In the modern world, we are constantly exposed to artificial colors. Color becomes an attribute which is disconnected from the actual object, since objects can be made in whatever color we want.In primitive cultures, you will find that they just don’t talk about color too much. In a way, it’s unnatural to even discuss colors isolated from the rest of the object’s attributes. What makes a cat a cat or a tree a tree, is not related to color. Though the cat has some color, it’s not what defines it.
In nature, we are rarely exposed to pure colors in the way they are manufactured today. For example, there aren’t many natural objects which are blue. Which is why that is one of the last colors which gets its own designated word as a language develops.
Children have more trouble understanding color than they do understanding other words and descriptions of objects (such as shape). In the past, they would only acquire the ability to identify colors fully around the age of 7 or 8. Nowadays, with the onslaught of colored-plastic-essential-for-development toys, children develop this ability much sooner, even as early as 2 years old.
What you see above is a toy xylophone which both my children love playing, which has 3 shades of blue and 2 shades of red. The manufacturers of this toy really couldn’t come up with a more balanced palette of 8 colors?
