The Color of Letters

It is estimated that one in 2000 people experience a form of synesthesia, which means that sense perception might be "mixed up" (or perhaps "evolved")  from what is considered typical. For example, letters might always be perceived as having particular colors (A, for example, might always appear blue). Colors can be associated with sounds, or touch. People may see images or colors during a massage or while listening to music.

Recent research has revealed that "vision and hearing are inextricably linked in everyone's brain, but only synesthetes are aware of it" (The Globe and Mail, Dec. 30, 2006).

The sense of smell too can be involved, triggering images or colors. What is marvellous here for me is how diverse we are, and how hard it can be to fully appreciate what exactly might be going on inside another's head. Even as we all listen to the same music or read the same text, it is a challenge to appreciate the full range of perceptions which greet the work.

I like to joke that Alice B. Toklas had an experience with synesthesia. In her case, a bell rang in her head whenever she met genius.