Synaesthesia

:Note: Synaesthesia was the name of a series of events that took place in Rochester, NY in 2003 (see Synaesthesia, events). There is also an industrial music band called Synæsthesia.

Clinical description

Synaesthesia is a real phenomenon: there are indeed people who see colors when they hear or read letters and numbers (the most common form), and people who "taste" and feel sounds, colors, and so forth. There are many people with Synaesthesia. It is estimated that 10% of people are Synaesthetes. But only who is perceiving his Synaesthesia awarely can recognize the inner colors. http://www.synaesthesia.ch Synaesthetes have been studied by neurologist V. S. Ramachandran at the University of California, San Diego, who remarked that "processes similar to synaesthesia might also underlie our general capacity for metaphor and be critical to creativity."http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=0003014B-9D06-1E8F-8EA5809EC5880000http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4375977.stm Ramachandran has said it is "not an accident" that the phenomenon is noted eight times more frequently in writers and artists than in the typical population, and is more common in creative people.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4375977.stm Synaesthesia often runs in families. About one-third of synaesthetes report that another family member experiences similar phenomena.http://www.synaesthesia.uwaterloo.ca/genetics.htm

Related Topics:
V. S. Ramachandran - University of California, San Diego

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Another leading psychologist, currently a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen, is also undergoing ground-breaking research into the topic.

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In synaesthesia's most common form (Grapheme-color synaenesthesia), individual letters of the alphabet, as well as numbers, are "shaded" or "tinged" with a color.http://www.synaesthesia.uwaterloo.ca/ The alphabet color pattern is different for every individual. Many synaesthetes report that they were unaware their abilities were special or unusual until they realized other people didn't have them. Writer (and synaesthete) Patricia Lynne Duffy remembers the experience: "'one day,' I said to my father, 'I realized that to make an 'R' all I had to do was first write a 'P' and then draw a line down from its loop. And I was so surprised that I could turn a yellow letter into an orange letter just by adding a line.'"http://www.bluecatsandchartreusekittens.com/Blue_Cats_and_Chartreuse_Kittens_Ex.html

Related Topics:
Grapheme-color synaenesthesia - Patricia Lynne Duffy

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From another grapheme-color synesthete: "I often associate letters and numbers with colors. Every digit and every letter has a color associated with it in my head. Sometimes, when letters are written boldly on a piece of paper, they will briefly appear to be that color if I'm not focusing on it. Some examples: "S" is red, "H" is orange, "C" is yellow, "J" is yellow-green, "G" is green, "E" is blue, "X" is purple, "I" is pale yellow, "2" is tan, "1" is white. If I write SHCJGEX it registers as a rainbow when I read over it, as does ABCPDEF." (From a slashdot discussion)

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Another account: "I have synesthesia, and as a child I thought it was normal until I realized other people didn't see numbers and letters as colours. I believe synesthesia can link any kind of sensory input to abstract forms like letters and numbers, but in my case (and in most), it's simple colours. This makes it easy for me to remember trivial information like phone numbers, account numbers, historical dates, and pi (3.141592653589 is how far I remember without looking it up). Every string of numbers and letters forms a composite colour based on those of its individual characters. I've studied Japanese for a few years and now find that Japanese syllable characters also have colours for me now. I imagine that with extreme synesthesia, a person might understand abstract notions like numbers and math in a completely different way. I remember once showing my sister two Smarties (they're like M&Ms) and telling her they were '3' and '6' instead of yellow and green. It took me a moment to realize why she didn't understand." (From a slashdot discussion)

Related Topics:
Phone number - Date - Pi - Japanese - Syllable - Math - Smarties - 3 - 6 - Yellow - Green

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Research indicates that, while few grapheme-color synaesthetes perceive the color associations of the alphabet in exactly the same way, the distribution of patterns and colors shows striking trends and similarities.http://web.mit.edu/synesthesia/www/trends.html Although grapheme-color synaesthetes have the highest rate of incidence, there are (according to one researcher) 40 distinct types of synaesthesia,http://www.synesthesia.info/abstracts.html including varieties affecting the sense of taste, smell, music, and touch.http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2000/Jul/hour2_072800.html

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