# Synesthesia



## Trope (Oct 18, 2008)

wikipedia said:


> Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia, plural synesthesiae or synaesthesiae)—from the Ancient Greek σύν (syn), "together," and αἴσθησις (aisthēsis), "sensation" — is a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report such experiences are known as synesthetes.
> 
> Synesthesia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia





> *Various forms*
> 
> Synesthesia can occur between nearly any two senses or perceptual modes. Given the large number of forms of synesthesia, researchers have adopted a convention of indicating the type of synesthesia by using the following notation x → y, where x is the "inducer" or trigger experience, and y is the "concurrent" or additional experience. For example, perceiving letters and numbers (collectively called graphemes) as colored would be indicated as grapheme → color synesthesia. Similarly, when synesthetes see colors and movement as a result of hearing musical tones, it would be indicated as tone → (color, movement) synesthesia.
> 
> ...


Do you have it or know someone who does? What are your experiences with it? 

If you have any questions about the condition itself or other's experiences, please add them to the conversation as well. I know I will.

I myself have only slightly expressed synesthesia, and hadn't realized not everyone saw words the way I did until the last year or so. As such, I'm curious about the experiences of others.


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## Zaria (Jan 11, 2009)

Isn't that the phenomena that you have very strong connections between certain words or numbers and for instance colours? I know that there are other possibilities, but this is what comes to mind first. So that if someone shows me the number 8, I get a 'red' feeling? I have that when listening to music, certain music represents a certain colour. I'm listening to the Star Wars soundtrack right now and the music definitely is purple. I don't know why, but it just is. I also used to have it when I was a kid while reading, but I completely lost it over the years. I did a test a couple of months ago and it turned out I was everything but a synesthesist (or however it's called). I only scored on the part where I had to listen to musical instruments. Though I still very firmly believe an 8 is red, I promised myself back then to stick to that. :wink:


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## Surreal Breakfast (Oct 24, 2008)

Zaria said:


> Isn't that the phenomena that you have very strong connections between certain words or numbers and for instance colours? I know that there are other possibilities, but this is what comes to mind first. So that if someone shows me the number 8, I get a 'red' feeling? I have that when listening to music, certain music represents a certain colour. I'm listening to the Star Wars soundtrack right now and the music definitely is purple. I don't know why, but it just is. I also used to have it when I was a kid while reading, but I completely lost it over the years. I did a test a couple of months ago and it turned out I was everything but a synesthesist (or however it's called). I only scored on the part where I had to listen to musical instruments. Though I still very firmly believe an 8 is red, I promised myself back then to stick to that. :wink:


I see music as colours too, mostly blue, See Me Feel Me by The Who screams out blue at me and most heavy Led Zep songs seem red to me


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## Trope (Oct 18, 2008)

Zaria said:


> Isn't that the phenomena that you have very strong connections between certain words or numbers and for instance colours?


Yes, exactly. Sorry it took so long to edit in the larger quote.



> I know that there are other possibilities, but this is what comes to mind first. So that if someone shows me the number 8, I get a 'red' feeling? I have that when listening to music, certain music represents a certain colour. I'm listening to the Star Wars soundtrack right now and the music definitely is purple. I don't know why, but it just is. I also used to have it when I was a kid while reading, but I completely lost it over the years. I did a test a couple of months ago and it turned out I was everything but a synesthesist (or however it's called). I only scored on the part where I had to listen to musical instruments. Though I still very firmly believe an 8 is red, I promised myself back then to stick to that. :wink:


Interesting. Do you have any more examples of what color certain songs might be?

For instance: 






edit: Same question for you, Surreal. I'd like to compare for curiosity's sake.


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## Zaria (Jan 11, 2009)

Trope said:


> Interesting. Do you have any more examples of what color certain songs might be?
> edit: Same question for you surreal. I'd like to compare for curiosity's sake.


I think it's some kind of greenish shade, going to the grey side a little. But doesn't the colour vary from person to person? I think in the test I did I had to say about 50 times how I scored a certain number or words and it seems that if synethesist do these kind of tests, they always score the same colour. You had to pick it from some kind of rainbowlike field, that consisted of all gradients of colours, so it was actually quite accurate. And it took long, my God. I spent at least a whole hour doing it.

But back to your question: there's a problem with clips, they trouble my judgment, because I see images... I need to close my eyes then. I experience these colours the strongest while listerning to classical or purely orchestral music. There have been composers (like Messiaen for instance) who were synethesists themselves and who painted music in colours, like painters painted their paintings. According to their own experiences of course, because... well... you still need to write it down before an orchestra is able to play it. :tongue:
It's really weird, actually.


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## Trope (Oct 18, 2008)

Zaria said:


> I think it's some kind of greenish shade, going to the grey side a little. But doesn't the colour vary from person to person?


