TED Conversations

Juniper Blue

TEDCRED 10+

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

Could people develop a functional synesthesia?

I have heard of something called synesthesia where people are able to naturally combine senses much as you decribe "hearing the phone ring as green." People born with synesthesia may smell red as coffee or hear the color blue as middle C (for example.)

I am wondering if a person with dylsexia could learn to hear letters and therefore hear spelling so that if they can not see that a word is spelled incorrectly, they may hear that it is spelled incorrectly ... something along these lines??

Related Talks:
+3
Share:
progress indicator
  • thumb

    Gail . 50+

    • 0
    Aug 8 2012: I process thoughts/ideas in geometric forms. Translating multi-dimensional geometry to 2 dimensional word constructs is time consuming and frustrating. The geometric language is precise and doesn't allow for misunderstandings. Not quite what you are talking about, but related I think
  • thumb

    Debra Smith 200+

    • +1
    Jul 30 2012: I love the idea of human beings expanding through reframing things like synethesias. I think they provide huge clues so our functioning especially how consciousness works. I think humanity has been doing similar things every time we invent new tools. Who would have believed that i could talk to my friend in Texas, my aunt in BC and my kids in Montreal and Ottawa all the while I was hospitalized in Toronto not by telepathy but rather by cell phone and hear their thoughts instantly. Somehow creative dreamers dream new dreams for me that I NEVER even imagined. We don't get run over because trucks now beep when they are doing their most dangerous function. Maybe that is a precursor to what you have in mind. Thank you for a fascinating question!

    • Juniper Blue 10+

      • +1
      Aug 1 2012: Yes .... I love the cell phone illustration! And so good to "hear" that you are feeling better Debra!

  • Juniper Blue 10+

    • +2
    Jul 26 2012: Thanks for responding Dan. it is great to hear form someone who can relate!

    I "hear" movement .. flashing lights, swinging motions like the pendelum in a Grandfther clock or a kid on a swing, contracting muscles (when people wear shorts) and walk .. louder when they run .. I can hear the whirring sound of the program symbol that is running right now. It is almost maddening!! Most moving things are accompaneid in my mind by a "pulsing" sound .. a "vibration" sound.

    The sound of things moving is more intense if I am stressed. For me, it is annoying to "hear" all of this extra noise and it can be very overwhelming ... it is very distracting. I "hear" he sounds internally and so, I am not sure if it is true synesthesia.

    Thank goodness, that I don't hear the sounds externally .. I do not think that I could tolerate this.

    I have experienced this pairing of movement with internal sound since as long as I can remember and I thought that everyone was like me until learned that others do not "hear" movement.

    I suffered head trauma as a child and deal with various learning disabilites .. I have a very hard time tuning things out that other people seem to not even notice.

    I have a strong connection with sound ... I can sing well and started writing songs (words, melody, harmony) spontaneously as a child. I can just get a recorder out and start singing and a song will write itself. I have not done much with this profesionally because I cannot write music notation or play an instrument. I have sung as a lead singer/songwriter in casual bands and that is surreal and somewhat exhilerating but the stress of performing on stage is not enjoyable to me. Nerves got to me afterwards. I gave up my "rock star" status when I turned 30. LOL. I have had no formal music training. I wish that I had learned an instrument when I was a kid. I failed (miserably) when I tried to learn guitar as an adult but Good luck to YOU! Enjoy a sweet & juicy music JAM on your guitar! :

  • Dan Geurin 10+

    • +2
    Jul 26 2012: I have the ability to taste and feel sounds. I actually salivate (like when you eat something sweet) when listening to certain passages of music. I have always had this abilty so I didn't think it was different until I was older. I also feel sounds as dry or wet and bumpy and smooth. Almost like I can feel it with the tips of my fingers. I love music and have recently taken up guitar. I have no practical use for this ability. It's just come up in a talk and now this conversation.
    • thumb

      Derek Young 30+

      • +1
      Jul 27 2012: If you ever watched the movie planet terror by Dr. Dakota Block, "You know, my girlfriend had a theory. She said at some point in your life, you find a use for every useless talent you ever had. It's like connecting the dots".

      • Dan Geurin 10+

        • 0
        Jul 27 2012: Maybe someday I'll become a musical chef or something :)
        • thumb

          Derek Young 30+

          • 0
          Aug 8 2012: ps:thank you because you inspired me to start a conversation about "seemingly useless talents". =)
    • thumb

      Derek Young 30+

      • 0
      Jul 27 2012: I meant to write "the character Dr. Dakota Block says".....not 'by' him....opps.

      Well yes, someday we will all rise above our seemingly useless talents. =P

  • george lockwood 20+

    • 0
    Jul 24 2012: Some of the NLP people talk about this.
  • thumb

    Derek Young 30+

    • 0
    Jul 23 2012: Oh, Yes! I have heard of these people who can see sounds normally. I recall my choir teacher told us several times about people who could see sounds.

    I am not sure if this is an innate ability or a developed ability, but hopefully more experts can weigh in on the issue.

    Good Luck Juniper!
  • thumb

    Fritzie Reisner 100+

    • 0
    Host
    Jul 21 2012: What an interesting question! I know dyslexia takes many forms and often involves issues with perceiving placement in a sequence. What I do not know is whether someone who has difficulty perceiving sequence in letters also would interchange sequences of colors or sounds he might learn to associate with those letters.

  • Devon Lee

    • 0
    Jul 21 2012: Sorry if my meaning could be misinterpreted. The purpose of the comment was to show that we have many machines that do synaesthesia like things already. for example transforming sound to colour already.
  • thumb

    Debra Smith 200+

    • +1
    Jul 21 2012: Dear Juniper Blue, many of us had an extended conversation on synethesia not long before the first TED talk on the subject and we included references and first person stories of the experience (I am not a synesthete but an interested observer.) Perhaps you would enjoy finding and purusing it?

    • Juniper Blue 10+

      • +1
      Jul 21 2012: Thank you ... yes .... I will try to find it.

  • Devon Lee

    • 0
    Jul 21 2012: I have just realised the technology needed for this is already in use in many areas and for many years even if it hasn't been associated with synaesthesia.

    We hear magnetic fields when using metal detectors.
    We see brain waves.
    we can naturally feel sound waves
    With airport drug and bomb swabs we can see smells of those chemicals.


    Music visualisations on PC media player use specific colours for specific sounds. These vary from song to song and player to player however if we could make standardised sound to light and vice versa conversions we could add another layer of meaning and eventually convert music to language format.

    These correlations now make synaesthesia slightly less amazing but also adds a level of wisdom to the products we already use.

    • Ed Schulte 50+

      • 0
      Jul 21 2012: Right

      just as the so-called "Aura" field around Humans are visible ....

      these are the electromagnetic fields "seen" ( but not with the corporeal eyes) around the HUman body. They fields are generated due to the "flow" of ether energy through the Etheric bodies of humans.
Showing all 19 comments