Monday, February 23, 2009

Synesthesia...

syn·es·the·sia also syn·aes·the·sia      (sĭn'ĭs-thē'zhə)  Pronunciation Key  
n.  
  1. A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.
  2. A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus applied to another, as in referred pain.
  3. The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.




I listened to the segment on Performance Today as I was running around town, and it truly amazes me.  As a non synesthete it fairly blows my mind to be able to see colors as you are listening to a particular piece of music.  However, given my more high strung nature I imagine eventually it would drive me crazy.

I know when I hear certain pieces of classical music I have certain kinds of images that flash through my mind, and that I cannot concentrate on any sort of artistic endeavor if I listen to music with words, but this is completely different...

This post may not make sense as I am still internalizing what it could possibly be like to be a synethete.  I will probably come back and make this more coherent later.  Just wanted to share!

1 comment:

DaiKamonohashi said...

Not quite the same but I am reminded of how delicious I find the colors of this music video to be:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U0myXslSng

Nom.