Yes. I was just curious to compare your responses since you both said you have a similar variants. 



> I think in the test I did I had to say about 50 times how I scored a certain number or words and it seems that if synethesist do these kind of tests, they always score the same colour. You had to pick it from some kind of rainbowlike field, that consisted of all gradients of colours, so it was actually quite accurate. And it took long, my God. I spent at least a whole hour doing it.


Now you've got me wondering how they test for other forms. Where's Neph when you need him? I know he knows a lot about this condition in particular. *cough*



> But back to your question: there's a problem with clips, they trouble my judgment, because I see images... I need to close my eyes then. I experience these colours the strongest while listerning to classical or purely orchestral music. There have been composers (like Messiaen for instance) who were synethesists themselves and who painted music in colours, like painters painted their paintings. According to their own experiences of course, because... well... you still need to write it down before an orchestra is able to play it. :tongue:
> It's really weird, actually.


Sorry. I should have taken that into consideration before posting the video. Perhaps a link to a song on a music site would have been preferable.

Thanks for the tip on Messiaen. He's great.


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## Psilocin (Feb 23, 2009)

Zaria said:


> Isn't that the phenomena that you have very strong connections between certain words or numbers and for instance colours? I know that there are other possibilities, but this is what comes to mind first. So that if someone shows me the number 8, I get a 'red' feeling? I have that when listening to music, certain music represents a certain colour. I'm listening to the Star Wars soundtrack right now and the music definitely is purple. I don't know why, but it just is. I also used to have it when I was a kid while reading, but I completely lost it over the years. I did a test a couple of months ago and it turned out I was everything but a synesthesist (or however it's called). I only scored on the part where I had to listen to musical instruments. Though I still very firmly believe an 8 is red, I promised myself back then to stick to that. :wink:


Actually, that isn't synesthesia. It's just making connections between letters, numbers, colors and feelings. I do the same thing but I can feel the personalities of different numbers and certain words have a "Feel" to them, same with music. I don't link up songs to colors like you though, if anything parts of the songs or specific notes can 'feel' like different colors.

Synesthesia is the condition where your senses become kind of "Crosswired." Like tasting colors, seeing sounds, hearing tastes or hearing colors. Synesthesia is usually visual, as far as I know. It's more than just a linking of ideals- It's actually SEEING the sound, taste or touch. It's actually pretty common with LSD. 
Good example: I read a trip report about a musician that took two hits of strong acid. In the comeup, the musician pressed a key on the keyboard and litterally saw a note float up from the keyboard. A few minutes later, the keyboard became too confusing for him to use. Haha.

But, then again, there are probably varying degrees. It may just be amplified on LSD.
And, yes, I have experienced synesthesia. CEVs turning different shades based on the notes of music or sounds around me. 

Actually, that makes me really wonder. Hallucinations are manifestations of the inner mind to the outer body. Suppose that we all have synesthesia but to smaller extents and different areas. That's why we have musicians or artists or physicists. The 'crosswiring' of full-on synesthesia might not just be a temporary thing but the amplification of those 'crosswirings' is. Ooohhh... This might go off into a wonderful tangent.


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## Zaria (Jan 11, 2009)

Psilocin said:


> Actually, that isn't synesthesia. It's just making connections between letters, numbers, colors and feelings. I do the same thing but I can feel the personalities of different numbers and certain words have a "Feel" to them, same with music. I don't link up songs to colors like you though, if anything parts of the songs or specific notes can 'feel' like different colors.
> 
> Synesthesia is the condition where your senses become kind of "Crosswired." Like tasting colors, seeing sounds, hearing tastes or hearing colors. Synesthesia is usually visual, as far as I know. It's more than just a linking of ideals- It's actually SEEING the sound, taste or touch. It's actually pretty common with LSD.
> Good example: I read a trip report about a musician that took two hits of strong acid. In the comeup, the musician pressed a key on the keyboard and litterally saw a note float up from the keyboard. A few minutes later, the keyboard became too confusing for him to use. Haha.
> ...


Well, if I need to see notes coming up from my keyboard, I'm definitely no synesthesist (I didn't think I was one, though. I just see happy colours while listening to music). I've been making music since I was seven and thank God, nothing weird ever came flying towards me from the instrument. Now that would have been scary. I also never tasted anything particular or so. Not even when I was a kid, and trust me... I was a weird kid.

I wonder what it must be like if one experiences very strong crosswiring, as you call it. Must be tiresome, I imagine. Or maybe you're just so used to it that you have no clue how your life would have been without it.


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## Trope (Oct 18, 2008)

Psilocin said:


> But, then again, there are probably varying degrees. It may just be amplified on LSD.
> 
> Actually, that makes me really wonder. Hallucinations are manifestations of the inner mind to the outer body. Suppose that we all have synesthesia but to smaller extents and different areas. That's why we have musicians or artists or physicists. The 'crosswiring' of full-on synesthesia might not just be a temporary thing but the amplification of those 'crosswirings' is. Ooohhh... This might go off into a wonderful tangent.


A compelling idea. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if you were correct in this assertion. However, it could simply be that I'm projecting my own experiences. I'll have to look around a bit online to see what I can uncover.

In any case, I know that words and language fascinate me in large part because of the way I experience them. To me, they have discernable shapes and textures. I enjoy the way I construct sentences out of words like building blocks by fitting them together to create pleasing forms. While I realize this isn't full-blown (or perhaps even slight) synesthesia, I can say without a doubt that it does have a noteworthy effect on me.


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## Surreal Breakfast (Oct 24, 2008)

Trope said:


> Yes, exactly. Sorry it took so long to edit in the larger quote.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It sounded light silver and pale blue


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## Nightriser (Nov 8, 2008)

Trope said:


> Now you've got me wondering how they test for other forms. Where's Neph when you need him? I know he knows a lot about this condition in particular. *cough*


Here is a test for a particular type, albeit a rare one, hearing-motion:
The Sound of Change

Some other sorts of synesthesia that have been reported:
Neurophilosophy : The sound of dots moving: A new form of synaesthesia
I feel for you Neurophilosophy
Neurophilosophy : Tactile-emotion synaesthesia



Psilocin said:


> It's more than just a linking of ideals- It's actually SEEING the sound, taste or touch.


This is how I know I don't have it. It still fascinates me. 



> Actually, that makes me really wonder. Hallucinations are manifestations of the inner mind to the outer body. *Suppose that we all have synesthesia but to smaller extents and different areas.* That's why we have musicians or artists or physicists. The 'crosswiring' of full-on synesthesia might not just be a temporary thing but the amplification of those 'crosswirings' is. Ooohhh... This might go off into a wonderful tangent.


This is an idea gaining traction in the psych community. Have you read V.S. Ramachandran? He is perhaps the best known proponent of this idea. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (also contains a simple grapheme-color test). 

Subscribe and Save - New Scientist
Cognitive Daily: More evidence that everyone has a little synesthesia
Cognitive Daily: Synesthesia more prevalent than originally thought
What is "IT"? - New Scientist

An attempt to induce synesthesia in non-synesthetes (four test subjects, though):
Hypnosis Lets Regular People See Numbers as Colors | Wired Science from Wired.com


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## Trope (Oct 18, 2008)

> Varieties of grapheme-colour synaesthesia: A new theory of phenomenological and behavioural differences (2006)
> 
> Recent research has suggested that not all grapheme-colour synaesthetes are alike. One suggestion is that they can be divided, phenomenologically, in terms of whether the colours are experienced in external or internal space (projector–associator distinction).





> Health Leader, Color My World (2004)
> 
> Typically, synesthetes don't see their colors floating out in space, although this is a matter of debate, Eagleman says. Most describe it as a strong mental association, something like "it is just self-evidently true that a 3 is blue".
> 
> Other synesthetes describe the color as being "out there" in the world. But the differences, Eagleman suspects, may be a matter of semantics, description, and/or an issue of the vividness of visual imagery. The problem is that trying to explain what it is like to be synesthetic is like trying to explain sight to a blind person. In any case, synesthetes know when they see a letter written in black ink that it is, in fact, written in black ink. They imagine and retain it, however, in color. The same Rainbow Brite effect occurs with words, months and music.


I'm still reading up on all of this since I got distracted for a few hours. There's a great deal of information out there that I have yet to uncover, but apparently, you don't have to project your impressions outward into the world to be considered a synesthete. 

The above are just snippets taken from much longer articles, linked in large part because this is a handy way to keep track of and share them.


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Okay, I'm taking this thread, and changing it! *pulls pants up to chest*

Fellow synesthetes, 

I am summoning you to post a song and tell me what colors you see  I'll go first.





 
I see a lot of red, some orange, some yellow, and just a hint of blue ^.^


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## cue5c (Oct 12, 2011)

When I listen to music or look at certain numbers I "see" different colors, but for me that's more of an association with the mood and atmosphere and what colors we generally associate with said moods. Like dark songs being shades of purple and blue and loud songs being red. I don't think that's necessarily the synesthesia in the way they're talking.

I think I could have a form of it, however. When I listen to music I can actually feel it. Different notes and chords correspond to different parts of my body. It's very weird and I've tried talking to people about it, but only one other person I've met has understood what I was getting at. It's weird haha.


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

cue5c said:


> I think I could have a form of it, however. When I listen to music I can actually feel it. Different notes and chords correspond to different parts of my body. It's very weird and I've tried talking to people about it, but only one other person I've met has understood what I was getting at. It's weird haha.


That's a type of synesthesia  My ex had that, too.


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