Some people can smell sounds, see smells or hear colors, according to researchers Juan Lupiáñez Castillo and Alicia Callejas Sevilla of the University of Granada in Spain...
"There are people for whom time units evoke colors," Callejas wrote in his research. "It is also common for a synaesthete to see colors when listening to words, sounds in general or music notes (people who can see music, for instance). There are also cases, although fewer, where people can see colors in flavors, others perceive flavors or experience touch sensations when listening to different sounds, some link flavors to touch sensations, etc."
As late as my teenage years I used to see music. Actually, it's a little more obscure than that. I would "sense" colors, sometimes in 3-D, in music. I might not see the color blue, but a song would be "blue" while another might be "orange". Sometimes a song would evoke more than one color--again, I wouldn't see the color or pattern with my eyes, rather I sensed them somehow.
It's somehow comforting to know that others could use their senses in non-standard ways.
Have you seen the comparisons of art done by artists who were bipolar? The images change dramatically depending on whether they were in the manic or depressive mode. Likewise, when schizophrenics are off med, colors become harsh and lines become jagged and sharp. There is speculation that VanGogh was bipolar and that the painting "Starry Night" with its swirling lines in the sky, were actually what he saw in the movement in the air and sky.
ReplyDeleteTry rereading The Great Gatsby. You'll soon discover that Fitzgerald either mimicked this ability or had it.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend that has this ability. When she listens to Mozart's requiem, the whole thing is a deep, beautiful blue, until she gets to the part where he died and someone else finished the work. Then she sees some disgusting orange-purple mixture.
ReplyDeleteShe also claims that she can also "taste" people's colors.
I'm red :)