Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun neurology, psychology A
neurological orpsychological phenomenon whereby a particularsensory stimulus triggers a second kind ofsensation . - noun The association of one sensory perception with, or description of it in terms of, another, unlike, perception that is not experienced at the same time.
- noun A literary or artistic device whereby one kind of sensation is described in the terms of another.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a sensation that normally occurs in one sense modality occurs when another modality is stimulated
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The first time I encountered the term synaesthesia was when I studied the French Symbolist poets -- Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud and company -- back in college.
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The first time I encountered the term synaesthesia was when I studied the French Symbolist poets -- Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud and company -- back in college.
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Genetic Roots of Synaesthesia Unearthed - I've always been interested in synaesthesia (here's a past post on the subject).
I Love New Scientist (fan post) Heather McDougal 2009
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Genetic Roots of Synaesthesia Unearthed - I've always been interested in synaesthesia (here's a past post on the subject).
Archive 2009-02-01 Heather McDougal 2009
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I read an article (in the Washington Post? perhaps.) on a conference about synaesthesia which said that a quick test psych people to to see of someone has synaesthesia is asking them "What shape is a year?"
Synesthesia: the Flavor of Music, the Color of Touch Heather McDougal 2007
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This same sort of synaesthesia is evident when we consider how light and optical effects were combined in the stage directions for Henry
Smoke and Mirrors: Internalizing the Magic Lantern show in _Vilette_ 2005
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SIGGRAPH call for art entries, synaesthesia is 2004 theme
Boing Boing: October 26, 2003 - November 1, 2003 Archives 2003
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It's called synaesthesia- but you probably know that- and you seem like the have number-colour synaesthesia which is common.
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It is the result of scientific observations by a woman who has the brain disorder called synaesthesia
Indigo Kiddies Steven Barnes 2009
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Simple, you have late onset synaesthesia, which is when your senses get twisted. on July 31, 2008 at 12:05 pm | Reply Val
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Prematurely locking down those conventions may explain the phenomenon of synaesthesia, in which people have fixed associations between unrelated stimuli – for instance, the letter “A” may always seem blue to some.
How a 6-year-old had half his brain removed and recovered in 3 months #author.fullName} 2020
orbitalcombustion commented on the word synaesthesia
Like Mr. S, Nabokov, Daniel Tammet, or Franz Liszt, I see colors when listening to music, forming ideas, or playing with numbers.
October 6, 2007
reesetee commented on the word synaesthesia
You do, Orbital? This whole concept fascinates me.
October 6, 2007
orbitalcombustion commented on the word synaesthesia
Yeah for instance I see blue when I hear middle C and other colors for pitch. Pitch and color are related in the way the brain interprets them as signals. Sometimes my synesthesia will even overlap on my visual plane and not just be restricted to the minds eye. Today in my Latin course we were learning about a new declension and a green polygon and a red circle kept surfacing in front of me.
October 6, 2007
john commented on the word synaesthesia
Amazing that colors appear not just as shades, but as defined shapes. Fascinating.
October 8, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word synaesthesia
See also synesthesia.
I'm convinced I have some warped version of this in which inanimate objects, even concepts like "the number 5," have distinctly defined personality traits.
There was an article about synesthesia a few years ago in Smithsonian magazine (I think...).
October 8, 2007
mikeropology commented on the word synaesthesia
He saw red, but he thought five / He was pleased to find his road trip was enhanced by number-color synesthesia: / 'My trusty Rosinante bounds along the road very well, leaving the friendly aroma of donuts and chicken tenders hanging in the desert air.'
--The Books, "An Animated Description of Mr. Maps"
February 10, 2008
frindley commented on the word synaesthesia
Other composers who were or were possibly synæsthesic: Olivier Messiaen, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Mr Flight-of-the-Bumble-Bee), Alexander Scriabin (who included a "colour organ" in one of his pieces), György Ligeti, Jean Sibelius
April 19, 2008
plethora commented on the word synaesthesia
C_b, I think I have a similar thing. I always assumed it was normal...
The mention of this word irritates me, purely because it reminds me of year 11 English and Girl with a Pearl Earring. Baaaad memories.
April 19, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word synaesthesia
Plethora: Yes, I never knew it was odd until I read an article about it being some kind of phenomenon with some people... and of course for my version (if it is such a thing), there isn't even a word.
