Seeing Life in Colors: Crosswired Senses

[WireMan7620]

My sound -> visual synesthesia is a little more grotesque than the woman's in this video. Notes aren't colors, but tones are. Some songs look like a horror movie to me. Makes for great artwork, though.

[Aiicyla]

i had no idea i had synesthesia until i saw this video.

[fatpeople911]

I had syesthesia before when i happened to misplace 400 micrograms of LSD under my tongue

[killiankiid]

i have that aswell it is wonderfull :)

[LionshadeElricfan]

@killiankiid oh cool which one!! :D i would be lying if i said i wasn't jealous. im an artistic person so i would be absolutely thrilled if i could 'see sound' and stuff :3

[killiankiid]

@LionshadeElricfan music in colours :P

[LionshadeElricfan]

@killiankiid thats so cool!!! x3 so like can you give me an example? cuz for people who have it each sound makes a different color and stuff.

[MultiSpazzo]

I have this. Music and sound in general can affect me on an actual physical level, creating tingles and shivers as well as creating almost animation in my mind's eye of the sound. its amazing and i never get bored of it. I work in sound production in fact, my absolute calling in life. I think my hearing has an unusually wide frequency response as well, as i often hear things that others can't. It's not dumb, as "jacksoncasimiro" thinks, it's evolution, and he isn't part of it.

[nerdstheword1]

@MultiSpazzo same ..but i thought it was normal until my friends said that they didn't have the same experiences and i never new that people could use this in everyday life !

[jacksoncasimiro]

this is dumb

[ChrisCa1601]

I also have this to a degree. For me, letters and numbers appear as colors in my mind. It's as if my mind assigned colors to certain numbers and letters.

[metallipwn]

Me has it.  B is green for me.

[xxguitarhero48xx]

B is brown, not silver. I have it hehe

[applegirl3425]

Is it strange that I kinda wanna have this??

[LionshadeElricfan]

@applegirl3425 nope cuz so do i! :D x3

[JCole131]

I have this, i link letters and numbers with colors, but I also see sound, its incredible like im on LSD ALL THE TIME

[jaamesin]

It's not that rare! 1 in 23 is the latest estimate. About 12 years ago my flatmate told the story of a friend from uni who, when trying to remember words, would say things like, "I'm sure it's a blue word." And I immediately said, "Well of course have different colours!" He thought I was taking the piss, so I went through a few examples - my name is white, yours is blue... obviously! Then about four years later I saw a doco, and I realised... wow, it's an actual thing! Don't think about it much.

[kashkeej]

I have synesthesia and I found it wierd when I have a friend who has synesthesia and its a very rare thing.

[Wezzipooh]

Bullshit! No way is she 24! Unless synesthesia also makes you look 10 years older than you are.

[bigblueboringer]

Oh man I only found out about synesthesia yesterday, I figured everyone could see the same stuff I could until I mentioned to my friend that one was red and blue was two and she was really confused. This is so coooool. I also never really realized how much I associate colors with days of the week until someone asked me "What day is orange?" and I said "Sunday" without even thinking about it.

[nerdstheword1]

@bigblueboringer omg the exact same thing to me ! people have been asking me what color is this number and i say a colour too and its always the same color !!

[KristophM]

Must be like tripping on shrooms 24/7

[crazyhorselover98]

when i think of time piriods i see in my mine a yellow rectangly and it gets longer depending on the time piriod

[crazyhorselover98]

i have never heard of any one with the type of synesthesia as me,for me,numbers and letters have personalities, genders and relationships with each other,for example,5 is kind of like the high school jock,HE is cool,wants to be the leader of the "gang" but only has a few friends.

[fallenstarrx17]

I have color-grapheme synesthesia, someone add me on facebook! I want to talk to someone who sees what I see... Cate Hazenstab

[YoungNubb]

lol @ "medical mystery".....

[MsNirvanaFanatic1]

It's weird to people who don't have it, but to people like me and the people in the video, this is a normal thing. we're not crazy. hahaha

[barbaryfair]

@MsNirvanaFanatic1 I'm curious, do you see colors in music (if that's what your synesthesia is) as 2D or 3D? and how much of the world do they cover up, or is it sort of like a separate slide in your mind's eye?

