recognizes clearly that much must be added and many changes be made before the work can attain its final.goal: the production of an authoritative and satisfactory text on, colorimetrics. The present draft may serve not only as a presentation of the possessions, but also of the needs of the science, and. hecome a, stimulus—as well as an aid—to new contributions.
II. NOMENCLATURE
The discussion of the general terminology of colorimetrics may be divided into three sections dealing respectively with (1) psychological terms, (2) stimulus terms, and (3) psychophysical terms. In the present part of the report we shall consider only general conceptions, the detailed terminology and symbolism involved in special methods of color designation being presented—if at all—in connection with the discussion of the several methods.
1. Psychological Terms
- ↑ The definition of the term color which is advocated in the present report is the result of very careful consideration and protracted debate between various members of the Committee. It is unfortunate that in common speech the word color is employed, in different contexts, with at least two different meanings which are mutually inconsistent. The most common usage of the word makes it denote visual qualities which possess hue or have a finite degree of saturation, thus excluding all members of the gray series, including black and white. The second common usage of the word color is in harmony with the one recommended in the present report and causes it to embrace all visual qualities within its meaning. This second usage is most frequently found in the interrogative mood. For example, if we ask, “What is the color of a house?” it is as legitimate an answer to say “white” or “gray” as to say “red” or “green.” On the other hand, the statement “the woman wore a colored dress” evidently excludes grays from the intended meaning. Such terms as color-photography, color-blindness, etc., have a similarly restricted meaning. It is scarcely admissible in a scientific terminology to employ one term in two distinct and closely allied senses, since this will inevitably lead to confusion. Consequently, it is necessary to reject one of the common-speech meanings of the word color. A careful study of the situation shows, however, that the rejection of either meaning must result, in the beginning, in certain perplexities. If we employ color in the broader sense we not only sacrifice a well recognized distinctive term for the hue-saturation aspects of visual experience but we also seem to discard a large number of terms derived from the Greek root chroma which have been used in the same sense. On the other hand, if we define color in the restricted sense to exclude the gray series we find it necessary to exclude all considerations of brilliance from the field of colorimetry.
- ↑ The word sensation is used here to stand for an elementary form of experience or consciousness normally depending upon the operation of a sense organ. Although the existence of any sensation rests upon the operation of the nervous system, this should not lead us to localize it in that system. Although color is not a physical entity, it obviously exists outside of us on the surfaces of objects as we see them, such visual objects or perceptions being themselves nothing but arrangements of color areas in space. This statement, however, should not be misinterpreted to mean that the colors are physical or are located on physical objects. There is no reason for supposing that visual objects are identical or coincident with the objects of physical science.
