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Synesthesia -- Anybody here have it?

Miss_Kitt

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I'm currently writing a (brief) paper on synesthesia--the phenomenon of having one sensory input produce results characteristic of another sense, such as "seeing" colors with sounds or "tasting" colors--and wondered how many in this group have personal experience with same?

The studies I'm looking at give the occurance rate as anything from 1 in 500,000 to 1 in 200 people. I just wanted to take an unofficial, for-my-interest poll.

I discovered in the 90's that this was a named phenomenon, and that it was (then) considered vary rare. Since sounds have had color associations for me for my entire life--and it seems entirely normal to me--I was delighted to gain this insight. I'd learned not to talk about it, because people didn't understand what I meant, but for example brass instruments are blue or purplish in their tones, and strings are more gold-red spectrum.

There are differing degrees of this, for example, there are synesthetes that literally SEE the printed letter "A" as being red, even when it is not; and others who simply see it 'in their head' as red. I don't literally physically see colors in the air, but if I close my eyes or focus on the mental image, it's consistently there.

Anyway, just curious, Miss Kitt
 
If i bang my head really hard(like, standing up into an open drawer or something) it has a specific smell. I can only describe it as "smells like a headache", smells almost, but not quite, like metal
 
I have it, but its not really a big deal. I associate numbers, letters, times, and dates with colors. For example: 1 is white, 2 is yellow, 3 is red, 4 is green, etc. From what I understand, this is the most common form.
 
Theophage -- That is supposed to be the most common form, yes. If you don't mind my asking: Do you physically see them as colored, or just associate them in your head? Both forms are known to occur.

Interestingly, some people with this form find mathematics or memorization unusually easy, as one synesthete told her sister who was struggling with multiplication tables, "Just focus on the colors!"

Thanks for replying!

ETA: One of the most interesting things (to me) about synesthesia is that it is completely "no big deal" to those that possess it. I remember having a profound realization while talking with an extremely musically talented friend that she had to keep track of things like fugues without being able to look at them. Wow! That is one amazing mental talent! I sure couldn't do it.
 
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Sounds have colors and patterns for me, but it has to be dark for me to notice unless its a very loud sound.
 
I have a former cow-orker who sees numbers as colors. However, he attributes this to heavy LSD usage, which continues to this day. He does not remember the phenomenon prior to drug usage.

CT
 
When I play my steel-string guitar, I can "taste" metal. I get a tingling in my mouth, and I have to wash my hands to get rid of the metal taste. Not quite relevant to your question, but I thought you'd like to know.

It's happened for over 30 years.
 
Miss_Kitt said:
I'm currently writing a (brief) paper on synesthesia--the phenomenon of having one sensory input produce results characteristic of another sense, such as "seeing" colors with sounds or "tasting" colors--and wondered how many in this group have personal experience with same?

The studies I'm looking at give the occurance rate as anything from 1 in 500,000 to 1 in 200 people. I just wanted to take an unofficial, for-my-interest poll.

I discovered in the 90's that this was a named phenomenon, and that it was (then) considered vary rare. Since sounds have had color associations for me for my entire life--and it seems entirely normal to me--I was delighted to gain this insight. I'd learned not to talk about it, because people didn't understand what I meant, but for example brass instruments are blue or purplish in their tones, and strings are more gold-red spectrum.

There are differing degrees of this, for example, there are synesthetes that literally SEE the printed letter "A" as being red, even when it is not; and others who simply see it 'in their head' as red. I don't literally physically see colors in the air, but if I close my eyes or focus on the mental image, it's consistently there.

Anyway, just curious, Miss Kitt
Click to expand...

Did you intentionally write it in blue :)
 
Occasionally. I most certainly do not find mathematics or memorization unusually easy.
 
Miss_Kitt said:
Theophage -- That is supposed to be the most common form, yes. If you don't mind my asking: Do you physically see them as colored, or just associate them in your head? Both forms are known to occur.

Interestingly, some people with this form find mathematics or memorization unusually easy, as one synesthete told her sister who was struggling with multiplication tables, "Just focus on the colors!"

Thanks for replying!
Click to expand...

I associate them in my head rather than seeing the colors physically, but when I picture numbers or letters in my head (like in memorizing) then yes, they are that color.

ETA: One of the most interesting things (to me) about synesthesia is that it is completely "no big deal" to those that possess it. I remember having a profound realization while talking with an extremely musically talented friend that she had to keep track of things like fugues without being able to look at them. Wow! That is one amazing mental talent! I sure couldn't do it.
Click to expand...

I was an adult before I ever heard of anyone else having this phenomena. I figured I was special in some way, and I also thought that those colors were indeed objectively tied to those numbers and letters. When I found out other synesthetes saw/felt different things, it was kind of disappointing.
 