April 20, 2008
sarra commented on the word synaesthesia
I think I remember reading a term, or at the very least a corroboration of your experience, c_b. I can attempt to look it up if you so fancy.
I've a comparison table of composers' colour–note/key relations too, somewhere. Everyone's synæsthesias are, delightfully, different.
April 20, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word synaesthesia
Really, sarra? Hmm... I'd like to read that, if you can find it easily. Thanks!
April 20, 2008
skipvia commented on the word synaesthesia
When I am improvising (and not simply playing from muscle memory), I "see" landscapes with different configurations and textures. Going in a certain direction causes me to play one way, going in another direction results in something different. I can "hear" what it will sound like before I go there. It sometimes takes me while to reach that zone where I perceive landscapes. On a good night, I get there very quickly.
Musicians are strange...
April 20, 2008
pterodactyl commented on the word synaesthesia
I'm not synaesthetic, but I have several strong associations with certain numbers, letters, and musical keys. For example:
- I associate the number five with the color red, and with aggressive, businesslike personalities.
- I associate the letter "t" with youth and shyness.
- I associate the key of E with the color green, and with pine forests.
I think it'd be fun to actually see the number five in red, but in lieu of that, I'm happy with my associations.
April 20, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word synaesthesia
43 versus 40, this spelling is still winning.
June 13, 2008
dontcry commented on the word synaesthesia
When I think of a day of the week, I see an ellipse that is long and narrow. Monday is on the outside right rim. Then the rest of the weekdays come one after the other, going around the outside of the ellipse to the left, until you get to Saturday and Sunday which are on the inside rim, closest to me (my mind's eye). The weekend gets the entire "inside" rim line.
So, all day today, Friday, when I think of what day it is (in relation to yesterday or tomorrow) I'll picture the word "Friday" and it will be on the extreme left "point" of the ellipse.
See?
June 13, 2008
yarb commented on the word synaesthesia
Yes, I see - between your example and weirdnet's eloquent definition.
June 13, 2008
shevek commented on the word synaesthesia
I used to experience strong pitch-color synaesthesia, but it's gotten weaker over the years, to the point where it's now closer to timbre-color synaesthesia. It's a pity - I'm convinced synaesthesia augments talent.
July 15, 2008
janusword commented on the word synaesthesia
http://www.mixsig.net/nexus/
synaesthesia forum. all the comment examples have been discussed there.
August 5, 2008
aikai commented on the word synaesthesia
try reading _blue cats and chartreuse kittens_ by pat duffy--a synesthete. Not too technical, but definitely research-based.
October 26, 2008
plethora commented on the word synaesthesia
Synaesthesia Emergency.
November 24, 2008
reesetee commented on the word synaesthesia
Yum!
June 7, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word synaesthesia
Ha ha ha!! Just saw plethora's linked page... :)
Edit: reesetee's link ain't half bad either.
June 24, 2009
wordlover42 commented on the word synaesthesia
I get word-color ,sound-color, and number-color synaesthesia pretty strongly. I find the topic very interesting.
fer_k has it as well, just based on a comment of theirs I read on gloaming
June 24, 2009
wordlover42 commented on the word synaesthesia
An interesting book, that, while fiction, talks about synaesthesia, is The Name Of This Book Is Secret. I liked it al ot and found the extreme synaesthesia interesting.
June 24, 2009
milosrdenstvi commented on the word synaesthesia
Skipvia's comment of about a year ago: are you a pianist? I practically never meet anybody else who can improvise. It's most of what I do at the piano, because I am inherently lazy...I do not have synaesthesia, but I do have absolute pitch, which means each of the twelve tones has a unique sound to me, a sound which is often very vaguely associated with an emotion, or occastionally a colour or vowel sound. I've never been able to get at them clearly enough to work out a table of all them, and they change from time to time. I've also never been able to figure out if this is why I can improvise so easily. But it is incredibly satisfying to be able to transfer my emotions directly to my fingers.
June 24, 2009
theungratefulbiped commented on the word synaesthesia
As far as I can tell, this is the British spelling, and synesthesia is the American variant.
I get very strong colours for numbers, letters, and words, and consistent personality associations with numbers and letters, as well. Synaesthesia is much of what makes words so interesting to me.
January 30, 2012