People may accuse you of having this if you routinely mis-match your colors but the medical definition of the disease is when the color sensitive cells in your eyes fail to correctly receive or send information to your brain. This makes it difficult for you to correctly "see" certain shades of colors. The condition is much more common among men affecting about 8 percent versus 1 percent of woman. The most common form of color blindness as its known in laymen's terms is red-green color blindness. If you have this condition besides making sure you're clothes match you will need to keep a close eye on those traffic lights. The next most common form of color blindness is blue-yellow. There are very few people who literally see everything in black and white because total color blindness is extremely rare. Color blindness is usually inherited and currently can not be cured. However, your optometrist can help you adapt to the condition and learn to live with it. Early diagnosis and treatment is important because many learning aids are color-coded and the condition can affect a child's progress in school.