[MsNirvanaFanatic1]

@barbaryfair I do not see colors in music. however though, a B flat would be blue because my B is blue. It isn't 3D, i honestly have no idea how to explain it other than the word love is green and silver to me and it always has been. What do you mean by how much of the world does it cover up?

[barbaryfair]

@MsNirvanaFanatic1 I have faint synesthesia so I'm just wondering if it's different for people with stronger cases of it. I'm wondering if, for people who see sounds as color like I do, it sometimes seems like a 'pop on the theater screen' like it is for me...like it's in my normal field of vision. A lot of people say they see it only in their mind's eye. Also, mine is only 2D but it's textured, and I've heard of people having 3D colors.

[yesturtle]

diamond is clearly a red word.

[elysiumx2]

F sharp is my favourite colour.

[LilyThePotato]

I have synesthesia too! It helps me a lot with math, because for example: 2+2 = 4. 2's are green and 4's are purple. And in my mond, green plus green equals purple. It doesn't sound right, but that's how I think. Letters are colors too, and it is all in one big 3D map, as if I'm standing in a rainbow of letters. Its pretty cool!

[van1980]

@LilyThePotato I find that incredibly interesting. Do you mind if I send you some questions?

[LilyThePotato]

@van1980 Ummmm sure! But don't send me Math questions right now because I'm on vacation and I don't feel like doing Math. Haha! But if you absolutely HAVE to, then go ahead, but only simple addition, such as 2+2. I am only in 7th grade.......

[heythatkid4321]

@LilyThePotato for me 2 + 2 = 4 is blue + blue = green!

[pengald]

i have a mild case of this, the word youtube reminds me of cell phone camera videos, lego characters in jail cells, and bathtubs.

[mariahmescudi]

hahahaha they make it sound weird...

i always thought it was normal....

[crazyhorselover98]

@mariahmescudi me too!!!!!!!!!

[KittyCuteThing]

I think this is really cool haha.

[poway112]

orange blue yellow red purple green. Bet this fucks with your head

[ImaTofurketarian]

I found the twos right away, they are shiny orange-gold, but the fives are bright red! Some notes I can taste, but not all. Most voices have color and texture. All words have color, texture, and sometimes shape. Numbers and letters too, and some even have genders. Months and days too of course.

[selenaroxursox1]

@ImaTofurketarian Do names have colors?? If so what color's mine -Selena

[Anshky]

@selenaroxursox1 S is light blue, E is orange, L is pale yellow, N is an orange-yellow, A is red. Because S is first, its color is dominant, but the rest is orange-yellowish. It's hard to describe...

[crazyhorselover98]

@ImaTofurketarian Letters and numbers have genders for me to,but they also have personalities and relationships,for u what is 2?

[evilCookiez]

nooo Bflat is like teal xD

[bickly777]

I have this really minorly and not in everything, what i have is when i look at a person, they have their own number, they almost resemble that number, though i don't know if its the value of the number or the shape of it, but it's not cool like being able to see colors with music, i wish i had that

[RikuxDaisukeNiwa13]

Wow! That's kinda cool :D

[bumblebeedancer]

Spiritual God thing?? Pff.. more like an awesome brain ability thing!! I hate it when people associate cool things to "God giving you a gift" >.<

[agentjs09]

@bumblebeedancer sorry we don't all fit into your narrow atheistic worldview.

[bumblebeedancer]

@agentjs09 guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Have a nice day.

[FMAiscool]

@bumblebeedancer haha yes, i hate that as well

[rowland2110]

I think its just association.

[DynamicScherzo]

And can you imagine how incredible it would be to taste music? I can think of so many songs that would taste delicious.

[DynamicScherzo]

I can't even imagine what it's like to taste a colour, wow.

[crazyhorselover98]

@DynamicScherzo My mom used to taste colors

[inrSTRENGTH]

I keep smelling the situations I get in. Seriously, every time I get into a certain type of pre-categorized trouble, a certain smell pops ups that somehow suits it, not necessarily pungent, not necessarily nice, neither.

