The Mantis Shrimp
38+ tiles. Legendary. Possibly better than the actual shrimp.
Curious what yours would be?
Try it yourselfPortrait of a Mantis Shrimp
The mantis shrimp is the internet's favorite color legend: it has around 12 types of color receptors, compared with our three. Here is the twist most people do not know. A 2014 study in Science found that mantis shrimp are actually surprisingly bad at telling similar colors apart; they seem to use their receptors for fast recognition rather than fine discrimination. So at this game, you are probably better than the real thing.
Scoring 38 or more means you found tile after tile at the smallest shade gap on full 8x8 grids, quickly and with very few mistakes. This is the top of the chart. The roast: you have now peaked, and every future paint swatch will be a disappointment.
Strengths
- Exceptional shade sensitivity
- Lightning-fast, accurate scanning
- Unshaken by the hardest boards
- A screen and eyes in great shape
Blind spots
- Nothing in the hardware store is "the right white"
- Friends will not play this game with you anymore
- You will retake it just to prove it was not luck
Where it shows up
Mantis Shrimps are natural color graders, retouchers, painters, quality inspectors and designers. If you got here on a phone, try a big bright monitor and see whether there is anything left to find. If you got here on a laptop at 2% battery, please teach the rest of us.
Other animals on the color chart
Vibes
- legendary
- top of the chart
- shade wizard
- unbeatable
- color-coded life
Twelve receptors and I still lost to a human. Embarrassing.