What happens when someone experiences synesthesia?
Everyone has synesthesia. It’s just that some people don’t know they have it. It is an issue of cross talk. Cross talk among the senses and different aspects of thinking is a part of the brain. synesthetes experience this overt synesthesia because they have more of this cross talk.
Is this part of human evolution? We don’t know that the brain has cross couplings. We believe that the sound is coming from the mouth of the actor, not from the speakers around us. We don’t think that these kinds of things are unusual. When people say, “Oh, I see music,” some think that is odd. If you think about it, we wouldn’t be as creative as we are today if it weren’t for the way we are.
I asked my mom if she saw January through June in one column and July through December in the other column when she looked at the calendar. She just said yes. Doesn’t everybody? It is funny.
I do not know if I would frame it in terms of evolution. ynesthetes are aware that they have a different texture of reality because they are more aware of what is going on. It is a very delightful trait to have. Synesthetes have better memories than the rest of us because they have a lot of different sensations that help them hook things on. Their spatial memory is very strong. They are able to see things in their head.
It helps me remember. It helps at the office. When I try to remember where I saw something on a page, I usually visualize it on the top left page. I am very organized and everything has to have its place. She has the same type of synesthesia. How does it help you?
Is it genetic as well? This is typical of spatial-oriented memory.
It must have to do with the fact that we hear more cases of artists and creatives. One in 23 people have the genes for synesthesia One in 90 people worldwide have some kind of synesthesia. 4% of the population can see colored days of the week, colored letters and numerals, colored hearings, etc. Why does evolution maintain a pretty, but useless, trait? I think that it is a gene for metaphor. It makes us more creative and we can see connections that are not logical or rational.
One of the things that auto-populated in the search bar was, “Is synesthesia a mental illness?” before this. People still don’t understand it even though it gained more exposure today. There are more famous artists who are synesthetic than there are famous artists who are not. We know it because of the people who talk about it.
Is there any correlation between synesthesia and cognitive function? There is a reluctance to accept that other people have a different point of view. A small change in one’s genes can change how you perceive the world. Some say, “Oh, this is crazy because I don’t understand that.” It must be wrong.
Why is that? People with synesthesia have higher spatial sense than other people. There are some real deficits. They are lost because they have difficulty with math and direction findings. In cities that have a grid.
You are describing my life in a way that is similar to how a blind person might have a heightened sense of smell or hearing. If you have an elevation in one hemisphere, you are more likely to find a diminution somewhere else. It’s a use or lose thing. You may have difficulties if you have it. Right/ left confusion is very common. Difficulty with mathematics is all of that.
There are different combinations of synesthesia. There are a lot of combinations. It’s very common among blind people. The unused visual cortex is available for other things. The visual cortex is now unused.
What would that look like to you? Some are more common than others. synesthesia is a one-way street. Vision doesn’t go to sound if sound goes to vision. There is a small group of people who are confused by it.
Wow! I didn’t realize there were so many different combinations. There is a music teacher outside of London who has synesthesia. She lives a relatively restricted life in the country because she doesn’t see electric signs as often as she would like. She agreed to go into Piccadilly Circus at night with all those neon signs after she participated in a documentary. She said that the sound was screaming at her and that it was a horrible sound. She said after about 30 or 40 seconds that she had to leave. I am going to pass out.
If there is a lesson in synesthesia, it would be that listening is not a passive experience of hearing sounds. The process of listening is active. You have a different point of view than everybody else.
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