[Batman3590]

@inrSTRENGTH Yep, I smell burning rubberbands everytime I get left off somewhere.

[inrSTRENGTH]

@Batman3590 does that mean it's unpleasant? Cos I smell hospital dettol or antiseptic everytime a particular bad situation arises for me. It always let's me know to be careful.

[Batman3590]

@inrSTRENGTH I don't think so, it's just different for everyone. These relatively random synesthete experiences are probably the remaining crosswirings our brains have kept since infancy. Since infancy is when synesthesia is considered to exist.

[RocketTubes]

one is brown 2 is red 3 is orange 4 yellow green 5 blue is six violet 7 gray 8 white 9 gold 10 silver 10 square and no color, thats the color codes of a resistor. same as color codes of the electric wires.

[RocketTubes]

one is brown 2 is red 3 is orange 4 yellow green 5 blue is six violet 7 gray 8 white 9 gold 10 silver 10 square and no color, thats the color codes of a resistor. same as color codes of the electric wires.

[smashingpoop]

i am so jealous i want to see music =(

[300SpartanX]

@smashingpoop its not as amazing as it sounds, i have it and for me it's just a different way of hearing.

[LionshadeElricfan]

@300SpartanX but to us people who DONT have it it just sounds absolutely amazing and beautiful and pretty dang awesome. :3

[holohulolo]

For those who taste words, or sounds, has it ever happen to you that when you hear your friends name or voice it tastes really bad?

[Sirsin888]

@holohulolo Yeah, it has for me. The names Amy, Annie, Burt, and Connie all do that. Unfortunately those are the names of people I know.

[crazyhorselover98]

@Sirsin888 What about Miya? (thats my dog)

[Sirsin888]

@crazyhorselover98 Miya is a really pretty name! It doesn't have any taste for me, but the color is a deep purple with a little spark of white and yellow

[crazyhorselover98]

@Sirsin888 thanks for telling me

[CardwellProductions1]

God, I love having this.

[CardwellProductions1]

By the way, Clam Chowder is really triangular and yellow.

[RijenRijen]

to much lsd

[poopmcscoopface]

wow i need to try acid

[themarvelgirl]

As a synesthete myself I am very pleased with this little video clip. I like the emphasis on the involuntary nature of synesthesia- how you can't choose to have it or turn it off.

Richard Cytowic has a lot to share with the synesthetic community, anyone interested should check out his books. My favorite was 'Wednesday is Indigo Blue'.

[ThePuppetgirl12]

I can taste colors. taste some letters and red hurts my teeth.

[IsisMollyO]

It took me a long time to finally figure out what was going on, but I figured out that I associate colors with words, numbers, letters, and musical notes. For me, vowels are very distinct colors and consonants lighten or darken them. I also have perfect pitch, where I can hear a note (either on an instrument or something like a vacuum cleaner) and say, "oh that's a C." Notes are associated both with colors and spatial feelings; some notes are "full" or "nearly there" or "half-full".

[chingillin]

How would she see a Fart :D

[MasoSK1]

When I see 3 it flows to my mind the red "r".

[OginoChihiro]

I wonder if it's insensitive to say that I'm envious of people with synesthesia.

[itmeantnothing]

i don't think it's insensitive at all. it's not a disorder or anything...while it can cause some complications (filling out captchas can be hard, as can doing algebra) it is for the most part an advantage or enhancement.

[crazyhorselover98]

@itmeantnothing I hate algebra because a lot of times in the text book, it pairs numbers with letters that they dont like

[killtheink]

don't worry, you're not alone. I am JEALOUS of these people. ARGGGHH.

[TaikiNakashima]

although people may think its weird...i think this is a really different and positive effect on a person...this is awesome

[OCDsucks]

since I was a kid I always attributed certain colors to days of the week, months, and numbers... but only single digit numbers... february is dark blue, june is yellow, march is red, april is blue, may is red again, november is brown, october is dark purple, but I didn't know it had a name until a year ago... my friend thinks I'm making this up, but then again he's a prick so I don't care either way

[NavinJohnson90]

I have a fetish for girls with synethesia.

[themarvelgirl]

@NavinJohnson90 Are you serious? What is different about a girl with synesthesia?

