![]() In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, or days of the week elicit precise locations in space (e.g., 1980 may be "farther away" than 1990), or may appear as a three-dimensional map (clockwise or counterclockwise). In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme–color synesthesia or color–graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes. If someone asks what you’re doing, say, “photography.Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. So why not wiggle your fingers through a bowl of water, drop a handful of spoons into the sink, or roll a crumpled up ball of newspaper along your arm. How might a sound, smell, taste, and body sensation translate into something visual? Maybe playing an instrument, sipping wine, and doing yoga are all opportunities to better understand the image. If we develop the awareness of our ears, nose, tongue, and fingertips, we may also enrich the awareness of our eyes. ![]() To improve our photography, we might think about the visual experience as more than what we see. Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned from synesthesia. The four ominous notes of Fate knocking on one’s door had been shaping his visual experience, without his even realizing it. After wondering why he was favoring such compositions, he suddenly realized that he had been listening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. There is the story of the photographer who noticed a pattern surfacing in his images: a visual repetition of three elements in a row, followed by a forth falling distinctly below the other three. Sometimes the influence of these sensations on the creative process is unconscious. Colors also arouse tactile associations, as when we say some appear dry while others seem wet. My piano teacher, for example, mentioned the colors he associated with different notes and key signatures, sometimes colors with flavorful qualities, like “coffee.” In fact, we often use words associated with sound to characterize colors, like loud, soft, harmonious, and discordant. ![]() ![]() They use words related to sounds, textures, and body sensations to describe their work. Many artists often talk about their work in a synesthetic way. Their research reveals how one type of mental image often can trigger another. In fact, researchers who study mental imagery don’t apply the term “image” to only visual experiences inside one’s mind, but also to sounds, smells, tastes, and body sensations within one’s imagination. Reports of synesthesia are common when using psychedelic drugs, but it also occurs naturally in people known as “synesthetes.” Although the phenomenon seems unusual, some researchers believe it reveals the potential of the mind to process any particular sensation in a variety of ways. Think about those computer programs that translate music into shape-shifting patterns and colors that dance across the screen. Or a texture triggers a taste in your mouth. For example, you see colors when you hear music. Synesthesia is when the stimulation of one sensory system leads to an experience in another system.
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