Writing in Color
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Synesthesia is the subjective sensation of a sense other than the one being stimulated (double sense input) such as seeing the number four as dark purple. Gabrielle Loisel writes that to her, the letter N is brown and that for her, the alphabet is a wild array of hues “with the more vivid colors at the beginning and the deepest colors living in the middle.”
After I read the memoir, Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet who has synesthesia, it got me thinking, . . .
What if we all could see words as colors?
What if we feel words as colors?
1. COLORED WORDS BOOK – realistic
Start a color collection book with pages for each color. What words should go on the pages for each color? Should the word “leaf” go on the green page because it’s green? Only sometimes it’s orange so you decide!
Make a colored words book with things that are actually that color. Brown things could include: cinnamon, maple syurp, chocolate, soil, bunny poop, and wood and orange things: pumpkins, egg yolk, rust, traffic cones.
Use these books for ideas when you need a simile or a metaphor. What could you put for “silver as . . .” — How about a rain cloud, pebble, charcoal, or microphone?
2. COLORED WORDS BOOK – whimsical (pretend you have synesthesia!)
Now imagine that you have synesthesia. Try seeing words in colors, words that aren’t actually objects with a color. So something harder like the word “joy” – what color is that? See if you can find places for the following words:
creativity
whisper
crinkled
stuck
frown
thought
seven
censor
library
poetry
brainstorm
party
soft
anxious
adventure
To learn more about using color in the learning process, visit this post on color psychology.
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Thanks, Char — have fun!
Mary, I’m so intrigued with your story, that you assumed everyone else saw the world the same way! I wish I could see through your eyes for just one day. Amazing!
Another great post!
I can see this being a wonderful exercise to do together with my daughter.
Each of us making our own lists, then comparing.
This is going on our “to do”..very soon list!
I have synethesia, although I didn’t know it had a name until very recently. I have always seen numbers and letters in my mind’s eye in various colors. For example, 2 is orange, 4 is yellow, B is red. It certainly helps when trying to remember a combinations of numbers or letters, like addresses or phone numbers!
When I was young I assumed everyone saw numbers like this. I remember asking my parents once, though, and they told me they did not. I did not know there was a name for this “condition” until I read this article in Salon: http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2008/01/15/synesthesia
The color book idea is cool! I will pass it on to the preschool teachers I work with.
@Samantha, Thanks for the recommendation – I’ll check it out!
Later today my 5 year old was helping me brainstorm things that are red. She said “eyes” . . . I wonder if it’s time for those lubricating drops from the eye doctor?
Melissa – I have a 5 yr old, too so I especially laughed. While mine are not “red,” they feel that way! More sleep is the prescription.
I like the idea of the color book a lot. Your post reminded me of Joni Sensel’s MG novel, “The Humming of Numbers” (Henry Holt, 2008), which concerns, in part, synesthesia! She’s a terrific author.