Been thinking about telling someone with blue eyes about the concept of "structural coloration" "The color of your eyes is fascinating because it's the result of the scattering of pure white light Your eyes are blue the same way the sky is blue, or the sea" "Aww"
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"That means the color in your eyes can't ever be extracted It's only a result of your eyes being assembled just as they are now" "Okay that's better" "And it's the reason the color can change so dramatically in different lighting, from green to blue to gray" "That's nice"
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"It's because blue eyes are a specific mutation that fails to produce melanin in the outer mebranes of the iris but not the inner If your iris were completely transparent, like in true albinism, it would reveal the blood vessels in the inner eye and be red or pink" "Wait no"
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"This is why blue eyes are very rare in other mammals and associated with specific genetic diseases, like how blue-eyed cats are usually also deaf It's why white people are more prone to age-related macular degeneration and the need for reading glasses" "Oh come on now"
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"Producing blue color through true pigmentation at the molecular level would be a superior solution, it's just that there aren't any convenient bright blue compounds living things can synthesize that wouldn't be toxic in even small amounts" "I'm going home"
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End of conversation
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See also: (most) blue birds, (all) blue butterflies. It's all refraction!
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