Connecting Colorblindness with Philosophy | Eduardo Schibler | TEDxYouth@CHPR
My color blindness gives me a unique perspective that helps me realize that deeply personal experiences define our reality, leading me to embrace a philosophy of accepting constant change. This realization is informed by historical quotes from Heraclitus and Socrates, showing that nothing is fixed and one's unique path invalidates comparison. Ultimately, the goal is to show how refusing to judge based on external opinion or permanence allows for a freer, happier life.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker is colorblind and uses this condition as the springboard to discuss philosophy.
- The speaker's journey involves realizing that living with a visible difference (color blindness) forced a shift in perspective that expanded to general life acceptance.
## Theses & Positions
- Color blindness, an eye condition stemming from cone receptor malfunction, is the speaker's starting point for discussing a philosophy of acceptance.
- The core argument is that one does not need to care about the opinions or comments of others, whether concerning minor details or major life events.
- Life is characterized by constant flow and impermanence, as articulated by Heraclitus: *"everything flows and nothing abides. Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed."*
- True self-knowledge involves recognizing one's own ignorance, echoing Socrates: *"all I know is that I know nothing."*
- Experiencing life's differences (like color blindness) proves that no one shares the exact same experiences, thus validating individual reality over comparison.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Color Blindness:** An eye condition resulting from a malfunction of cone receptors, which causes inaccurate color perception.
- **Cone:** Receptor responsible for detecting specific colors in the eye.
- **Red-green color deficiency:** A specific type of color deficiency mentioned.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **The "What If" Scenario (The Devil's Test):** The hypothetical situation posed that forces reflection on life's choices: if the devil asked if one would change their life to live infinitely again, would they change or stay the same?
- **Flow and Change:** The principle that everything is in a state of flux, preventing anything from remaining fixed over time.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Childhood (around 5 years old):** Initial instances of color perception issues; teachers noted the speaker always got colors wrong (e.g., grass appearing orange).
- **Childhood (around 8 years old):** Friends making fun of the color blindness; an incident where the speaker failed to guess colors from colored pencils.
- **Adulthood:** The shift from caring about the condition to viewing it as a unique, normal aspect of life.
- **Encounter with "Mitch":** The moment that prompted reflection on external opinions and life's meaning.
## Named Entities
- **Heraclitus:** Philosopher quoted for the concept of continuous change.
- **Socrates:** Philosopher quoted for the concept of intellectual humility.
- **Mitch:** Person who posed the critical life reflection question.
## References Cited
- **Heraclitus:** Source for the quote: *"everything flows and nothing abides. Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed."* and the river metaphor (though paraphrased in the transcript).
- **Socrates:** Source for the statement: *"all I know is that I know nothing."*
## Examples & Cases
- **The Grass/Sun:** Instances where the speaker's perceived colors differed from expectation (e.g., grass appearing orange).
- **The Colored Pencils Incident:** When children tested the speaker's ability to identify colors, and the speaker failed.
- **The Presentation Incident:** A colleague's map presentation where the speaker questioned why the presenter mentioned a red part that did not exist, leading to shared laughter.
- **The Devil's Hypothetical:** The thought experiment that spurred reflection on whether one would alter their life over infinite repetitions.
## Numbers & Data
- Age first noticed color issues: **around 5 years old**.
- Age when jokes were made about it: **around 8 years old**.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **The Alternative to Care:** Instead of agonizing over color blindness or social judgment, embracing the uniqueness of the experience allows the speaker to treat the condition as a normal, integrated part of self.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The initial hurdle was the emotional pain associated with difference, described as feeling *"sad"* when children teased the speaker.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The ultimate recommendation is to adopt a philosophy that promotes *not caring too much* about the fleeting, silly things in daily life.
- The speaker hopes the reflection helps the audience achieve a state of low attachment to external opinions.
## Implications & Consequences
- Recognizing that all individuals have different, unrepeatable experiences ("no one has the same experiences as me") leads to liberating the self from the need for external validation or conformity.
- The philosophy derived encourages a continual state of questioning and openness, rather than rigid belief.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"it's just a eye condition which is a function of your cone and which is a receptor for the colors."*
- *"I think I I'm uh mixed up because yeah, I just see all colors wrong and and it all started when I was a kid around 5 years old"*
- *"I need to live with my condition and I can't just see differently."*
- *"if the devil comes to you and say that uh you need to live your life repeated times infinite times again and again would you try to change the way you live to a better life or would you stay the same and live infinite times again"*
- *"everything flows and nothing abides. Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed."*
- *"all I know is that I know nothing"*
- *"not care about too much about the silly things that happens in your lives."*