On Hearing and Tasting Color
It is a proven fact that some people's brains are wired incorrectly such that they sense different senses than they should. For example, some people feel the sensations of taste when they look at different colors. This is called synesthesia.
I was pondering this the other night. I've heard people mention how cool this would be. But I think it would be a great annoyance. For one, the color of the restaurant one ate at would affect the taste of one's food. That would not be cool.
For two, it is easy to block one's nose if one does not like the smell of something. One can choose not to eat something. But one does not generally walk around closing one's eyes because something looks horribly bad. (Granted, I do look away in disgust at all the obnoxious pinks and pastels that have infected our shopping malls of late. *blech*) What if you hated the smell of the color green. You'd have to go live in a place where there were no trees or grass (like Arizona). Or perhaps, like smell and taste work as is, the brain starts to fade out the sensation if it persists too long. This is how farmers can stand - and amazingly even miss - the smell of manure. Maybe one would only notice the smell of a color that was drastically new. Maybe one would only smell the sunrise, and then the smell nerves in the brain would adapt, and life would be relatively normal.
Anyhow, these were my considerations. Does anyone know more info about this disorder?
Edit (16.05.2011): added paragraph breaks, punctuation, and the name of the disorder
I was pondering this the other night. I've heard people mention how cool this would be. But I think it would be a great annoyance. For one, the color of the restaurant one ate at would affect the taste of one's food. That would not be cool.
For two, it is easy to block one's nose if one does not like the smell of something. One can choose not to eat something. But one does not generally walk around closing one's eyes because something looks horribly bad. (Granted, I do look away in disgust at all the obnoxious pinks and pastels that have infected our shopping malls of late. *blech*) What if you hated the smell of the color green. You'd have to go live in a place where there were no trees or grass (like Arizona). Or perhaps, like smell and taste work as is, the brain starts to fade out the sensation if it persists too long. This is how farmers can stand - and amazingly even miss - the smell of manure. Maybe one would only notice the smell of a color that was drastically new. Maybe one would only smell the sunrise, and then the smell nerves in the brain would adapt, and life would be relatively normal.
Anyhow, these were my considerations. Does anyone know more info about this disorder?
Edit (16.05.2011): added paragraph breaks, punctuation, and the name of the disorder