Argumentum Ad Logicum.
I looked it up, it refers to the idea that if an argument is wrong, then the conclusion supported by the argument must also be wrong.
This came to my attention this morning when I read a story about an artist who uses only Black and White materials and then concludes that since color does not show up in his drawings that fire engines and apples are not really Red.
I’ll tell you why this interests me.
This weekend, I went for a walk in the woods. As I write this, it is the week before Halloween. The trees are still filled with leaves. Brightly colored leaves. Some are Red, some Orange, some Gold, some Yellow. Even a variety of earth tones, Browns and Umbers and yes, various shades of Green too!
What must it be like to see these only in Black and White?
Yes, that’s a Maple, and it’s a dazzling Canola Yellow. Yes, that’s an Oak and the Reddish Brown leaves of this majestic tree are a color I don’t even have a name for. Yes, that’s a Ginkgo, and it’s New Life Green and Bright Yellow leaves will soon all be Yellow and then drop in a single day, like the forest’s version of a finale to the fourth of July fireworks. To sit on the deck under a cascade of these Yellow leaves on a breezy day. Leaves that are still succulent and full, only changed from Green to Yellow and now falling, almost like a quiet snowfall. You know, the kind of snowfall with marshmellow sized flakes that glide silently down. Perhaps it’s the kind of snowfall outside right now, as you read this column sometime in December.
Perspective.
Perspective is my very favorite topic, and so that is how I came to start Perspective-Power.com and that is why I write today.
Getting back to the color palette. Some time ago, I learned that as humans, we see the colors that we see because human eyes have three types of “cone cells” which tell us that this leaf is Red, or that a leaf is Yellow, or that other one is Green, for example.
Now, dogs I am told, do not have three types of cones. They have only two. So, a dog sees only in shades of Green and Blue. (I don’t know how this is known, but I’ve heard that if you tell a man that there are 100 billion stars in the galaxy he’ll believe you, but if you tell him the paint is wet, he’ll want to touch the wall.)
So, if I had only two types of cones and could see like a dog, I might recognize the fire engine or the apple as something we both call Red, even though I would not be seeing it as you are seeing it. To me, it would be a shade of something you call Green or Blue. Every color that I can see would be a shade of something you would call Green or Blue.
OK then, here’s where Perspective-Power comes in.
A butterfly has eyes with five kinds of cones. So a butterfly can see colors which we cannot even imagine. If you could see like a butterfly sees, you might see the fire engine as something we both call Red, but you migh also see it as a completely different color than the apple, or Santa’s suit, or the Coke logo.
I suppose if there is something I want to communicate here, a main idea, it is this: We each have experiences in our lives, and in particular in our Spiritual lives that we have no way of expressing, no words which can adequately communicate the experience. Even so, there is a quiet confidence in knowing. A confidence which is beyond believing, and which is better than believing.
I’ll be writing about Perspective and Perspective-Power.com in future issues. I’ll write for you about words, and what they mean. I’ll write about time, and I’ll write about humor, and with humor. I hope you’ll enjoy it. It’ll be fun.
That’s just the way I see it. From my Perspective.
Until next time, Be Well!!
Brian
Frank Agin Frank Agin is the founder and president of AmSpirit Business Connection, an organization that empowers entrepreneurs, sales representatives and professionals to become more successful through networking. In addition, […]
