Synthesia.

[Sammy-San]

http://io9.gizmodo.com/5979559/can-you-learn-to-taste-numbers-smell-words-or-hear-colors

Synesthesia: Tasting Words, Seeing Sounds, Hearing Colours And More

Yes and Yes True Story: I Have Synaesthesia

Is this an illusion/something wrong with the brain, a special ability to sense what others cant, something that is of an occult nature?

 

[Paidiske]

It's a brain thing. The nerves which process sensory input work differently to the way they do for most people.

 

[Sammy-San]

It's a brain thing. The nerves which process sensory input work differently to the way they do for most people.

Do they sense what others cannot, or its just illusions caused in the brain?

 

[Paidiske]

I'm not sure either of those is an accurate description. It's not that they see what I can't, or that they see something that's not there (for example), more that they see it differently. One of the commonest forms is for letters or numbers to be seen in different colours where you or I would see black on white.

I've also known, for example, a musician who said that when she heard particular sounds they had a "flavour" as well. As if, for example, a clarinet was minty or a cello like liquorice, as in, she actually had a taste in her mouth while she listened. Sound-flavour synaesthesia like that is less common, but it's to do with the nerves which process sound making connections with the nerves which process taste, and both being activated at the same time.

 

[Ophiolite]

One might think of it as a misinterpretation of the input, or - if you prefer a poetic take - perception as a metaphor.

 

[FireDragon76]

It sounds like a perceptual error due to neurology. Many people can have subtle forms of that. For instance, take the word "Red" and "blue" and color them differently, and people will often be confused if you ask them to identify the color of the word.

 

[Speedwell]

It sounds like a perceptual error due to neurology. Many people can have subtle forms of that. For instance, take the word "Red" and "blue" and color them differently, and people will often be confused if you ask them to identify the color of the word.

Ever play cards with a deck that has red spades and clubs and black hearts and diamonds? It's a good way to go crazy.

 

[Loudmouth]

Do they sense what others cannot, or its just illusions caused in the brain?

The best explanation that I can see is that neural pathways from one sensory input activate the neurons a neural pathway related to a different sense. A crossing of wires, if you will.

I could have some of this wrong, but I believe LSD causes neurons to spontaneously fire by blocking serotonin interactions which normally "calm" the neuron. What you get is patterns of active neurons that don't normally occur, and the result is hallucinations that are very much like synesthesia.

 

[Sammy-San]

The best explanation that I can see is that neural pathways from one sensory input activate the neurons a neural pathway related to a different sense. A crossing of wires, if you will.

I could have some of this wrong, but I believe LSD causes neurons to spontaneously fire by blocking serotonin interactions which normally "calm" the neuron. What you get is patterns of active neurons that don't normally occur, and the result is hallucinations that are very much like synesthesia.

Could it be those with synthesia see things others cannot? Artist Concetta Antico sees 100 times more colours than average person because of Tetrachromacy | Daily Mail Online

 

[FireDragon76]

Could it be those with synthesia see things others cannot? Artist Concetta Antico sees 100 times more colours than average person because of Tetrachromacy | Daily Mail Online

That's not synesthesia. That's having above-normal color vision.

 

[Sammy-San]

That's not synesthesia. That's having above-normal color vision.

So does she see actual colors others cannot or just shades? Like are there some colors human vision wasn't made to see in most people?

 

[Loudmouth]

So does she see actual colors others cannot or just shades? Like are there some colors human vision wasn't made to see in most people?

"The average person can see approximately one million colours, whereas tetrachromats have an extra cone class in their eyes for colour vision that dramatically increases their range up to a potential 99 million."

They have physically different retinas. This isn't a case of synesthesia.

 

[FireDragon76]

... Like are there some colors human vision wasn't made to see in most people?

Ultraviolet light. Some animals can see ultraviolet light, in general people cannot. It's one reason hunters and bird watchers often use special laundry detergents, to reduce the UV glow caused by "brighter than white" dyes (it also looks terrible on dark colors, BTW, since some of this dye reflects back as visible blue light).

 

[Sammy-San]

"The average person can see approximately one million colours, whereas tetrachromats have an extra cone class in their eyes for colour vision that dramatically increases their range up to a potential 99 million."

They have physically different retinas. This isn't a case of synesthesia.

Is that different shades or even entirely different colors?

 

[Loudmouth]

Is that different shades or even entirely different colors?

It is a different photoreceptor that responds to colors in a different way than the "normal" photoreceptors we all have. Us normal people have photoreceptors for magenta, cyan, and yellow. Our perception of colors is a result of how light reacts with those three different photoreceptors. As the old saying goes, yellow and blue make green. Green activates both our yellow and cyan receptors. When you add a 4th photoreceptor that behaves different than the other 3, you get a different perception of color.

 

[Sammy-San]

It is a different photoreceptor that responds to colors in a different way than the "normal" photoreceptors we all have. Us normal people have photoreceptors for magenta, cyan, and yellow. Our perception of colors is a result of how light reacts with those three different photoreceptors. As the old saying goes, yellow and blue make green. Green activates both our yellow and cyan receptors. When you add a 4th photoreceptor that behaves different than the other 3, you get a different perception of color.

Did she see an entire color (color as in green) that we cannot see?

 

[Loudmouth]

Did she see an entire color (color as in green) that we cannot see?

From what I can tell, she can see more hues between colors. If I were to show you two colors that differed by 1 nm in wavelength you may not be able to tell that they are different colors. She may be able to tell that they are different colors.

To use sound as an analogy, some people are able to tell the difference between very tiny changes in pitch while others are not. They can tell when a violin is slightly sharp or flat while others wouldn't notice.

 

[Sammy-San]

I'm not sure either of those is an accurate description. It's not that they see what I can't, or that they see something that's not there (for example), more that they see it differently. One of the commonest forms is for letters or numbers to be seen in different colours where you or I would see black on white.

I've also known, for example, a musician who said that when she heard particular sounds they had a "flavour" as well. As if, for example, a clarinet was minty or a cello like liquorice, as in, she actually had a taste in her mouth while she listened. Sound-flavour synaesthesia like that is less common, but it's to do with the nerves which process sound making connections with the nerves which process taste, and both being activated at the same time.

Is it true to say they sense what we cant?

 

[lesliedellow]

It is an interesting question why electrical signals arriving in your brain from your nostrils should, in any case, give rise to a completely different subjective sensation from an electrical signal arriving in yoour brain from your ears.

In the case of a few people, the answer would seem to be that they don't always.

 

[Loudmouth]

Is it true to say they sense what we cant?

The question lacks precision.

They can sense light, and so can we. So we can both sense light. Do people with normal color vision sense what color blind people can not?

It really depends on what you are asking about. For example, color blind people can see camouflaged vehicles better than people with normal color vision. In WWII they would use color blind troops in airplanes to scan a battle field for camouflaged tanks and artillery.