• Question: Why is synesthesia so rare?

    Asked by mary98 to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 19 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi @mary98
      Great question – I worked with synaesthetes for my 3rd Year project at University – I was always really jealous of people with synaeasthesia.
      Anyone reading this who doesn’t know, synaesthesia is a cross-modal linking of senses – so some people see colours when they read letters or numbers, some have tastes in their mouth when they hear words, some see colours when they hear music.
      These are unconscious, and reliably always stay the same over time.

      It is thought that about 1 in 23 people have some form of synaesthesia (amazingly most don’t realise until someone describes synaesthesia to them – they assume everyone sees the world as they do).

      As for why it is so rare, at the moment it is thought that synaesthsia is caused by a combination of genes (which are inherited from your parents) and an influence from the environment. It’s not just one gene, it’s a complicated mix of genes, and even if you have the genes, the conditions you are born in to have to be a certain way. This is why it’s so rare.

      Hope that answers your question, let me know if you’d like more info.
      How did you find out about synaesthesia? Do you have it? If so what kind?

      I would love to ask all the scientists involved, statistically there should be about 5 who have some form of synaesthesia across all the zones! What about in you class, or in your school?

    • Photo: Damien Hall

      Damien Hall answered on 19 Jun 2011:

      I’m not sure whether I am a synaesthete or not. I think probably not, though I do have some colour associations with musical notes: E is sort of tomato-soup colour, F or F-sharp are dark blue, and G is green. I think, though, that this is more likely to be from the first book I learned music from, which colour-coded the notes in that way.

      Also, in order to have the kind of synaesthesia where you see colours when you hear music, do you also have to have perfect pitch (that’s where you hear a note and automatically know what note it is, even without seeing how it was played)? That’s my problem. I don’t have perfect pitch, but only have these colour associations with the printed music, so I don’t think that’s synaesthesia.

      I used to be in a choir that made its own Christmas cards, and they were designed by one of our Sopranos who was a synaesthete and also an artist. She would simply put on a different Christmas carol every year, and paint the colours she saw! I thought that was great.

Comments

  • Photo: mary98

    mary98 commented on :

    Thank you for the answers! Suzi, I found out about it from a musical reality show on tv, it was sort of like X Factor. There was a young boy who played the piano who had synesthesia, and he composed all his songs and named them after the colours he saw. This form of synesthesia has interested me since then as I play the piano 🙂

  • Photo: Suzi

    Suzi commented on :

    Hi mary!
    The piano is the best instrument! (I play too!)