-
Welcome to The Cave of Dragonflies forums, where the smallest bugs live alongside the strongest dragons.
Guests are not able to post messages or even read certain areas of the forums. Now, that's boring, don't you think? Registration, on the other hand, is simple, completely free of charge, and does not require you to give out any personal information at all. As soon as you register, you can take part in some of the happy fun things at the forums such as posting messages, voting in polls, sending private messages to people and being told that this is where we drink tea and eat cod.
Of course I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to, but seriously, what have you got to lose? Five seconds of your life?
Synesthesia
- Thread starter Equinoxe
- Start date
- Status
Hiikaru
Run.
- Pronoun
- he
Letters and shapes and words have colours.
Actually, it's one of those things where I have trouble with the idea that others don't also do this. If you don't give them colours, how do you picture them...? Black? Doesn't that count as a colour? Or is it that if someone tells you to envision an A, you can't see anything at all...? What's the deal?
Each letter has a particular colour or a couple of different colours, mostly primary. Words and influenced by the colour of the first letter the most, but sometimes by the rest of the letters, and probably occasionally by the meaning. If I'm thinking of letters by themselves or just a few letters, I'll generally think of their colour, but I don't automatically think of all words with a colour. Names in particular definitely have colours, but if I'm thinking normally then most of the normal words are black. I sort of think that the difference between words and letters would be that I generally think in sentences and paragraphs, not in individual words. This makes sense, since names (which are more colourful) are a bit more isolated.
Shapes have very specific colours that they don't really deviate from. All squares and rectangles are red, all circles are blue, all triangles are yellow... With letters seeing the wrong colour (for instance on a strip of letters in a classroom) bothers me a little but it's pretty easy to ignore. With shapes, I really can't stand to see the wrong colour unless there are multiple or it's an item in a video game or something. If I'm just reading a random page and suddenly there's a picture of a green square, that just makes me crazy.
Many repeats. Mostly red, blue, yellow, or green. Other colours are still basic shades though. Nothing so complex as alternate shades.
I don't really imagine other characters, so it's hard to say, but I have some vague colours for Japanese characters and characters I make up. Those colours might solidify if I used those character sets more often, and... it might be the case that those colours are based off of the colours for the Roman alphabet, for instance the Japanese ka seems red, but then so does K.
/blahblahblah
...Additionally, I think the letters used to have fewer alternate colours. And I think couple of them have changed colours over time.
It isn't really important or useful, it's just that if I'm imagining letters and shapes then they tend to be specific colours.
I don't think anyone really minds answering trivial questions about themselves.
Edit:
I think I pretty much always thought of those things with colours, but it didn't really occur to me that it was supposed to be unusual or anything until my dad was watching a show about it. He proceeded to ask me what the colours of things were several days after that and revealed after a while that he was testing me to see if I kept the same colours.
Actually, it's one of those things where I have trouble with the idea that others don't also do this. If you don't give them colours, how do you picture them...? Black? Doesn't that count as a colour? Or is it that if someone tells you to envision an A, you can't see anything at all...? What's the deal?
Each letter has a particular colour or a couple of different colours, mostly primary. Words and influenced by the colour of the first letter the most, but sometimes by the rest of the letters, and probably occasionally by the meaning. If I'm thinking of letters by themselves or just a few letters, I'll generally think of their colour, but I don't automatically think of all words with a colour. Names in particular definitely have colours, but if I'm thinking normally then most of the normal words are black. I sort of think that the difference between words and letters would be that I generally think in sentences and paragraphs, not in individual words. This makes sense, since names (which are more colourful) are a bit more isolated.
Shapes have very specific colours that they don't really deviate from. All squares and rectangles are red, all circles are blue, all triangles are yellow... With letters seeing the wrong colour (for instance on a strip of letters in a classroom) bothers me a little but it's pretty easy to ignore. With shapes, I really can't stand to see the wrong colour unless there are multiple or it's an item in a video game or something. If I'm just reading a random page and suddenly there's a picture of a green square, that just makes me crazy.
Many repeats. Mostly red, blue, yellow, or green. Other colours are still basic shades though. Nothing so complex as alternate shades.
I don't really imagine other characters, so it's hard to say, but I have some vague colours for Japanese characters and characters I make up. Those colours might solidify if I used those character sets more often, and... it might be the case that those colours are based off of the colours for the Roman alphabet, for instance the Japanese ka seems red, but then so does K.
I guess I usually think of those as black, but even the ones that are black (most of them) have an alternate actual colour. Exclamation marks are red, question marks are blue, the and sign (&) is yellow, asterisks are blue...
