Colour Synesthesia

Paedantic Basterd · 07-11-2011, 01:02 PM

This is something I've been curious about since I found out that not everyone experiences it, or experiences it the same way.

Quote:

Grapheme → color synesthesia is a form of synesthesia in which an individual's perception of numbers and letters is associated with the experience of colors. Like all forms of synesthesia, grapheme → color synesthesia is involuntary, consistent, and memorable. Grapheme → color synesthesia is one of the most common forms of synesthesia, and because of the extensive knowledge of the visual system, one of the most studied.

While it is extremely unlikely that any two synesthetes will report the same colors for all letters and numbers, studies of large numbers of synesthetes find that there are some commonalities across letters (e.g., "A" is likely to be red).[1][2] Early studies argued that grapheme → color synesthesia was not due to associative learning, such as from playing with colored refrigerator magnets.[3] However, one recent study has documented a case of synesthesia in which synesthetic associations could be traced back to colored refrigerator magnets.[4] Despite the existence of this individual case, the majority of synesthetic associations do not seem to be driven by learning of this sort.[2][5] Rather, it seems that more frequent letters are paired with more frequent colors, and some meaning-based rules, such as ‘b’ being blue, drive most synesthetic associations.

I associate colours with numbers, letters, places, songs, certain words, etc. I'm interested to know what percentage the population of MB experiences this, and how they experience it.

Drugs don't count.

~~[MERIT]~~ · 07-11-2011, 02:02 PM

No, but when writing I subconsciously associate any set of numbers or letters with a game of Tetris or Sudoku, making sure that each one is in the perfect place to convey what I'm trying to say. It can get quite annoying, but I have no control over it.

~~someonecompletelyrandom~~ · 07-11-2011, 02:02 PM

I hear different kinds of music as being different colors. I experience this so regularly that I've categorized my favorite music by it's color. I'll often think to myself things like "My favorite records are tan, but I like purple records a lot too." One type of record I don't care for is dark blue, for some reason I associate 80s power ballads with it.

Paedantic Basterd · 07-11-2011, 02:06 PM

What colours are your alphabet, Conan? We should compare.

~~Farfisa~~ · 07-11-2011, 02:17 PM

Man, is this going to be a "God, I'm so jealous of your..." thread? I'm already feeling a bit more than jealous.

~~someonecompletelyrandom~~ · 07-11-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

What colours are your alphabet, Conan? We should compare.

I don't associate letters or numbers with colors, it's only music. Go figure.

The Batlord · 07-11-2011, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loose_lips_sink_ships

Man, is this going to be a "God, I'm so jealous of your..." thread? I'm already feeling a bit more than jealous.

Me too. Although I do kinda get the music and colors thing sometimes.

Dayvan Cowboy · 07-11-2011, 06:55 PM

I get this too. another strange thing is that I'll be just chilling there, and I'll hear a sound, and I'll immediately think "wow this sound is so upside-down-squiggly prism-ish". I never say it out loud because it might scare people. also, I think I have synesthesia because I see letters as colourful and I just found out about this a year ago.

My favourite songs are the ones with sharp downwards arrow sounds and the descending vibrating triangle sounds. MY favourite songs are also shimmering gold and pink and hazy blue and yellow.

~~[MERIT]~~ · 07-11-2011, 07:09 PM

It has been proven that certain frequencies can elicit certain shapes and formations in cells. They can also correspond to certain colors and feelings, which has been shown to be quite consistent across the board.

Solfeggio Frequenices or "Binaural Beats" have been known about since early human history (supposedly), in correspondence with Sacred Geometry.

~~Dirty~~ · 07-11-2011, 08:20 PM

I don't associate colors with anything, but then again I'm colorblind and can't really distinguish between most colors. It's like if I have 4 dots to look at in a row, and they are purple, pink, blue, teal, the more I look at them the more they change. It's pretty cool but frustrating, it looks like the colors change levels of darkness on me.

View Poll Results: Do you experience colour synesthesia?
Yes	3	25.00%
What? No.	9	75.00%
Voters: 12. You may not vote on this poll

07-11-2011, 02:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
~~[MERIT]~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 4,814	No, but when writing I subconsciously associate any set of numbers or letters with a game of Tetris or Sudoku, making sure that each one is in the perfect place to convey what I'm trying to say. It can get quite annoying, but I have no control over it.

07-11-2011, 02:02 PM	#3 (permalink)
~~someonecompletelyrandom~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4,538	I hear different kinds of music as being different colors. I experience this so regularly that I've categorized my favorite music by it's color. I'll often think to myself things like "My favorite records are tan, but I like purple records a lot too." One type of record I don't care for is dark blue, for some reason I associate 80s power ballads with it.

07-11-2011, 02:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	What colours are your alphabet, Conan? We should compare.

07-11-2011, 02:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
~~Farfisa~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,773	Man, is this going to be a "God, I'm so jealous of your..." thread? I'm already feeling a bit more than jealous.

07-11-2011, 06:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
Dayvan Cowboy Basscadet Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Antarctica Posts: 1,258	I get this too. another strange thing is that I'll be just chilling there, and I'll hear a sound, and I'll immediately think "wow this sound is so upside-down-squiggly prism-ish". I never say it out loud because it might scare people. also, I think I have synesthesia because I see letters as colourful and I just found out about this a year ago. My favourite songs are the ones with sharp downwards arrow sounds and the descending vibrating triangle sounds. MY favourite songs are also shimmering gold and pink and hazy blue and yellow.

07-11-2011, 07:09 PM	#9 (permalink)
~~[MERIT]~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 4,814	It has been proven that certain frequencies can elicit certain shapes and formations in cells. They can also correspond to certain colors and feelings, which has been shown to be quite consistent across the board. Solfeggio Frequenices or "Binaural Beats" have been known about since early human history (supposedly), in correspondence with Sacred Geometry.

07-11-2011, 08:20 PM	#10 (permalink)
~~Dirty~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: USA Posts: 981	I don't associate colors with anything, but then again I'm colorblind and can't really distinguish between most colors. It's like if I have 4 dots to look at in a row, and they are purple, pink, blue, teal, the more I look at them the more they change. It's pretty cool but frustrating, it looks like the colors change levels of darkness on me.