The colors, man, the colors!

My brother, Tom, was a fan of stoner humor in the early 70's. I remember the phrase "The colors, man, the colors!" from one of his albums1. Fifty plus years later, it has become more than a funny line. I have aphantasia. When I close my eyes I don't see color. I don't see anything. I cannot mentally envision a "red apple" nor can I "see" my wife's face.

It was a somber mellow. It wasn't the upbeat gaiety of a gin and tonic. But the colors! After several hours, when I closed my eyes I could see a living kaleidoscope of all the colors. I couldn't deliberately bring an image to mind, but I could see color replays of visual media I had recently watched. I was as if there was a dome inside my head in which images were projected and I was outside the dome (but still inside my head) watching the show. I can dream in color, but this was far more vivid.



[1] I suspect it was Cheech and Chong, but ChatGPT4o is of no use in locating the source.
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