See in ColorWhat if you had the super power to not only write in color but also see the world in 100 million colors? In this alternate universe, white isn’t white, black isn’t black, and rainbows are more than just red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This isn’t just a fantasy—this is the reality for an incredibly small percentage of females with tetrachromacy.*

Tetrachromats have four cones to process color in comparison to the typical three. This additional cone allows them to perceive colors that most mere mortals cannot. It is like being able to perceive 4 primary colors instead of 3, as Stanford University’s Neuroblog explains. So just imagine the possibilities. Most of us can mix the 3 primary colors in various combinations to see 7-10 million colors, but if you had the ability to mix 4 primary colors the possibilities grow exponentially to 100 million.

So what would life be like with this super power? NYMag’s Science of Us blog interviewed artist Concetta Antico about how being a tetrachromat shapes the way she sees color. Concetta describes her color expression as the ability to “see colors in other colors.” White is not a single color but is made up of a range of different hues like blue and gray. How amazing is that!

What is so interesting about tetrachromacy is that many people who have the genetic mutation still cannot see the full spectrum of colors. Scientists aren’t exactly sure why this happens. Some argue that a predisposed woman will only develop the extra cone to its fullest extent if she is surrounded by colors during infancy and childhood. This is a great reminder of how powerful color can be. It can change your life. Write in color, see in color, dream in color, live in color!

*The research into this phenomenon in humans has yet to determine the exact percentage, but scientists believe that roughly 12% of the female population carries the genetic mutation for tetrachromacy.