From eric hill Sent Tue, Aug 10th 1999, 03:31
From eric hill Sent Tue, Aug 10th 1999, 03:31
>Be careful when talking about synaesthesia. It is a very rare condition >where one type of sensation is actually experienced as something else. It >is not merely an imagined or "mind's eye" type of connection between >senses. Someone with synaesthesia might hear certain pitches or timbres >and actually see colors or shapes...not just imagine them. Other sense >combinations are possible; one might experience taste as feeling as in >Richard Cytowic's book "The Man Who Tasted Shapes," which gives a great >introduction to synaesthesia and what it has to tell us about the human >mind. interesting book tip (thanks!), but i don't consider 1:25,000 to be "very rare," but perhaps there is an even hypier rarity that they give to people born without skin, 5 asses, etc. regardless, there is a clinical (i.e. debilitating) manifestation of synesthesia where people listen to the radio and and their field of vision is filled with colors, and a generic variety (i.e. not serious enough to be reported to the proper authorities) that informs peoples' listening experiences. i have personally encountered enough people "suffering" from the latter for me to cast suspicion on any rarity claims, especially when some putz announces that it only happens under the influence of powerful psychedelic drugs. eric onnow: v/a : spysatellite (viewlexx)