What a STUPID idea...

[unixronin]

An alphabet represented solely by colors.

Lee Freedman has waited a long time, but he thinks the moment is finally right to spring on the world the color alphabet he invented as a 19-year-old at Mardi Gras in 1972.

[...]

Freedman's hope is that after not too much exposure to Kromofons, either in a Kmail message, or in some other form, you would begin to be able to read the alphabet the way you would with normal letters. And once that happens, he predicts, a whole new world of communications can open up, as words can be embedded in images just about anywhere.

Invented at Mardi Gras, hmm?  With what, exactly, in his bloodstream?  Let's think of just a few of the flaws with this, um, ill-considered idea:

1. Unreadable if you're color-blind.
2. The apparent meaning of text can depend on the color of the light you're reading it in.
3. Can't be printed or represented on any grayscale or monochromatic display device or medium.
4. Can't be written with a pen or pencil ... you need a box of crayons, and it better have the right 26 crayons.
5. Can't be read under monochromatic light sources like, say, low-pressure sodium street lighting.  (Yes, I know they technically have two lines, very close together in the yellow.)
6. Can't be made into a stencil.
7. Corporate executive to head of legal department:  "What do you mean, 'our company logo now contains an obscene word'?"  (What does "eBay" say in kromofons, anyway?)
8. Be careful what you wear.  That shirt with that belt and those pants could end up reading 'puta' to your Hispanic boss.

This is one of those ideas to properly reward which we should bring back the stocks and the pillory.  What was he thinking?  My money's on something like "Ohhhh, wooooow, COOOL, duuuude, look at all the pretty glowy LIIIIGHTS, maaan!"

Comments

[glitch25.livejournal.com]

ehh... I think the impracticality is obvious.. But it shows some interesting thinking outside the box... and besides. conceptually, maybe it could be utilizied in a non-analog way.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

An alphabet made of colors is barely even thinking with your head up against the side of the box in comparison to this esoteric programming langiage, Piet (http://dangermouse.net/esoteric/piet.html), in which programs (http://dangermouse.net/esoteric/piet/samples.html) look like Piet Mondrian paintings (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/mondrian/).

[motomuffin.livejournal.com]

It's a cute idea, but as you point out, it isn't even slightly practical. I like the idea of embedding messages in art, but the colors aren't distinct enough, I think, even for a non-colorblind person to be able to read without a comparison chart.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Never work, too many color blind.
Not to mention, what happens if your monitor is wonky. Mine registers dark. I couldn't see the color difference in some of the few letters represented in the picture, let alone the whole rainbow.
And what about umluts, accents and the like. More Colors we can barely distinquish?
Very pretty idea. But not practical.

[nephthys510.livejournal.com]

color alphabet he invented as a 19-year-old at Mardi Gras in 1972


DUH.

blotter, much?

[yndy.livejournal.com]

Honestly.

Yeah... and next, he'd like to introduce his 2-dimensional Braille email...

Some people are just more stupid than others.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

actually, i think it's brilliant.

colorblind? too bad. plenty of dyslexic and blind people out there who can't deal with normal words. i can't read chinese or japanese characters well. i could learn sure...

might even be fun for underground memes...

but not terribly practical. like esperanto or TCL

#

[ilcylic.livejournal.com]

He applied for a patent.

Patent office response: "Dear Sir. We regret to inform you that we cannot grant you a patent for your claimed invention, as stupid is prior art."

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

*falls off chair laughing* :)

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

I can see this leading to a tremendous upswing in panicky soccer-moms who're afraid that their toddler is suicidal, and scribbling death threats on all the walls.