We already have mutations, generally in women, for tetrachromaticism, who usually have male relatives with severe or moderate color blindness, in which the X chromosome encodes a different green cone. So they end up seeing red, strange-green, green, and blue, where strange-green is somewhere closer to red than green.
Only a few on record but they tend to have absolutely insane color matching and color perception. One of note worked in the fashion industry and could match fabrics perfectly even in varying lighting (e.g. working under fluorescent but able to match colors that would stay matched in halogen/stage lighting)
I have that already ;) it actually looks like muddy puke green than green. However, green stop lights look more “white” than green.
Some reds look like brown. I hate reds. I’m not sure about the Pantone-like color matching but I definitely see different colors than most people. To the point where my flight license is restricted.
Not sure if you'll see this but you should check color perception with any female relatives, they're much more likely than average to be tetrachromats!
fringe theory just for a bit of fun: since screen use 3 colors diodes, maybe people with tetrachromacy would be less addicted to screens, making them both more grounded in real life and marginally more successful, leading to them having more children?
I have no idea how to test it. But in my heart I know that screens with RG, GB or RB color models would suck enough that any screen addiction would be cured instantly.
> maybe in 100M years we'll get a 4th cone or rod. Probably from nuclear mutation...
There’s a Greg Egan short story (I think it’s ‘Seventh Sight’) where a bunch of formerly blind kids with cybernetic eyes hack the receptors to respond to wavelengths other than the traditional RGB. So perhaps it wont take millions of years.
Only a few on record but they tend to have absolutely insane color matching and color perception. One of note worked in the fashion industry and could match fabrics perfectly even in varying lighting (e.g. working under fluorescent but able to match colors that would stay matched in halogen/stage lighting)