What color is your red?

One day, I was gazing at a single red rose.
A deep, vivid red.
I found myself captivated by its beauty.
But then, a strange question suddenly occurred to me.
Is this red truly the same red that others see?

The friend next to me is looking at the same rose.
However, is the red he feels really the same as the red I feel?
He might say,
"It's a romantic color."
But someone else
"It looks like blood, it's a bit creepy."
They might think that.
And yet another person might only think, "This rose looks expensive."
Even when looking at the same rose, the feelings that arise are completely different.

In this way, the sensations and ways of feeling that are born only once within a person's heart.
These are called qualia, a somewhat difficult term.
The way we feel color, the way we feel pain, joy, or sadness.
Everything is a special experience unique to that person.

For example, let's consider pain.
When I say I have a stomachache, the other person worries and says, "That's tough."
But in reality, my pain is known only to me.
There is no way to prove that their pain and my pain are exactly the same.
This is because separate sensations are born within each of our bodies and minds.
Even so, we say to each other, "I understand."
Perhaps that is a small human hope, knowing we can never fully understand each other, yet trying to draw closer anyway.

Then, you might have this question.

"If everyone feels things differently, why can we stop properly at a red light?"
It certainly seems like traffic rules are followed because everyone sees the same red.
But, in fact, that is not the case.
Let the red I see be X.
Let the red you see be Y.
Even if X and Y are different, we can live without any problems.
This is because I have learned to stop when it becomes X, and you have learned to stop when it becomes Y.
It is not necessarily the case that there is an absolute thing called red in the world.

Here, there is another interesting story.
It is a question that has existed for a long time.
"Do you get goosebumps because you are scared, or are you scared because you get goosebumps?"
Many people have thought this way:
A scary event happens, the brain perceives it, and the body reacts.
In other words, the order is fear → goosebumps.

However, among modern ways of thinking, there is also the opposite view.
First, the body reacts.
The heart beats faster, goosebumps appear, and the body trembles.
The brain perceives those changes and realizes, "Oh, I'm scared."
In other words, the order is goosebumps → fear.
It might feel a bit strange.
But think of small creatures like mice or fish.
Before they can think about complex things, they flee in an instant when danger approaches.
If the body did not react first, they would not be able to protect their lives.
Thinking about it that way, perhaps emotion is not something born only in the head.

Then, where is the heart located?
Many people would answer that it is in the brain.
But is it really just that?
Seeing with eyes, hearing with ears, feeling with skin, and the heart pounding.
The trembling of hands, the pain in the chest, and the warmth of the body.
All of these overlap to create our way of feeling, that is, qualia.
Perhaps the heart is not something that belongs only to the brain, but something born from the entire body.

My body is different from your body.
My experiences are also different from your experiences.
Therefore, naturally, the world I feel and the world you feel are also different.
Between them, there is an invisible but certain gap.
Like a small, deep trench that can never be fully crossed.

Even so, we exchange words and try to convey our thoughts.
"I understand."
"It's okay."
By saying these things to each other, we try to bridge that gap, even if just a little.
We may never reach each other completely.
Still, we try to draw closer.
That endeavor itself might be the reason why humans live as humans.

And so, I gaze at the red rose again.
This red is my own red.
Perhaps the red you are seeing is a color I cannot even imagine.
Then, what color is the world you are seeing?

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