Information Theory Shows Why We Have Only Three Lightness Terms – Baddeley & Attewell (2009)
Quantifies the amount of uncertainty in the distribution of lightness across various environments, the perceptual and memory systems for lightness, and the distribution of lightness terms in English language. The entropy is then used to calculate the amount of information required to convey information about lightness. The research finds that in modern interior environments 3 color terms are required while in natural woodland environments only 2 would be required. Uses search results as one method to obtain term frequency. Results are similar to BNC but differ enough to warrant a systematic investigation of relative and absolute frequency estimates from search results.