Synesthesia- Coloring the boring

Only recently did I come to realize that my strange sensory condition has a name. Synesthesia (according to Wikipedia) is a neurologically-based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Basically the condition associates two unlike senses together. Some people hear a sound and visualize a color or see a color and sense a taste their mouth. You get the picture.

In particular, I have Grapheme-color synesthesia. Allow me to describe it to you: each letter and number I read has a color. For instance, my brain reads the letter A like A. I don't hallucinate, it is more like in my mind's eye. Here is basically what I see (O is white/q has no color):

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS
TUVWXYZ 123456789

Some letters are distinct and bright colors like J is solidly green, some letters can change slightly depending on the letters next to it like S. Notice the different shades of purple and yellow. Names and words take on the dominant and first few letter colors. So for instance Christi is yellowish-orangey-white, John is green and white. Maybe this is why I always thought I should blonde hair and have dyed it for most of my life?

Months are the exception to the rule and I am not sure why. Perhaps experiences during the month or from lots of use writing the months, they have their own colors not a collection of the color letters that make them up. January February March April May June July August September October November December

I don't consider this a detriment, in fact I actually enjoy this extra injection of color into my everyday life. It does not affect my learning or processing at all. In fact no one would ever know unless I told them.

The only time I do sense it is when two associates clash. For instance, July 4th has always bothered me. July is a light blue color (not sure why because the collected letters do not add up to the color but that is the way it is.) plus 4= July 4. This has always bothered me because the USA's colors are red white and blue and so every year I think, our Independence Day should be July 5. However Christmas is perfect on December 25. Strange I know.

Anyway, I recently discovered this watching a TED video. I finished the video and actually was shaking from excitement. I had never told anyone that I do this in my head and it was such a relief that this had a name and that other people also had this!!

I think I came to these associations because when I was learning letters at a young age I played with magnet letters on the fridge. Those letters and colors probably cemented in my mind together. If I had had a different brand of magnet letters perhaps the colors would be different. As I got older, I must have muddled the end of the alphabet somewhat because that part doesn't follow the red, orange, yellow... pattern so much.

Anyway drop me a line if you experience it too!

For more information see:

www.ted.com/index.php/talksvilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind.html

www.synesthesia.info