2014-02-10

Seeing sounds?

OK, just to check here, this is normal, right.

If I am lying in bed, in the dark, eyes closed, and there is a sudden sound, I see it - it is normally a pattern of black and white that flashes in my vision with the sound. Different pattern for different sounds. Always been like that. I am not sure how much that happens when eyes open and looking at stuff. It is hard to tell, but in the dark it is much more noticeable.

Wikipeda says Synesthesia

12 comments:

  1. Yup, normal. I used to be able to feel the shape of certain smells. Still can, sometimes. I've got a friend who vividly sees the colour of different musical intervals. And according to Genius, by James Gleick, Feynman used to see the colours and shapes of mathematical equations.

    Of course, what you *could* be seeing is phosphenes, but they're not usually black and white.

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    Replies
    1. I wouldn't actually say "normal", since the condition is not common, but nor AFAIK is it ever harmful or anything to worry about.

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    2. Thanks Ray. For a moment I was worried I might be normal!

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    3. Your never be normal always special lol xx

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    4. No one could every accuse you of being normal lol xxxx

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  2. I used to work with a guy that smelled colours... Not like apple/green tomato/red... He was doing a postdoctoral research project in to bringing music to the profoundly deaf. All seemed completely bonkers at the time to me... But that's before I read about synesthesia (different people have different combinations of sight/sound/smell of course)

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  3. Not "normal" no, but not pathological either, if you've always had it. It does sound like synaesthesia. Have you noticed any correlation with stress?

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  4. Hmmm, suffering some 'packet loss' here maybe?

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  5. Don't take this the wrong way, but it might be worth having a chat with the psychology department at your nearest university... Not for any negative reason, but I know that a lot to them are extremely interested in hearing from folks with Sythesthesia, as its supposed to be particularly interesting topic to research, but identifying people with it to help em can be tough.

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    Replies
    1. I wonder if it's as uncommon as is often suggested - I've met several people who appear to have it (but not have a problem - you only notice when they casually mention tasting colours or something).

      My wife has a good version - if she's eating/drinking something if you put another word in her head at the right moment the food immediately tastes exactly like the word to her. I used to wind her up loads with that - hand her a cup of tea and shout 'marmite!' just as she takes a sip :p

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