Why I built this site

About ten years ago I heard a radio interview with Richard Cytowic, author of The Man who Tasted Shapes. In the interview, Cytowic gave fascinating accounts of the condition known as synaesthesia. Literally translated, it means “a joining of sensations.” Cytowic told of people who not only “tasted” shapes, but also “heard” colors, “smelled” sounds - the permutations were almost endless. I was fascinated and made a mental note of the title of the book and the name of the condition. It was something I planned to follow up on.

That was back in the day when books were the only way to research something. I lost track of the concept of synesthesia, only to be reminded of it now and then by articles, interviews, and even a pop song. I made numerous mental notes to dig deeper, but never got around to it. Still, each time I was reminded about the condition, I felt envious. It was as if there existed a wonderful club of which I never could be a member.

Then, one day in November of 2001, my partner and I were reading an SSI scientist’s web log. In one very humorous article, the author outlined his intense dislike of certain foods. Several of his descriptions caught my attention, and I remarked that it sounded as if he might be a synaesthete. My partner had no idea what I was talking about, so I did a bit of web research in hopes of finding a site that could describe the condition better than I could. I came across Sam Scott’s (sadly, now missing) site, and my adventure began. Scott’s site had a link that says, “Go here to see pictures of how some synesthetes experience their world.” I expected to find amazing multi-media images, and extraordinary descriptions of perceptions I would consider myself fortunate to even imagine.

I found what I expected; I also found more. I found alphabets.

The majority of the images were colored alphabets. Some included letters, others included days of the week. For the first time in my life, I realized I was a synaesthete.

It had never occurred to me that my perceptions were in any way unusual. I have ascribed colors, genders and even personalities to letters, numbers, words and other symbols for as long as I can recall. Unlike many synaesthetes who learned early that their condition was unusual, I don’t remember every feeling odd or unusual - like many others, I have always assumed that - in this matter, at least - everyone was like me, and that I was like everyone else.

Synaesthesia is understood to be an hereditary condition, so I figured I must have grown up surrounded by fellow “syns” to have been so utterly unaware I was “different” in this way. I put together a questionnaire I felt would give me a good feel for who in my family might share this wonderful condition. To my delight, the responses indicated I wasn’t alone. It seems I grew up surrounded by fellow syns. In large part, this site is a tribute to them.

I have just begun to explore the world of synaesthesia as it applies to me. I visualize letters and numbers - as well as words, days of the week, months - you name it - with distinct color associations. To some degree I also apply gender and personality to these symbols. Other members of my family seem to experience more intense gender and/or personality associations, among other synaesthetic associations. I’m looking forward to reading about the perceptions and experiences of everyone who visits this site. Please take part in our message boards, and come back often!