HOW MEGA-BUILDINGS ARE SLOWING EARTH’S SPIN
The next–gen drinks RETHINKING ALCOHOL The machine that HUNTS GHOST PARTICLES Why strange sounds SOOTHE YOUR BRAIN
CULTURAL SYNESTHESIA
“
I DON’T BELIE V E T H AT AN Y SYNE S T HE T IC
C OLOR IS R ANDOM
–NICHOLAS ROOT
ABOVE Researchers found that Fisher-Price refrigerator magnets had striking influence on synesthetic associations
„
by
MEERA KHARE (the synesthete) is a current senior at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, and will be attending Duke University in the fall. She plans on studying neuroscience to understand more phenomena like synesthesia, with the end goal of working in the medical field. The first-person voice in the article is hers.
by APOORVA BHANDARI (the neuroscientist) is an Assistant Professor of Cognitive, Linguistics, & Psychological Sciences (Research) at Brown University, Providence. His research focuses on discovering the psychological, computational and neural principles that govern the flexibility of human cognition
TOOLS FOR READERS TAP YOUR INNER SYNESTHETE
To gain more insight into your biases and influences, try to see the world like a synesthete. You can’t be a true synesthete without the right brain connections, of course, but here are Åsome exercises to help you capture a bit of the experience for yourself. By questioning you past associations, you may break free of thinking that is too uncritical or entrenched.
• Play a favorite album, but this time as you listen to it, try to visualize colors or shapes that match the sounds and lyrics you're hearing. You might try focusing on specific instruments or notes to see if you can associate them with particular visual experiences.
• Try eating different foods while blindfolded, and see if you can associate flavors with shapes or textures. Does that sweet party cake taste round while a salty, savory entrée somehow feels sharp?
• Experiment with different sensory experiences, such as combining scents and textures. For example, you might try smelling different perfumes while touching various items of clothing to see if you can associate the smells with specific textures.
— Pamela Weintraub