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Neil Harbisson hears colour.
He listens to Picasso and selects his clothing
according to how the outfit sounds, rather
than looks. Some days he dresses in C Major.
Other days, it’s B Minor. And his favourite
meals are not just a combination of colours
and flavours, but a medley of sounds.
Neil hears colour constantly every moment, of
every day. Greens and blues, peaches and purples
– every colour that can be seen with the human
eye, has a particular, unique sound to Neil.
Neil Harbisson has also
never seen colour.
Neil was born with complete colour-blindness,
which means that he sees in greyscale — his
world is one long, black and white movie.
But at age 21, he partnered with some
scientists and together, they developed an
electronic eye with a built-in colour sensor
that could translate colours into sounds.
The eye connects directly to Neil’s brain,
enabling him to hear the colours in front of
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him, in lieu of being able to see them. It took
a little while, but eventually Neil became
able to hear over 300 different colours.
The electronic eye has essentially
reprogrammed Neil’s senses in such a way that
he now receives and interprets information, that
his natural senses are incapable of processing.
The eye intentionally “crosses the wires” so
to speak, as he now uses his ears to help him
see, which in turn transforms his entire world
view. Now the phone rings, and to Neil, it
sounds green. He paints voices, and composes
colours. Physical beauty isn’t only something
he sees, it’s also something he listens to.
And why does all this matter? Well
Neil shows us that our senses are both
simple and complex. That we can explore
them in the usual ways and also some
not-so-usual ways. Our senses are the way we
make memories, form bonds and create
experiences—essentially, the gateway to
how we as individuals, discover the world.
So, we are going to have some fun with
our senses in this issue—just like Neil does.