Comment I sympathize - and offer suggestions (Score 1) 311
I am able to see a little bit into the UV spectrum, and I'm able to hear exceptionally high pitched sounds. I find it annoying, because the stuff most people don't notice, they don't bother to fix, so whenever I see a truck on the highway with a UV (blacklight) illuminator on it for decoration, it gives me a headache. God forbid anyone should watch a CRT tv or computer monitor. I definitely hear solidstate computer components making noise even though they have no moving parts. Usually it's a sign of imminent failure, and I use this to help diagnose flaky or failing computers sometimes.
What use is there for it? Not much. But you can see if people have washed their clothes recently, because the laundry detergent residue makes them glow a little bit. And I suppose if you spray some place with luminol you should be able to see blood, without carrying a blacklight. No big deal, because if you're carrying luminol, you're probably carrying a blacklight. So like I said, there's not much use...
Some LED displays emit into the UV spectrum. These hurt my eyes, and I have to look away. I suppose that's useful - less likely to develop cataracts at a later age, I suppose. Same goes for blue LED christmas lights.
But finally - My vision in the infrared is dimished a little bit. You (the writer) might want to see if your Red vision extends as far down as other peoples' red vision. I first noticed this deficiency in myself, when I was around 17, a bunch of us went bowling, and the score was kept on a TV screen. Numbers were written in white, spares written in blue, and strikes written in red. I asked someone why there was nothing showing in any of the frames where we had strikes, and she acted a little weird, joked it off. But later I asked again, and she realized I was serious. "You mean you can't see that?" It was just a deep deep color of red. Just barely outside my visible range, but still within everyone else's visible range.
On rare occasions, I discover I can't see red. But usually I can. I guess my frequency response is just slightly skewed from "normal." Biased away from the infrared, and toward the UV. It could be caused by pigmentation, or lack thereof. I am exceptionally white. I am not albino, but throughout my life, I have frequently been mistaken for one. I am the whitest (and pinkest) non-albino you've ever seen in your life.
What use is there for it? Not much. But you can see if people have washed their clothes recently, because the laundry detergent residue makes them glow a little bit. And I suppose if you spray some place with luminol you should be able to see blood, without carrying a blacklight. No big deal, because if you're carrying luminol, you're probably carrying a blacklight. So like I said, there's not much use...
Some LED displays emit into the UV spectrum. These hurt my eyes, and I have to look away. I suppose that's useful - less likely to develop cataracts at a later age, I suppose. Same goes for blue LED christmas lights.
But finally - My vision in the infrared is dimished a little bit. You (the writer) might want to see if your Red vision extends as far down as other peoples' red vision. I first noticed this deficiency in myself, when I was around 17, a bunch of us went bowling, and the score was kept on a TV screen. Numbers were written in white, spares written in blue, and strikes written in red. I asked someone why there was nothing showing in any of the frames where we had strikes, and she acted a little weird, joked it off. But later I asked again, and she realized I was serious. "You mean you can't see that?" It was just a deep deep color of red. Just barely outside my visible range, but still within everyone else's visible range.
On rare occasions, I discover I can't see red. But usually I can. I guess my frequency response is just slightly skewed from "normal." Biased away from the infrared, and toward the UV. It could be caused by pigmentation, or lack thereof. I am exceptionally white. I am not albino, but throughout my life, I have frequently been mistaken for one. I am the whitest (and pinkest) non-albino you've ever seen in your life.
