So we see the world in colour, and i think 256+ shades of it, however, say if people lived in a subteranium world like a mile down and could only or at least can see in the visible spectrum of "heat" would to their perspective seeing shades of heat be just as good as seeing the reflection of light?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
It's kind of impossible to say.
But heat radiates very differently from light, and different things would be visible. The printed word, for example, would be pretty much impossible to notice; on the other hand, you'd be able to tell if someone were irritated almost immediately, without -- thankfully, since you couldn't -- having to see their expression.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Just as good for what? For viewing a famous classical painting or for actually functioning and surviving?
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
for surviving though since its also about perception what they would consider art would be radically different from what we consider it.
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
I think it's more realistic to think that subteranean dwellers would learn to survive without sight. I personally don't know of any animals that have any type of heat vision (if anyone knows any, please let me know).
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
There are snakes that can sense heat.
EDIT : That was badly phrased. I meant, 'have organs that respond to electromagnetic radiation below human-visible light."
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Some animals can see light that is outside our range of light, which could theoretically exist in a subterreanean dwelling. There's lichen that give off light, but I don't think it's all in our range.
But I think more likely you have to look to animals that already live in no, or low, light environments. Bats use echolocation. I think something like that is most likely.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
Heat is radiation, just like visible light. In theory, you could come up with creatures who see a different spectrum than we do. They could sense various intensity of heat, but they could also sense "colors" in effect, by seeing the different wavelengths that reflect from different surfaces.
I would recommend learning more about how human vision works, and how we perceive colors, and using that as a model.