# white looks pink after staring at computer screen



## SkyMama (Sep 26, 2012)

Is it just me or do other people experience the same phenomenon?  After I spend a lot of time staring at a computer screen, when I walk away to look at the "real" world, everything white has a pink hue.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I would suspect that what you are looking at on your screen is, for the most part, lacking in reds in relationship to other colors -- you might even have a monitor configured to display a "cool" appearance where everything is shifted a bit toward the blue end of the spectrum. Therefore, you work the non-red receptors in your eyes more than the red, so when you eventually look away to something that is white (and is therefore reflecting all colors), the red receptors are a bit more sensitive (less used), giving things a pink tinge to your perception.

I remember seeing a demonstration of this years ago where you had to stare at one point in an image of an American flag which had all its colors inverted to their "opposite" color. Then after that time you moved your gaze to a blank white sheet of paper, and you saw the flag in the "correct" colors on the blank page.


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## SkyMama (Sep 26, 2012)

That explanation sounds plausible. Thanks!


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## MalloryMoutinho (Aug 24, 2012)

Reminds me of when you're outside on  bright snowy day...when you come inside everything looks kinda purple.


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