Yes. In that case, D and d are both red. With other letters, for instance R, there are multiple colours (red/blue/green) and then the lowercase only has one of those. Small r can't only be red.
/blahblahblah
...Additionally, I think the letters used to have fewer alternate colours. And I think couple of them have changed colours over time.
It isn't really important or useful, it's just that if I'm imagining letters and shapes then they tend to be specific colours.
I don't think anyone really minds answering trivial questions about themselves.
Edit:
I think I pretty much always thought of those things with colours, but it didn't really occur to me that it was supposed to be unusual or anything until my dad was watching a show about it. He proceeded to ask me what the colours of things were several days after that and revealed after a while that he was testing me to see if I kept the same colours.
Last edited:
#1 bro
FEELING GREAT, FEELING GOOD, HOW ARE YOU?
holy shit same here!! :O
@lex
Codian
No, I've always been like this. Well, maybe not for the entirety of my life, but you get it. I have also considered it at times ("hey, it's funny how I see colors in letters..."), and eventually I read about synesthesia and realized that's what I have.
Flygon1
Also known as Hyozanryu
- Pronoun
- they
While I do not have any involuntary synesthesia (e.g. reading things in color, tasting sounds), I do have some vestiges of it. It's very easy for me to visualize songs in my head, especially if I listen to them often (drums are yellow or grey, synth is often deep red, etc.).
One odd thing is that letters and numbers have personalities and gender to me, as well as an associated color (not that I see it, but if I had to write the letter in a color I would choose that one). For instance, the letter h is female and purple, and is rather protective of her little brother i (who is blue) from the evil, yellow-orange j. Yeah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Number_Form--colored.jpg
Similar to my number line in style, although mine is black and white. It's... confusing, to say the least. I don't think the 10 through 20 area can even exist in normal space, which is why I haven't drawn it.
One odd thing is that letters and numbers have personalities and gender to me, as well as an associated color (not that I see it, but if I had to write the letter in a color I would choose that one). For instance, the letter h is female and purple, and is rather protective of her little brother i (who is blue) from the evil, yellow-orange j. Yeah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Number_Form--colored.jpg
Similar to my number line in style, although mine is black and white. It's... confusing, to say the least. I don't think the 10 through 20 area can even exist in normal space, which is why I haven't drawn it.
Minish
*
- Pronoun
- they
Yeah, I definitely am. I associate colours with nearly everything in my mind. Not to a strong or conscious degree, just a sort of backdrop to most things.
My most prominent forms are without a doubt personification and number form, with a bit of grapheme and slight sound and lexical. Numbers and letters (especially letters) have very specific colours and personalities to me (although less like personalities and more like... characteristics?) to me. The same goes for the days of the week.
I... guess I always knew I was this way, but it's more like I couldn't imagine not being this way. I mean, what do other people imagine in their minds when they see a letter? Just... a boring, hard, cold couple of lines? For me, language has always been a delight because it's a beautiful mix of colour and texture.
I'm going to do a big post here when I have time, because my synethesia is just the kind of thing that I could go on about for ages - plus, I agree with a lot of other things you guys have put and have my own questions!
I'm beginning to think that my sound synethesia is becoming a bit more obvious to me. I thought I only connected certain songs with colours because of their titles, but now I'm thinking it might be a mix of the two. Take the song I'm listening to right now - Plug In Baby by Muse. I'm using it as an example because it's very, very, very much a golden yellow song. I listen to it when I really need some gold in my mind, it's just such a clear sensation. The name itself is very golden, Muse's vocalist's voice is very golden, the way the guitar is played in it is very golden. It's actually quite rare a single song is this straight-cut for me.
Haven't got time now to check the article (though it looks fascinating), but is it usual to have more than one (or quite a few) forms, to varying or even equal degrees? :/
My most prominent forms are without a doubt personification and number form, with a bit of grapheme and slight sound and lexical. Numbers and letters (especially letters) have very specific colours and personalities to me (although less like personalities and more like... characteristics?) to me. The same goes for the days of the week.
I... guess I always knew I was this way, but it's more like I couldn't imagine not being this way. I mean, what do other people imagine in their minds when they see a letter? Just... a boring, hard, cold couple of lines? For me, language has always been a delight because it's a beautiful mix of colour and texture.
I'm going to do a big post here when I have time, because my synethesia is just the kind of thing that I could go on about for ages - plus, I agree with a lot of other things you guys have put and have my own questions!
