Sometimes, little things can be really annoying. Yesterday, our Internet router decided it didn’t want us to connect. I tried all the usual things like powering off and on. I performed all the self tests I could. A chat with the Internet Services Provider came next.
“Can you tell me the colour of the lights?”
Now that’s a real problem. I don’t see red. Well at least, not the way most humans do. Like 8% of the male population (and 0.5% of females), I have a form of red-green colourblindness. Those squinty-little LEDs, be they red or green, look the same to me.
I had a similar problem earlier in the week with the LEDs on a battery charger. The instructions were clear. Flashing green meant charging, solid green: charged. Flashing red was a warning. Solid red meant “Quick, get out before it’s too late!” I might have misremembered that last bit. What I do remember is that knowing whether that small speck of light was red or green was really important.
Way back in the distant past, someone must have decided that green meant go and red meant stop. If only they had chosen blue and red back then, life for most colourblind people would be much easier.
At least with traffic lights, there is a positional difference. Stop on top. Go, bottom. The developers of technical equipment (like chargers and routers) could surely use LEDs that provide more contrast for colour blind people. There is no compulsion on them to stick to red and green.
Until those developers do see the light, I will continue to see red – without actually seeing red.
