"We had gone somewhere . . . perhaps Louisiana. Or Mississippi, I always confuse the two. You see, Louisiana is a faded red violet, but Mississippi is puce, and they can just get so close at times . . ."
I said to my disbelieving friend. She didn't seem to understand this little method of categorizing that I had been using for a few years. It had started as a feeling, but the more I exercised this new muscle, the stronger my color-senser became.
It started while I was listening to my music player. I turned to my mom, and said to her, "Y'know, this song, 'No More Cloudy Days', is a creamy orange with perhaps some white stripes." She looked at me funny, and I figured to continue finding more colors in my favorite songs. "Act of the Apostle" was gray, "Neptune City" a deep indigo . . . "Mondays" a red. Time for some research! To Google!
After a few links around the web, I accumulated knowledge of my new found condition: synesthesia. May sound scary, but it actually was not a disease! Phew. In fact, it is often referred to as a gift. Here's some gatherings about synesthesia I've found, and would like to share to you all!
Synesthesia in general must be involuntary, and usually have a sense of location. For me, I usually have this feeling of letting my eyes fade back into the middle of my skull if I want a clear color. They are generic results, such as red, robin's egg blue, but not something like the scene of a waterfall crashing into a forest. It should be highly based on feel, not logic. There are two major categories, perception and conception. Perception is triggered through the environment (hearing the word tree), while conception is triggered through thinking about it.
Technically, any sort of blend of senses can be linked. There are sound, color, space relation, and taste types. Some are even primarily based upon numbers.
Grapheme to color synesthesia is the most common type. This is when you think of 'a' as red, three as green, and so forth. The colors usually vary per person, but some colors are common, such as red for 'a'. It is almost always a very certain feeling. There is no doubt to me that 5 is, and will always be a bright magenta! There are two types of this type of synesthesiac, projectors and associators. Associators see the color in their mind's eye, while projectors see it in the world around them. Most synesthesiacs are associators.
Sound to color synesthesia can stimulate certain patterns and colors as the person hears a sound. It can range from certain music, or to any sound at all. This type of synesthesia has more similarities between colors and sounds (high pitch is bright, low is dark).
Some other different forms of synesthesia are number based, personification, and lexical to gustatory. Number based may be revolved around number color, shape, and or location. Personification gives personalities to different letters or numbers (K is a female, quiet and responsible). This is not always perceived as a type of synesthesia, because many people can have similar results without it being contestant and automatic. Lexical to gustatory synesthesia gives tastes to letters and sounds! This is one of the more rare types. How interesting it would be to have a conversation! I would think it would be like having a complete meal at the same time!
Some Whyvillians out there might have just now realized a new trait they possess. If you're unsure, google some tests! However, I recommend just playing around with it. Ask yourself, what color is the word dinosaur? What about someone you know? Mondays? Or, listen to some music and see if you get some vibrant colors. I hope you've enjoyed the new info!
~Robogirl1, a very midnight blue person, sending in.
Author's Note: References:
http://www.naropa.edu/consciousness/synesthesia.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
along with some of my own experiences.
