I don't know if this is true or not, but I think I read ages ago that you have to handle an encounter with a black bear completely different than a brown (I think for one you stand tall, open your jacket, growl and try to intimidate the bear, and for the other that is a challenge to come fork you up)
But i think the problem is Black bears run in color from black to brown and Brown bears run from brown to black
So, unless you can quickly tell which you're dealing with you have a 50-50 chance of choosing the exact wrong thing to do