Fun with Synaesthesia

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I'm a mild synaesthene. Which is rocking cool and much more entertaining than being a dermatograph, though less noticeable all in all.

What it means (if anyone doesn't already know) is that I experience certain things with senses that usually don't have involvement in . For example, words have taste to me. Not taste as in actual physical drool-inducing taste, so not like a hallucination, but instead in a very visceral, fundamental way that it is extremely difficult to describe. I've always liked Russian because it *tastes good* when I speak it. It's especially applicable for me with names, and it is related to the way things are spelled. The smallest change in spelling (and in the way my tongue moves when I pronounce a word) can completely change the taste.

Neil, for example, tastes kind of icky. Unpleasant when I say it. But Niall (which sounds pretty much indistinguishable) actually is pretty tasty. The word "orientate" is so unpleasant for me to say that I refuse to acknowledge it as an actual word. "Corollary" is tolerable only when pronounced "core-all-ary"... people who pronounce it "coral-airy" in my hearing are taking their lives in their hands.

Other neat things are - people / personalities in my brain have distinct weights and densities that have nothing at all to do with their physical attributes. People also have distinct colours if I take the time to think about it. Strangely, their colours do not match their weights. Like - I know at least one yellow who is a very dense personality, and I would have thought a dark colour for that.

So, yeah. weird, and all.

So - why mention this randomly now?

Well - last week, I was driving my little girl to school, and I had the radio going, and our conversation went something like this:

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"This song?"

"Yes?"

"What colour is it?"

"..." *thinks* "Can you repeat that?"

"What colour is this song?"

*Thinks some more* "You know, it sounds orange to me. What do you think?"

"I think it's yellow." She went back to her book. Since then we've discussed the colour of all sorts of songs.

Now... How freaking COOL is that??

Comments

[danniisupernova.livejournal.com]

We did that in dance class once. To help our cheoreography skills.

[infiticus.livejournal.com]

Did it work? What was it like?

[danniisupernova.livejournal.com]

I liked it a lot. We would listen to a song and talk about what color it was, what foods, what time of day... things like that. It was funny, because the bulk of us all thought the same things together.

[syrainator.livejournal.com]

Ooh, so cool and cute.

... That's totally like me and Tiiu, btw. She sometimes, especially when she was younger, would come and say stuff that I thought no one else but me thinks about (though obviously, a lot of people do).

Once she asked me why the main characters in the movies are always the ones that go through all sorts of fun stuff? We were watching Charlie and the chocolate thingie and she asked me "dude, why is he the main lead? why can it never be the kid who doesn't win?" and I was like... yeah, well, that's exactly what I was always wondering as a kid. Of course, we both know that the movie could very possibly be very boring if that was the case, but STIL..

And there are many other things like that too. It's pretty nice to realise you have such things in common with someone who means the most to you, ain't it? Makes everything a bit more special (and it doesn't matter that there might be others who've thought the exact same things).

Totally get that color thing, too.

[infiticus.livejournal.com]

Yes, to all that.

I'm also hoping that by sharing it nicely, when someone inevitably tells her it's stupid and weird she can be strong and love it anyway.

[goblie.livejournal.com]

OMG.

You remember how excited I was when I heard this about *you* before I did that presentation? Well now I am EVEN MORE excited 'cause of Mini!Inf.

That's just.... awesome dude.

And now I want to eat both your brains.

Uh. I mean, love them both forevermore. Wait - I do that already. :)

Seriously though, that's just brilliant. :) And also reminds me to ask you to tell me what other stuff has what colours associated with it. :D BE PREPARED

[infiticus.livejournal.com]

Sooooo happy you're home.

Which presentation? *facepalm* My memory has thrown itself out the window.

It's ... exciting!

For me, people have colour. I went out to dinner last night with a couple of guys who were talking about how extremely alike they are, and I was: "No you aren't. You, you're blue, and he's green. Ergo, *totally* different."

Luckily they already knew/figured I was a freak. :)

[goblie.livejournal.com]

*Rolls eyes at you and chucks you out the window after your memory.* :) Well - the whole reason *I* learned about synaesthesia was because I had a uni presentation to do and wanted to do it on something *interesting* and discovered that through a tv programme about a week before the presentation was due. As I recall, I squeed all over its awesomeness, was rambling onto you about it and saying how I think most people have some vague sense of that because blah blah, and in your usual Infie manner you were all "Oh I know. Like how I taste words." And then you went on to tell me about the colours for people and I died with excitement all ov er again and spent the next AGE asking you questions about it. Until you got fed up, which was *right* after you told me that royal blue isn't positive or negative, it just IS.

There you go. If you don't remember *now* you're just... *throws hands up* :) Just kidding - it's just that ever since *I* discovered what it was (and had you *gasp* identify!!), I ask all kinds of people about it and just think it is such a fascinating thing. :D

And ooooh - it is even more interesting that 'similar' people can have different colours. :) Though you are still a freak. :)

*Glances guiltily at length of comment* Now I think I will wait until you're actually *back* to talk more about it. ;)

[mina-murray.livejournal.com]

Synaesthesia... I hadn't heard of it. Can you have just one of the symptoms (to which I will refer from now on as mutant powers) or do you have to have all of them?

Anyway, I think it's very cool your daughter has powers too^^