Synesthesia is a condition in which the perception of senses are all jumbled up. Someone with this ability perceive one stimulus with more than one sense. They may be able to smell certain numbers or see different colors and shapes associated with a person. This may seem weird or hard to imagine, but to me, it sounds really cool! Just to check if you have this amazing superpower, take a look at this picture. Can you figure out what shape the 2's are in?
It actually took me a while! So I guess I'm not a synesthete, unfortunately. However, if you were able to figure it out quickly, that doesn't mean you're one. It all depends on how you figured it out. Certain synesthetes can see numbers as certain colors so they would have been able to pick out the triangle of twos fairly quickly. It might have looked something like this.
There are many different types of synesthesia though. Some people can feel certain sounds on their body, some people taste things as colors, while others can see smells as funky shapes! There are a million different ways this condition manifests itself, but it all has to do with "joined perception" of different senses.
Its origins are very mysterious. One theory is that the brains of these synesthetes have crossed wiring. When babies are born, their brains contain way more connections that are really needed and after time, they are disposed off, but maybe some of these connections, specifically the ones between different sensory processing areas, remain connected through life. This could cause the mixed signals between different senses.
Although it's not really understood, I think this is really cool condition. The people who have it are sometimes bullied or made fun of as children so they learn to hide it. I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of! In fact, sometimes it can be an advantage! People with this condition are usually better at learning complex theories because they have the added assistance of other senses to help them understand.
If you think you might have this condition, click on this link to try and determine if you have it! It should adjust itself to see which specific type you have since theres many different forms of it!
I know this topic was really interesting when I started to read it from the textbook. What I didn’t know was that there are actually different kinds of synesthesia. It is amazing how the people are able to perceive and distinguish things differently compared to people that do not have this condition. I wonder what is the reason that they have are able to have this ability. Since there are a lot of theories about synesthesia I guess we will have to wait a couple of years until there is enough reliable information.
ReplyDeleteI have the tendency of say things like, "It tastes like grass smells" when asked to describe something. I have other examples, but nothing that comes to mind right away. I took the quizlet you posted in your blog and it says I MAY have some symptoms of synesthesia. I am rather quick at those "find the 2's in the 5's" like in the chart you provided, but I'm don't see colors or anything like that. Honestly, I had no idea it was even a thing until i read this weeks chapter. I think it's interesting how there isn't just a specific type of symptom or variable for this disorder. It's as different as each individual is...it's like it's tailored per person, and I think that's really cool.
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