MISSING SHADE OF BLUE Hume says the following:

MISSING SHADE OF BLUE

Hume says the following:

"Suppose, therefore, a person to have enjoyed his sight for thirty years, and to have become perfectly acquainted with colours of all kinds, except one particular shade of blue, for instance, which it never has been his fortune to meet with. Let all the different shades of that colour, except that single one, be placed before him, descending gradually from the deepest to the lightest; it is plain, that he will perceive a blank, where that shade is wanting, and will be sensible, that there is a greater distance in that place between the contiguous colours than in any other. Now I ask, whether it be possible for him, from his own imagination, to supply this deficiency, and raise up to himself the idea of that particular shade, though it had never been conveyed to him by his senses? I believe there are few but will be of opinion that he can: And this may serve as a proof, that the simple ideas are not always, in every instance, derived from the correspondent impressions; though this instance is so singular, that is scarcely worth our observing, and does not merit, that for it alone we should alter our general maxim."

Questions:

1. What exactly is Hume saying in the passage above?

2. Do you believe this concern is a problem for Hume and the Empiricist position in general?