Teen Titans Magazine Vol. 5 Issue 3 Final Copy-3 | Page 7

Imagine that every time you look at a dog, you
taste cheese. Or maybe you’re listening to a child
practice their flute and you get a tickle on your right
arm. Perhaps the word “cup” to you is purple! It sounds
like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book or out of a
child’s imagination. Yet this wacky and weird condition
is all too real. It’s called Synesthesia.
Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense is
accompanied with one or more of the five senses. The
word Synesthesia comes from two Greek words, syn
(meaning together) and aisthesis (meaning perception).
Synesthesia literally means "joined perception." There
are many different types of Synesthesia such as
Grapheme Color Synesthesia, Chromesthesia, and some
are more common than others, like Grapheme Color
Synesthesia and Chromesthesia. Allow me to explain a
few types of Synesthesia:
- Grapheme Color Synesthesia: This is one of the
most common types of Synesthesia. If you have
this this version of Synesthesia, you associate
certain characters with certain colors. One person
might always see the letter “R” as if it were
written in red, while another person may say the
letter “R” is blue. Usually two people will not
report the same color for letters and numbers.
However, studies have shown that many
synesthetes will see some letters the same way,
for example, ‘A‘ is likely to be red.
- Chromesthesia: Heard sounds automatically
trigger an experience of color. This is also a very
common type of Synesthesia as well. In this type
of Synesthesia, sounds and colors are associated
with each other. For example, the musical note "C"
may correspond to seeing the color green.
- Mirror-Touch Synesthesia: Individual feels the
same sensation in response to someone else being
touched. In better words, if you see someone
getting tapped on the shoulder, you’ll feel it as
well. This form is more on the rare side. This type
of Synesthesia is very disruptive in a synesthetes
life, as if they see someone else being injured, they
themselves will also feel the pain.
Vincent Van Gogh - Chromesthesia
Lorde: Chromesthesia
Billy Joel : Grapheme, Chromesthesia
Stevie Wonder : Chromesthesia
Pharrell Williams : Chromesthesia