<p>When looking at a color wheel with evenly divided colors in RGB/HSV/etc. the difference between them seems to vary a lot. For instance, the difference between Violet and Magenta seems so much more extreme than Rose and Red, etc. I would assume that since the colors are evenly spaced apart, their difference should also be even.</p>
<p>Is there a reason for this that comes from the psychology of color perception? or does the perceived difference between colors have to do with our photoreceptor cells?</p>
<p><img src="https://files.catbox.moe/8vvx6t.png" alt="Color star with 4 examples of varying differences of color" /></p>
<p>Most often, I'm looking at these color wheels on my laptop, which uses the &quot;<a href="https://www.asus.com/us/site/gaming/rog-nebula-display/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ROG Nebula Display</a>&quot;, or my phone, which uses Apple's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retina_display" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Retina Display</a>. I'm viewing these displays in various kinds of lighting, both in the day and at night.
However, the varied color difference seems consistent across many displays (as long as they're color accurate enough), so I assume this is something more fundamental than how screens show color.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-15T09:07:10.467Z
From what book/computer screen and in what lighting are you looking?
Jiminy Cricket.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-15T18:38:25.357Z
I've added that information to my post, but the display type doesn't seem to matter for me. I still see the same differences.
You can spit your own RGB color wheel if you want, I assume you'll see the same thing?
TheRedstoneShark
<perception><vision><color>
Why do evenly spaced colors have varying hue differences?
TheRedstoneShark
# Why do evenly spaced colors have varying hue differences?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-07-15)

When looking at a color wheel with evenly divided colors in RGB/HSV/etc. the difference between them seems to vary a lot. For instance, the difference between Violet and Magenta seems so much more extreme than Rose and Red, etc. I would assume that since the colors are evenly spaced apart, their difference should also be even.

Is there a reason for this that comes from the psychology of color perception? or does the perceived difference between colors have to do with our photoreceptor cells?

![Color star with 4 examples of varying differences of color](https://files.catbox.moe/8vvx6t.png)

Most often, I'm looking at these color wheels on my laptop, which uses the "[ROG Nebula Display](https://www.asus.com/us/site/gaming/rog-nebula-display/)", or my phone, which uses Apple's [Retina Display](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retina_display). I'm viewing these displays in various kinds of lighting, both in the day and at night.
However, the varied color difference seems consistent across many displays (as long as they're color accurate enough), so I assume this is something more fundamental than how screens show color.

**Tags:** perception, vision, color

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: From what book/computer screen and in what lighting are you looking?  
> **username_0**: I've added that information to my post, but the display type doesn't seem to matter for me. I still see the same differences. You can spit your own RGB color wheel if you want, I assume you'll see the same thing?  

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## 0 answers

