In a message dated 6/17/00 9:45:36 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
altamira@ecpi.com writes:
> The quality I'm talking about has to
> do with sensing the unexpected in the ordinary--for example, looking at
> clouds and seeing hundreds of different shade of white and at the same time
> hearing (in one's mind) all these shades of white translated into
> corresponding frequencies of sound; or listening to the rumbling of a
> machine and suddenly hearing intensely beautiful music in the combination
of
> sounds and seeing (in the mind) the sounds translated into something like
> graphs of mathematical functions, weaving in and out of each other.
This sounds like (so to speak :-) synesthesia, where the
mind experiences events of one sense in other senses
simultaneously. It's known of and gets a little study-
I found 6 articles in the past 7 years on BIOSIS.
One sounds related to your interest but is unfortunately
in Italian. The others are brain scans and such.
Dogana, Fernando. From synesthesia to expressive quality. Archivio di
Psicologia Neurologia e Psichiatria, v.55, n.1-2, 1994.:464-480.
Abstract:
The article discusses the specific nature of synesthesia in
the context of intermodalmphenomena. It illustrates the
experimental research that has explored the characteristics
of thispeculiar perceptual process and debates the main
explanatory theories (from those based on learning, to those
implying some type of "isomorphism" between unrelated
sensorial modalities, up to explanations originating from
recent discoveries on the role of nervous system). The
Author's interest is also dedicated to the continuity between
synaesthetic phenomena and the "expressive" qualities that
are the main constituents of aesthetic experience. In
particular, the article illustrates the contribution given by
Prof. Girotti to this area of research.
>The "bipolar" people I've known sometimes seem to see this way when they're
>in their manic phases.
Never heard anything about bipolarity and synesthesia. My understanding
(very limited) was that synesthesia was thought to be a rare, basically
congenital condition. Synesthetics (supposedly) tend *not* to agree on
what the induced perceptions are. Hence it's thought to result from
idiosyncratic "wiring defects", much like sneezing from sunlight (hmm - that
IS a synesthesia now that I think of it. It really does feel like there's
something in my nose.) Of course, the effects could be good or bad, not
necessarily defective at all.
>Is there some practical use to be made of it,
>or is it something to be enjoyed mostly in silence
Several classical composers were synesthetic, although the only one I can
think of is Alexander Scriabin. Several developed color-note correspondence
charts (which differ).
I think synesthesia is an obvious motivator for artistic pursuits.
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