What hue can the human eye dicern the most shades of?
This question is impossible to answer definitively, which is why you find conflicting answers. The answer will depend on how one defines hue, the type of stimuli, and the viewing conditions. If forced to give an answer, I would select purple. I base that on the structure of a color space in which perceptual hue differences are equally spaced around the hue circle. In such a space, the greatest area is devoted to hues that would be called purple. That indicates that we can perceive the most distinct hue differences in what we would call purple. Please note however, that with other definitions of the visual task and viewing conditions it is quite possible to derive and defend other answers. I’m sorry I can’t give a single, definitive answer, but I do hope this helps you understand the difficulties in exploring this topic.
