And this only expands the potential for enjoyment for the person, as they can now experience not one, but two dimensions of sensation simultaneously. Lexical Gustatory Synesthesia is quite fascinating as it allows the synesthete to associate taste with spoken language so that words can literally leave a bad taste in your mouth.Īny two senses can be paired together. Other forms of Synesthesia include Number Form Synesthesia, which allows some to actually map out mathematical problems as shapes, and Sound-Color Synesthesia, which causes the synesthete to not only hear a symphony, but to also experience an automatic light show accompanying it. And I was so surprised that I could turn a yellow letter into an orange letter just by adding a line.” 3 2 Patricia Duffy related one of her experiences as a synesthete child, “I realized that to make an ‘R’ all I had to do was first write a ‘P’ and then draw a line down from its loop. His condition allows him to “learn a language fluently in a week, memorize 22,500 digits of pi, and remember every book he’s ever read” according to a Harvard Brain article. One such synesthete with this ability is a man by the name of Daniel Tammet. Therefore, a Grapheme-Color synesthete might view the letter “G” as being tall and lanky, having the color blue, and being male-along with other possible attributes. Synesthesia comes in various forms, but one of the most common forms is known as grapheme-color synesthesia, which simply means that individual symbols for numbers and letters of the alphabet, known as graphemes, are viewed by the synesthete as having color-and sometimes even texture, shape, or gender. 1 So not only those with the condition of Synesthesia can experience this, but theoretically anyone can. In fact, some have concluded that this can be replicated by drug-abusers, and that “existing connections become used in a way that’s neurochemically altered for a few hours” when this occurs. Therefore, an accident, such as an impact to the head, or a defect of some kind, is sometimes the precursor to this kind of condition. In other words, the pathways in our brain, though blocked in most people, can sometimes open up and allow cross-sensory interaction. The prevalent theory as to why this occurs is that the neuron pathways in our brain can experience “cross-talk” if the inhibitions imposed upon these wirings are not in place to prevent this sort of mix-up. Instead of merely hearing a symphony, a synesthete might actually taste and hear it. In other words, instead of merely seeing a color, a synesthete might actually hear and see it. Synesthesia simply means combining senses. But why? How is this possible? What does it mean? These people experience things that defy human expectations and perceptions of reality, experiencing multiple senses at a time in extraordinary combinations, and achieving incredible feats. There exists a condition known as Synesthesia which causes some people to confuse two senses in various patterns, leaving them with very unique talents and frames of reference, but also allowing other incredible skills such as amazing memory. Perhaps it’s not as ridiculous as it sounds.