Wollaston suffered from a lifelong condition. What was it?
Depression
Colour blindness
Hearing loss
Arthritis
Answer
Wollaston was colour blind, which affected his perception of the colours red and green. He was aware of his condition, and even named two of the six colours he could see after the minerals that he associated them with, alexandrite and sapphirine. Wollaston's colour blindness made it difficult for him to distinguish between some minerals, such as calcite and fluorite, which led to him making some errors in his identifications.
Discovering Wollaston: A Journey through the Life and Achievements of William Hyde Wollaston
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