Recent research shows that blue-eyed men prefer blue-eyed women. Thus it appears that, at least to some observers, eye colour is important.
But why do humans have different eye colours?
It mostly comes down to the amount and location of melanin (yes, the same substance which controls skin colour) in the human eye. Pale eyes such as blue, grey or green eyes contain little melanin, dark brown eyes more. Which eye colour you get is primarily determined from genetic variation based on the eye colour of your parents.
But does your eye colour influence how you see?
It turns out that it does. The darker the eyes, the more light is absorbed as light waves pass through the eye, and the less light is available to reflect within the eye. Light reflection (scatter) within the eye can cause susceptibility to glare (eg. sun or headlights) and to poor contrast discernment. Thus it seems that people with darker eyes may have better vision in high-glare situations – perhaps this makes them better night drivers, for example.
Eye colour may also affect your colour vision. Here it seems that lighter eyes may provide some advantages.
So it seems to me that blue-eyed people should really go for dark-eyed partners – this way one can pick the paint colours, and the other can drive home at night.
References
Coppens JE, Franssen L, van den Berg TJ (2006) Wavelength dependence of intraocular straylight Exp. Eye Res. 82(4):688-92
Coren S, Porac C (1978) Iris pigmentation and visual-geometric illusions Perception 7(4):473-7.
Dain SJ, Cassimaty VT, Psarakis DT (2004) Differences in FM100-Hue test performance related to iris colour may be due to pupil size as well as presumed amounts of macular pigmentation Clin. Exp. Optom. 87(4-5):322-5.
IJspeert JK, de Waard PW, van den Berg TJ, de Jong PT (1990) The intraocular straylight function in 129 healthy volunteers; dependence on angle, age and pigmentation Vision Res. 30(5):699-707.
12 Comments
January 29, 2008 at 5:40 pm
so does this mean that when driving drunk, people with brown eyes are less likely to get in an accident than people with blue eyes?
May 3, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I have to agree with the glare issue. I wear sunglasses even on cloudy days.
Here’s one for genetics. I am blonded (with a little help now), blue eyed, light complexion, left handed, non tongue rolling child of two dark hair (almost black), dark complexion, brown eyed, right handed, tongue rollers. Can it get any more recessive than that?
May 3, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Is spelling genetic… the word is blond (although saying I am blonded could be correct since a person creates that look with a brush and some sauce.)
June 19, 2008 at 7:20 pm
[...] down-syndrome baby is some kind of evolutionary mutation, you may want to rethink your position. Do brown eyes see better than blue? Quarks, Quirks and Quips Brown eyed people have been shown to have better vision that blue-eyed people. Their dark eyes [...]
June 20, 2008 at 7:18 pm
[...] eyes. And it, as well as blonde/red hair, came about via sexual selection(AKA attractiveness). Do brown eyes see better than blue? Quarks, Quirks and Quips “But does your eye colour influence how you see? It turns out that it does. The darker the eyes, [...]
September 18, 2008 at 5:27 pm
you shouldnt drive drunk dumbass
February 5, 2009 at 9:17 pm
[...] http://eccentricscientist.wordpress.com/2007/03/02/do-brown-eyes-see-better-than-blue/Eye color website [...]
February 11, 2009 at 10:22 pm
….Soo Thiss Means That Brown Eyes Are SOOOO Much Better?
March 28, 2009 at 4:22 pm
i have tested many of eyes in my line of work and usually the people who need glasses have blue eyes but last year 65% of people who need galsses had brown eyes. so i dont think there is a rashional expenation why brown eyes see better in the sun than blue eyes even though i have blue eyes and i can see well in the sun.
May 7, 2009 at 2:09 am
Interesting.
June 22, 2009 at 5:30 am
cindratee – Maybe you aren’t as recessive as you think, maybe you just don’t know who your real father is.
July 10, 2009 at 8:49 am
The word is blond when referring to the colour itself, but mostly spelt blonde when referring to an object, such as hair. Blonde is also the ‘female’ noun. Blond is the adjective.
Also, neighbour – in the English language (for hundreds of years), is spelt with a u, as with all words that end in ‘our’. This is because in pronunciation you accentuate the end of those types of words and elongate the word in speech, i.e.: annunciation of the word neighbour (US incorrect spelling being neighbor) is: naay-bore, not naybor. The same with colour, flavour, favour – you wouldn’t say grandur, you’d say grandeur, it’s just the same.