I'm not a synesthete but I'm really good at math.

For example, I can find the following


2 + 34 = 33 + 3
 
Hi

When I was young, I distinctly remember words having aroma. "Cup," smelled old and dusty, "sucker," smelled like an old, wet rubber tire, and "rubber," smelled like fish.

All words had some smell, tho those three were the strongest.

In school, I noticed that I could, "feel," a mathematical function. I was in the dummy-arithmetic class because I couldn't add, subtract, multiply or divide until the math teacher had us do the, "Exercises for Experts," thing at the end of the chapter, "This is Algebra."

I knew all the answers, just looking at the problem, because I could, "feel the shape," of the function.

The teacher was stunned for a second, considering my inability to use the basic tools used to derive the answers, and even made sure I wasn't just using the answers in the back of the book. Then he left the room and arranged for me to be transferred immediately into the algebra class.

I still love the feeling of x = y2, and computer programs feel like a construction of flexible tinker toys.
 
Theo, for some odd reason your color choices make sense to me. 5 is orange *smacks head*, of course!
 
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Smelling other people's feelings like actual smells, and attributing personalities to numbers. Does this qualify?
 
Miss_Kitt said:
Do you physically see them as colored, or just associate them in your head? Both forms are known to occur.
Click to expand...
Just mentally associating things is not synesthesia. True synesthesia is sensory. The latter is rare, but any time I see it mentioned online, I see lots of people chiming in with their own examples of the former as if it were the same thing. The very fact that so many people can give examples of the former demonstrates that it isn't at all unusual. Associating one thing with another in an arbitrarily symbolic way is just a part of how human brains think. Getting signals from one of the body's senses misdirected to where signals from another one belong is not.

I think the more interesting thing demonstrated by online conversations about synesthesia is not about the condition itself, but about psychology: that many people seem to WANT to be included in groups that are interesting in some way, such as having rare but harmless conditions. Another example is that if you look at a thread about eye colors, you'll see lots and lots of people claiming to have highly unusual or even impossible colors such as green, gray, or even "violet" instead of just blue or brown like we all know practically everybody's really are; they just have blue or brown eyes and want to make it sound more exotic. (I've seen this in person too, such as a person whose brown eyes I could clearly see for myself right then and there telling me they were green.) Excellent night vision, ultrasonic hearing, and precognition are other popular ones.
 
Miss_Kitt said:
I'm currently writing a (brief) paper on synesthesia--the phenomenon of having one sensory input produce results characteristic of another sense, such as "seeing" colors with sounds or "tasting" colors--and wondered how many in this group have personal experience with same?
Click to expand...

Three letters...

LSD

'Nuff said.

Rather than provide evidence, I'll rely on at least a few of our forum members to back me up.
 
I have colored language, and I only “see” the color in my own mind. My mom has this form as well. She named me Bethany because she sees it as a beautiful shade of purple – her favorite color. I, unfortunately, see it as bright yellow.

My mom seems to have it much more mildly than I do. She definitely associates colors with letters but is hard pressed to describe her whole alphabet, and only seems to have a few colored numbers. Aside from my Mom, I have yet to meet anyone else with synesthesia.

I also have “conceptual” synesthesia for time – I see the days of the week as an oval that I’m walking on. Monday through Friday make up one half of the oval and Saturday and Sunday consist of the other half. Since today is Tuesday, Monday is behind me, Wednesday is in front of me and Sunday is to my right. Years, decades and centuries also have a shape for me. Of course, all of this is color coded.

When I’m very tired or intoxicated or both I have color associations with touch, I think. It could also just be that I have an active imagination.

My numbers and letters:

1 = white
2 = yellow
3 = red
4 = dark yellow
5 = black
6 = pale blue
7 = bright green
8 = green
9 = dark red
10 = white

A = red
B = yellow
C = pale blue
D = green
E = blue
F = pale blue
G = dark green
H = orange
I = yellow
J = bright green
K = purple/blue
L = blue
M = red
N = light brown
O = yellow
P = orange
Q = metallic silvery/purple
R = black with reddish tints
S = red
T = green
U = cream
V = black
W = pale blue
X = black
Y = white
Z = light purple/blue
 
My mother definitely sees colours when she hears sounds, she may see shapes as well - it's been a while since she talked about it.

I strongly doubt I have synesthesia but letters, numbers, fonts all 'feel' better in certain colours and have personality, but go away as soon as a word is formed.* In fact, most inanimate objects have some form of personality in my head - but I'm sure they're meant to. After all, why would anyone talk about 'brooding gothic architecture' unless getting feelings from inanimate objects was common?

*some reason, I find post #11 of this thread very unsettling to look at.
 
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