[NavinJohnson90]

@themarvelgirl Why, are you one? Lemme get them digits (and the various colors you associate with them) ;)

[sooopersarah]

hahaha i have this but everyone thinks its bs

[OCDsucks]

yeah same with me... like we would make up a bizarre condition just for the hell of it

[Kazooozz]

Does any one see shapes in the music? Just the outlines, I have to really concentrate if I want to see colors...(The man with the deep kind of monotone voice, yuck. All I could see was a bunch of triangles...)

[CardwellProductions1]

And ORANGE triangles. Eww.

[CogSlayer98]

i see 3d calenders, but that's about it. there anent any colors popping up or anything, but i so dearly wish there were b/c im a trumpet player. *Sigh*

[Denniedoodoo2]

Amazing, reading, eating, listening to music etc must be a wonderful experience for people who have synesthesia. Lucky and gifted to be able to perceive the world so differently, wow :)

[bellairis29]

OMG I  think this is the news show that the person who told me what I have is synesthesia saw. Before that I thought everybody saw letters and numbers as colors. They've been exactly the same since I was 3.

The number 5 is green though, not red, and that bothered me.

[JonnyBoy1000000]

I see letters and numbers as colors. 0-White 1-Yellowish-Pink 2-Yellow 3-Green 4-Pink 5-Red 6-Orange 7-Green 8-Blue 9-Blueish Green 10-Red

[kvonribbenburg]

is this a joke?

[Hjprueger]

no it's not, i have synesthesia too!

i'm a grapheme and a spacial synesthete

[kvonribbenburg]

i believe you!

it was a response to JonnyBoy1000000

[davidconjefferson]

I also have multiple types of synesthesia! It is pretty wild stuff. I'm just like her. I'm actually a student at a music conservatory in ohio and I can play 17 instruments. I can also see individual colors for every sound pitch like she was explaining. I have composed some wild things with it for solo piano, trios, and even orchestras!

[Schwessie]

Are there also people who hear music as they taste food? That would be weird too... unless you want to lose weight and your salad is a great harmony, lol

[ShinobiSasukeUchiha]

I think there is...I mean, I remember how back in high school Psychology, my class learned about synesthesia, and one of the things that it mentioned about synesthetics are hearing things while tasting food.

[Xxero0]

I dont see notes as colors, I see the pattern of notes over time as a color.

[TheSchimmi]

i have ordinal personification 0-friendly, good natured, calm and carefree 1-sad, has no friends, 1 is the loneliest number 2-a good person but kind of a douche 3-like one, but mean, although very realistic 4-feminine, a good friend 5-kind of like an army sergent, rough, but good inside 6-that friend you only talk to when you're really bored, a fifth wheel 7-sharp, clever and cunning 8-calm and intelligent 9-like 5, but less good, thinks too much of himself

[MyLegendarySelf]

Very cool

[zebredpooding]

i wouldnt want to smell brocolli when i look at numbers and taste peanut butter when i hear music. that would drive me bonkers.

[hairybear2704]

really amazing yes. spriritual god thing,, ahh no,

[xxstarkissedxx]

Calm down you guys. Synesthesia can be good for some people and bad for others. You can take it however you like, but it's nothing special. It's unique but it has nothing to do with spirituality and everything to do witih the brain and with neurological senses. It's great, I have it(: But it's nothing religious and God hasn't granted us synesthetes some special gift. Just to clear that up. Google it sometime and you'll learn that.

[gorgeousgoddess16]

i have synesthesia too :D helps with all arts and memorizing things.

[KniteShayd]

I totally agree with you, ggoddess

[gaylebugs]

Laura, I know many people in your family...and you do have a gift. No matter if people believe it or not...in fact what others believe makes no difference. The fact that yours comes out in beautiful music makes it even more special. Keep giving out the blessing you have so freely been given.

[xyrlocshammypants]

A spiritual G-d thing? Sorry lady, you just got some wires crossed...simple as that. You're not unique, you're not a snowflake. You are a part of the same decaying organic waste as the rest of us. Now play some rag time.

[oxkaseyxo]

sounds like someones a little jealous hehehe

[stardestroyr]

bitter much? She can believe whatever she wants. It sounds magical to me.

