two is a playful little girl, eight is a charming gentleman

tonight i had a long-overdue revelation. while catching up with peacoat papers, i encountered for the first time in my life the notion of synesthesia. this condition is “a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.” –> lots of words to mean that people who experience this anomaly have an instinctive, spontaneous association that inexplicably crosses senses.

so… sounds may evoke certain colors, or days of the week could have a spatial location on a mental map, or words might elicit the impression of a specific taste. it seems bizarre, but for those with this neurological sensation, the link is natural and enhances and clarifies the observation. most synethsetes are not aware that their perceptions are unusual until they grasp that others do not feel the same way.

for as long as i can remember, numbers and letters have exhibited gender and personality traits in my mind. i was surprised to discover that this is a particular type of synesthesia called “ordinal linguistic personification.” as i read the reports on wikipedia of those with OLP, i was blown away by how closely i relate to the detailed impressions of each digit and rune described by these individuals. this is exactly how i perceive them, except that the characteristics they assigned are not the same as my image of the alphabet and figures.

i distinctly remember the moment i realized others did not share my concept of ordered sequences. (although at the time it just registered as “am i weird?”) i was in second grade arithmetic, halfway through a detailed description to my classmate of the relationships between the numbers (“2 is 3′s little sister, and 4 is his funny best friend, 5 is a bossy girl and 6…”) when i registered the look on her face and determined i should stop if i wanted to have any friends (social pressures start so early). since then i have just kept it to myself.

until now. what a relief to know that i am not alone in my crazy cognitive connections. i’m thrilled my friend found the answer to her color-correlation, and introduced me to the word that defines my reality.

i find it fascinating to read the research about possible conditions in the brain that might lead to this phenomenon, but more so, i am in awe of the complexities of our minds and perception of the world. so today i am thankful for being a remarkable creation of God, able and intended to enjoy life through multiple sensory layers.

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”

Psalm 139:14

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers.