addendum to below: there is no apparent advantage to synesthesia. it's pretty much just a weird quirk.
i have been waiting since grade school for the world at large to discover that i am mentally off kilter. or a screaming genius. wikipedia finally stepped in to confirm that i was born with a neurological condition called synesthesia. this totally makes up for me not getting to wear glasses until 8th grade.
synesthesia is not life threatening. it means, basically, that two or more of my sensory streams get crossed in my mind. it's different for every "synesthete," but most people fall into certain recognizable groups.
for me, it means i mentally map the days of the year in a specific spacial sequence, on a kind of curvy graph. i can draw the map, which always looks the same in my mind. also i associate every day of the week with a specific color.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY (white)
(oh, also i associate certain people with certain animals. but i don't think that counts. too bad i can't show you my florida driver's license: i look exactly like a brown cocker spaniel.)
so, how many of you out there are synesthetes too? until i talked to a few people who had never heard of this, i assumed everyone was. are you? if so, how does it manifest?
p.s. this post sounds kind of braggy. i mean, it is really special. but don't feel bad if you're not a synesthete. you may still get the chance, apparently through the use of psychedelic drugs, or following a stroke, or during a routine temporal lobe epileptic seizure.
15 comments:
Oh, is that all I have to do to get the chance?!;) I think I'm just boring old me.
I thought I remembered you once saying that your hair made you look like a lion once? I guess that was your disease talking.
Um - I would like to see a disply of your graph. As a visual learner, it would help me understand you better. I would love to see what the Year looks like.
I always thought that your genius stemmed from some amazing genetics. And I think that I just might be right! Do the siblings have the same talent?
i hope you're not contagious!
i actually remember one time you telling me that you associated days with certain colors...now it all makes sense.
Psychooooo...
Sadly, I do not think I am a synesthete. I looked at the numbers in the example test on wiki and my mind automatically starts looking for a pattern or trying to add them up. What does that make me then? Yes, a math nerd.
Really, though, you will have to tell me more about what exactly you do and why. Why is monday red for instance? And, I wonder if that is what makes you so creative? I will test Brian when he gets home and see if he is one as well. Fun!
actually, there's no apparent advantage to having synesthesia. synesthetes seem to have trouble with math and writing. i do have trouble with math, so i guess that proves it.
I thought of you today when I went into Sabine's classroom. The months were all spelled out on different colors.
I don't color code things, but I dream in black and white. I thought everyone did, but when I mentioned it to a couple of people they thought I was weird. Well, maybe I am. Not to mention that when I type I tend to hit the key next to the intended key, or hit the space bar one letter too soon. So what are those called?
So I think I'm only partially synesthete. It's apparently because of the fact that I see the months of the year in a sort of wobbly clockwise arrangement. Terribly uneven wobbly clockwise arrangement too. Sean says he sees the different keys on the piano as colors...middle C is red, according to his sick mind.
I may try the psychedelic drug thing just to compare. I'll let you know how that goes.
i've heard of that before and always wanted to experience it. but i'm just plain see-everything-like-a-boring-person me. what animal am i, sherry carpet? :D
annie, i think if you were an animal you'd be a deer. you're fast, lovely and have big, beautiful eyes.
I grasped the part about being mentally off kilter so I guess I might be one too. However, other than being mentally off kilter, I have no idea how it manifests itself.
curious. what animal do you see me as s.c.? you better make it good.
Me too, what animal am I? And don't say cobra unless you really mean it!
kelly: i have always associated you with a soft, white polar bear but that really has nothing to do with your personality (you're not the solitary type). it's just because of that stuffed animal you had in your room as a kid. remember "whitey"? probably if i picked you an animal you'd be a seal. sociable, fun-loving, always moving. and a good swimmer. and because you have really shiny hair.
sarah: i'd see you as a protective mother bear. warm, playful, and ready to fight for her young. also you eat healthy things like nuts and berries.
I think I must be one of those synesthetes. I always map the months of the year and the days of the week in a specific spatial order in my mind, too, exactly the same way every time. Seems like we've talked about this before, but I didn't know it had a name.
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