🌈 Color-Correcting Glasses Mechanism & Limitations Simulator

Cutting a Notch Out of the Visible Spectrum

Dye coatings absorb a thin wavelength band where red and green cone sensitivities overlap.

• ~20nm: Notch width (placeholder spectral range)
• ~570-590nm: Target band (red-green overlap zone)
• Dye-coated: Lens type (absorptive interference filter)
• ~25%: Light loss (total transmitted light reduced)

How the notch filter is chosen

Placeholder: dye formulated to absorb the shared wavelength band cones confuse.

Placeholder: filter targets overlap, not a single missing cone type.

Widening the Gap Between Overlapping Color Signals

Blocking shared wavelengths increases the relative signal difference between two confused hues.

• up to ~45%: Contrast gain (placeholder relative measure)
• Outdoor scenes: Best use case (high-saturation foliage/fruit)
• Low light: Worst use case (reduced light hurts more than helps)
• Perceptual: Effect type (not a physiological change)

Why contrast rises

Placeholder: removing overlap makes remaining signals more separable to the brain.

Placeholder: gain is scene- and lighting-dependent, not constant.

Enhanced Discrimination, Unchanged Retina

The cones themselves still transduce the same limited signal set as before.

• 0: Cone types altered (placeholder — none physically changed)
• Some: Discrimination tasks helped (placeholder subset of color tasks)
• Many: Tasks unaffected (placeholder — fine hue judgments)
• Full: Reversibility (effect vanishes when removed)

What does not change

Placeholder: retina and cone pigments remain exactly as they were before.

Placeholder: filtering light is not the same as adding a cone type.

Two Cones Plus a Filter Is Not Three Working Cones

Normal trichromatic vision draws on three independent spectral channels, not two plus a trick.

• 3: Normal cone channels (placeholder — L, M, S cones)
• 2 (+filter): Deficient channels used (placeholder simplified model)
• Partial: Color space recovered (placeholder subspace only)
• Some: Hue confusions removed (placeholder, not all)

Why the math does not add up

Placeholder: subtracting light cannot recreate a missing independent channel.

Placeholder: glasses reshape input, they do not add a cone dimension.

Setting Honest Expectations for Users and Buyers

Marketing claims of "curing" color blindness overstate what filtering light can do.

• False: Cure claim validity (placeholder — no cure occurs)
• Mixed: User satisfaction reports (placeholder survey summary)
• Aid, not cure: Best framing (placeholder recommended language)
• $50-400: Cost range (placeholder market price range)

Communicating limitations clearly

Placeholder: users should expect situational contrast help, not normal color vision.

Placeholder: informed expectations reduce disappointment and misuse.