Chroma Nomad

Synesthesia is an uncommon neurological trait where a person’s senses involuntarily and instantly blend together. One sense is interpreted as another sense. For example, a person can interpret sounds as having colors. Another person can hear music and feel a physical touch on their body. The key factors that make this experience synesthesia is that the two senses that blend happen involuntarily (the person has no direct control on the senses happening or not happening) and it is instantaneous (as soon as one sense is triggered, the second sense blends immediately).

To get a better idea of “involuntary” and “instantaneous,” consider these scenarios:

1. You are around a store and suddenly, you can smell a light scent of perfume from a woman who walks by you. As soon as you smell the perfume, you see an image of your grandma in your mind. The second you smelled the perfume, you then saw an image.
2. You are walking by a bakery and smell the scent of cookies as you pass by. As soon as you smell the cookies, you immediately can “taste” them.

People who have these characteristics are called “synesthetes.”

Whenever I talk about my experience living with synesthesia, I often show people this movie scene to reference what it is like to have a sense that blends with colors. It is a popular scene from Disney’s movie Ratatouille. Here, Remy, the rat, bites into food and as he is tasting the food he also hears colors swirl around him.

Synesthesia is a very diverse experience that is unique to every individual that experiences it. One key difference in the experience is that there are two different types of ways that synesthetes “see” their synesthesia: projection or association.

Projection synesthesia is when a person experiences their version of synesthesia outwardly. For example, they physically see the colors of music dance around them.

Association synesthesia is when a person experiences their version of synesthesia inwardly, usually described as “in their mind’s eye.” For example, they see the colors of music as a transparent lens in their mind. It is similar to how a non-synesthete can imagine a red ball in front of them, but not actually see it pop out in their periphery.

Overall, synesthesia is a highly personalized experience for every synesthete. Even if two people experience the same version of synesthesia, they will have distinct differences in how they perceive the sense.