You may walk by a person who says that “this word tastes like eggs” or “A is a businessman.” You may think this is strange, but is a superpower called synesthesia. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s find out more.
What is Synesthesia?
Synesthesia is a superpower that some humans have in which two or more senses are connected. It is not a disease because it could be helpful in many ways for people to find out thing.
At first, people thought that synesthesia is not real. It is fantasy. Now, we know it is real. There are about 150 types of synesthesia. It is like hearing color or seeing sounds. You cannot get it, you have to be born with it. Rarely, it is from brain injuries and stroke.
Types of Synesthesia
Grapheme-color synesthesia
This is a type of synesthesia where people will see words as colors like “A is blue”. It is common.
Chromesthesia
It is a condition when people see colors when they hear something.
Auditory-tactile synesthesia
It is synesthesia that people feel sound as touch.
Lexical-gustatory synesthesia
This rare synesthesia is a condition where people can get a sense of taste when they hear words.
Spatial sequence synesthesia
It is a synesthesia where people can see dates and numbers in a location.
Mirror-touch synesthesia.
It is a recently discovered condition where a synesthete feels the same sensation when someone touches another person.
If you want to learn more about synesthesia, there is a TED-ED owith Richard E. Cytowic.