The "Strawberry-Green" Struggle (Protanopia)

The Daily Struggle: Is it Ripe or Rotten?

For those with Protan colorblindness (red-blindness), the long-wavelength cones are missing or defunct. In the closet, this turns dressing into a guessing game. "Power ties" that are supposed to be bold red look like a muddy brown. Picking out a pair of olive chinos? To a Protan, they might look identical to a pair of deep crimson slacks. The world is shifted toward blues and yellows, leaving reds and oranges looking dark and dull.

The Genetics: The X-Linked Legacy Protanopia is an X-linked recessive condition.

• Why men get it more: Men have one X chromosome (XY). If that one X carries the mutation, they have the condition.

• The Mother's Role: It is typically passed from a carrier mother (who has the gene but normal vision) to her son. A father cannot pass Protanopia to his son, but he will make all his daughters "carriers."

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