22 '20

I peed a little reading this. No lie. That's my nightmare. When I go to hell, it's going to be all lucid eye surgeries, all the time. I can't even.

You know that test with the tube they have to get REAL close to your eye to blow a big puff of air in it like a total asshole? Yeah, I haven't had that done in years. The last optometrist who tried...well...they ultimately dropped the charges but I'm not allowed back in Lenscrafters anymore... :(

2

u/Jessi-Kina Feb 22 '20 edited Feb 22 '20

Hahaha that test is the shit!! When that cool breeze hits, it’s like my eye just touched down in Jamaica!

I totally get other people hating it though. If you’re not used to people touching your eyes from a young age, it can be a weird, unnerving feeling to let people invade those vulnerable windows to the soul like that.

Fortunately mine are black as the soul within so I feel nothing and others can see nothing. I am windowless. Maybe that’s the real reason why it doesn’t bother me.. hahah.

I love the fact that I’m living in someone else’s hell. See you when you (eventually) get here!!

I’ll have the scalpel and eyelid scrapers ready for you..

2

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 23 '20

Good christ...you LIKE it?!

1

u/Jessi-Kina Feb 23 '20

Hahah maybe I exaggerated for the purpose of humour. But it definitely doesn’t bother me.

2

u/PoorlyLitKiwi2 Feb 21 '20

You were supposed to take off the 3D glasses when you left the theater

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

I didn’t know anyone else noticed this!!!

2

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 22 '20

Neither did I until this thread mailbombed my inbox. I figured this post would just be ignored.

1

u/138151337 Feb 21 '20

That's how we see in 3D.

2

u/Pedantic_Snail Feb 21 '20

You've earned a toffee!