I'm beginning to think that my sound synethesia is becoming a bit more obvious to me. I thought I only connected certain songs with colours because of their titles, but now I'm thinking it might be a mix of the two. Take the song I'm listening to right now - Plug In Baby by Muse. I'm using it as an example because it's very, very, very much a golden yellow song. I listen to it when I really need some gold in my mind, it's just such a clear sensation. The name itself is very golden, Muse's vocalist's voice is very golden, the way the guitar is played in it is very golden. It's actually quite rare a single song is this straight-cut for me.
Haven't got time now to check the article (though it looks fascinating), but is it usual to have more than one (or quite a few) forms, to varying or even equal degrees? :/
Michi
Mystical Furball
- Pronoun
- any
I have sound → color synesthesia, but not as vividly when my eyes are open, if that makes sense. Every night when I turn out the lights and close my eyes to listen to my iPod, it's MUCH more vivid. Also, I seem to only have this with music, not other sounds.
I also have the apparently "lexical → gustatory" type of synesthesia which I honestly, really thought everyone had. :P
... Wait, is there a specific term for "sight → smell?" I mean, when I see and image or a real-life scene I smell stuff that is not necessarily involved with the image, but sometimes it is. For example, Dezzuu's avatar makes me smell mint. o.O
I also have the apparently "lexical → gustatory" type of synesthesia which I honestly, really thought everyone had. :P
... Wait, is there a specific term for "sight → smell?" I mean, when I see and image or a real-life scene I smell stuff that is not necessarily involved with the image, but sometimes it is. For example, Dezzuu's avatar makes me smell mint. o.O
Last edited:
Michi
Mystical Furball
- Pronoun
- any
Besides the fact this is a documented and studied phenomenon that may occur in 1 in 23 people, you just think we're crazy? :P I don't blame you.
1. Luftballon
Banned
- Pronoun
- it
I know full well that synesthesia is documented.
I also don't think that all of you are really snowflakes.
Maybe I just can't visualise/whateverise the concept, but the whole thing seems vaguely bunk to me.
I tried to think about it; maybe as a musician, I might have musical -> something synesthesia! or something, but then I think "well, a d-flat sounds/looks like the colour orange" or "an F7 chord tastes like a ripe banana" and I'm just. What.
I tried to think about it; maybe as a musician, I might have musical -> something synesthesia! or something, but then I think "well, a d-flat sounds/looks like the colour orange" or "an F7 chord tastes like a ripe banana" and I'm just. What.
Aisling
Super Moderator
I dunno, I've always associated food and color, but usually it's colors invoking a flavor, instead of food making me think of a color... which way is it supposed to go? From what I'm reading it seems like "when you look at a number your brain perceives it to be red" so color seems to be the secondary thingy, or whatever.
#1 bro
FEELING GREAT, FEELING GOOD, HOW ARE YOU?
I think with most people here this is less "wires in the brain are messed up and sensory input gets muddled synesthesia" and more "learned the alphabet from a book where each letter was colored something different and now permanently believes A to be blue synesthesia". I mean as far as I'm concerned Alabama, Delaware, and Michigan are yellow, Maryland and Mississippi are pink, Oregon is green, and Indiana is red, but I can definitely trace that back to a placemat I had as a kid. So I tend to believe most of these guys. Either way, I really don't see what these dudes have to gain by making up something on a pokemon forum to make them seem a tiny bit more interesting.
Zeph
from up here the sky is my thoughts
- Pronoun
- he
Yeah - I'm pretty sure a lot of my stuff (notably shapes->colours came from children's books or whatever; I don't really see why I or anybody else would make this stuff up to be honest. I can understand why one would be sceptical about it, but it's not the most fascinating thing to make up.
Tailsy
if the nineth lion ate the sun.
- Pronoun
- she
I find it strange that people 'visualise' things at all. I just hear words, and get images of places I've been or whatever I'm making up in my head. When I'm daydreaming it's just lots of images and sounds run together, like a film!
Words don't come up with any kind of 'form'. I know what they look like etc, but I don't think about them like that. I just hear 'em. :B
Words don't come up with any kind of 'form'. I know what they look like etc, but I don't think about them like that. I just hear 'em. :B
Shiny Grimer
Active member
- Pronoun
- she/her, they/them
To be fair, that wouldn't really be synesthesia since synesthesia is not supposed to be learned.
As for people lying about themselves... honestly, why would anyone? Synesthesia is common enough that it's not special. I know other synesthetes IRL. It's not like a big deal or a huge rarity or anything; it's just a neat little oddity. It just seems like a weird thing to lie about.
I used to go to a forum once that had a topic about synesthesia and most people seemed to have grapheme -> color or music -> color. There was one person who had number -> personality and another who had people -> color. The rest of the population didn't have synesthesia so they didn't post, obviously.
- Status