[xyrlocshammypants]

Keep eating your lucky charms. I have this debilitating disease and let me tell you: it's no picnic. Dou know how annoying it is to get weird sensations of touch, taste, or colour whenever some random sound, object, or creature rubs your cortex the wrong way? Of course you don't. It's enough to make you mad, man, mad.

[YUMMMvideos]

Her music colors are different than mine, and it bothers me. Haha.

[yadishansar]

@YUMMMvideos How do you see numbers, i have a question for you. What if a number looks like 2 numbers, i means what if i write 1 in a way that it also looks like 7, what color it will have

[mulotozink]

@yadishansar if i know its a one then it will be black. if it think it is a 7 it will be dark green even if its a 1 hahaha

[yadishansar]

@mulotozink well i thought that mind will automatically work there and tell you the correct answer. Anyway i think everyone experience this type of mixture of senses, when i getup from sleep, or in half sleep, i can see everything (emotions, sounds) that i am listening. Once in a dream i saw a yellow geometrical shape, and in mind i knew it as love. When emoitonal one see things totally from different view, can feel many things that in general one doesn't. You may agree

[van1980]

@YUMMMvideos Where do you see it?

[exohsamantha]

great video! i think im going to use it in my psychology project

[musicaabimopectore]

Ah, those letters at about 2.30 are irritating, they have the wrong colors! My own colors and the colors of the video get mixed together, horrible! Anyway, it's a really good video and it's great to have synesthesia, although it can be difficult to explain other people the a-440 Hz is red, you know...

[sass1177]

I totally agree!lol

[Tebesile]

Lol! I'm a Synaesthete and it rules! :)

[BRESHEET]

Synesthesia: A remnant of the original abilities given to Humans made in the image of God. It's amazing that some have these gifts in their DNA still being manifested.

[BRESHEET]

Synesthesia: A remnant of the original abilities given to Humans made in the image of God. It's amazing that some have these gifts in their DNA still being manifested.

[musicaabimopectore]

You speak as if people with synaesthesia are closer to how humans are supposed to be according to God. Let me tell you this: synaesthetes are nothing better than non-synaesthetes!

[peel432]

haha lol yea synesthesias cool

i wish i had it

but piano ladys a queer

[crazyhorselover98]

@peel432 Do u have something against gay people,if not,shut ur face

[GrandPatzer]

Wow. I would love to "see" music. That's beautiful! She`s a pretty good pianist too, so I bet she gets a greater experience out of music. Now, I wonder what things you would see if the piano were out of tune, or if you were watching American Idol preliminaries...

[mooosh1001]

ROFL that's an interesting thought.

[musicaabimopectore]

If the instrument is out of tune, the tone becomes kind of grainy or bleached, depending on which tone it is and whether it is too low or too high. I also find it very difficult to play on a piano that is out of tune, because the sound gets really painful sharp, as if someone is stabbing you with a needle while your playing, really annoying.

[MissMessUp]

This is very intresting, and yes, it is a gift to people who have synesthesia!

[thelosttoa11548]

I can visualise sentences in the real world as if they were subtitles to a movie...

[pasky311]

synesthesia is very awsome... but i have a doubt... 4 example, if every letter in a book has an established colour, what happen if u read something with letter that all ready have a colour...?

[ebsmrtgrl]

Although I am not a synesthete, I assume that would be no different than reading all black letters, the brain simply reassigns the letters the "correct" color.

[MissyMomoThePeach]

This is so interesting! I'm doing a science fair project on synesthesia, and I really wish I had it! :]

[japangirlcmw]

I'm glad that they explained this on a News show. I also have Synesthesia, and it was nice to see other people with the same symptoms. - Adelaide

[daniellie47]

i also have music/color synesthesia or colored hearing as i like to call it. im so glad this is here!

[Beiliny]

me too! but numbers and letters in my mind have their own color, presonality and physical attributes. so words are larger numbers make a larger personality or shape. my mom and older brother have Synesthesia too but theirs is a bit different.

thanks so much for putting this up!

[Zhongguosocool]

So glad you put this up here! Now it's easier for people to understand what I have.