Caricatures, Cultural Understanding and Color Blindness

If we want to understand cultures different from our own, we should not resort to caricaturing them.  We shouldn't simply exaggerate the differences - but focus on the similarities and imagine what causes the differences.  Doing this can be difficult - because our culture usually leaves us with blind spots.

Approximately 1/12 men and 1/200 women are color blind.  So our perception of other cultures is affected by genetics and gender.  This fact should be somewhat discouraging to anyone who wants to avoid cross-cultural misunderstandings - people with similar genetics have a tendency to be culturally similar.

The English Philosopher John Locke coined the phrase Tabula rasa which means 'Blank slate' in Latin.  He believed that our mind was formed solely by our perceptions - thus all the ideas we understand and believe in are derived from our experiences.  John Locke's ideas were also important in the development of human rights and religious tolerance - the US Declaration of Independence's memorable phrase "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" was an homage to Locke's writings.

But genetic differences between humans are at odds with the notion that improving human environments are an effective way of enabling the poorest humans to reach the same capacities as the richest.  And color blindness is far from the only psychological trait influenced by genetics.  Does this mean Locke's view of human nature was wrong we need to reconsider all his political ideas in light of modern science?

Humans don't need science to detect genetic differences.  We judge each other based on genetic factors all the time (the clearest examples of this are racism and sexism).  In some cases, these judgments become part of a culture.  The phrase 'gentlemen prefer blondes' was initially a book and then a movie.  The worldwide market for hair coloring is a 29 billion dollar (and increasing) business - and it's no surprise that most of the customers of hair dye are women.

Apparently genetics can explain cultural trends.  But the majority of men have normal color vision - less than 10% are colorblind.  So why don't more of those 91.66% of men with normal color vision dye their hair?  Why is the standard formal clothing for men a black suit when women's dresses come in hundreds of colors?

The answer may be found in Evolutionary Psychology.  If we assume that our female ancestors were gatherers and our male ancestors were hunters - then color blindness could be advantageous.  People who are color blind can detect camouflage more easily.  So a colorblind hunter could be a leader in hunting - or in detecting an enemy tribes' camouflage. 

The interactions between culture and genetics are complex.  It can be tempting to proclaim that scientific findings prove that certain stereotypes are justified.  But resorting to caricaturing culture differences we undermine the complexity of humanity and its history.