Synesthesia is described in Wikipedia as a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Many times I've seen this described as hearing pictures or seeing sounds etc. I wouldn't call these descriptions entirely wrong. But they can be extremely misleading. I like to take unimaginable concepts and take it down to a more mundane level and show that the miracles was only technology that wasn't understood.
Just take a word like 母 Does it create any image in your mind. Most people will have to use the internet to figure out that the word is pronounced as "Haha". What does that make you think of? Some of you might think of laughing. But that's not what it means. When a Japanese person see "Ha Ha" written somewhere, some of them might actually think of 母
Now here is another word: Mother
What does that word remind you of? Some of you must have had an image of "mother" pop into your head. If 10 people had this happened to them, they will have conjured up images of 10 different individuals (as long as there weren't any sibling in the sample). Try this on the same person at different occasion and there will be times where an image (or maybe even voice pops into the mind) and there will be times where nothing happens. For a visually impaired person, it could be the voice that pops into the mind. For some people the term "Mother" would make he think of a person other than the biological mother of the person.
母 - "Ha Ha" - Mother
The word in the middle can be used to indicate laughter. The first word is pronounced Haha and it means Mother. Now read that dew times and let that thought sink in. Just think about it for a while.
Show this post to different individuals and they will experience the part where I talk about 母 - "Ha Ha" - Mother in radically unique ways. But you'll also be able to find some who experienced it more or less in a similar way that you experienced it. These similar experiences are likely to come from people with similar backgrounds. I don't know what 母 is. But I know that Haha means mother in Japanese. So if I had read this somewhere I won't ever had thought of laughter. Even an African who has learned Japanese well would have picked up what was going on from the very beginning. Someone who has no idea about Japanese would have had to wait for the end.
The experience primarily defer based on mental factors such as knowledge in certain languages. The reason those who get similar experiences tend to have somewhat similar backgrounds is that it is likely for individuals with similar backgrounds to come across similar pieces of knowledge and be exposed to similar ideologies.
What If Synesthesia isn't Any Different
In a world full of connectivity, it is easier than ever to form collectives. Within these collectives it can become difficult to maintain individuality. There are many myths and legends involving individuals with incredible talents or very peculiar traits. Many are quick to judge hem as superhero stories of the old times. Some of these could very well be just stories. But others could be just exaggerations and some might even be true.
Sensing And Perceiving Are Two Very Different Things.
Perception depends on the sensation. But they are completely different things that happen one after the other. Sensation is like coming across 母 - "Ha Ha" - Mother and perception is the subsequent experiences. The key to Synesthesia is here. There is no unexplainable miracle or some grand Enigma. Scientists have perpetuated a fallacy of a reality that doesn't take the individual's mind/consciousness into account. They make a fallacy and then they lead themselves to a corner and end up filling their list of scenarios that cannot be properly explained. Well you are not going to find any Grey matter in liver or kidneys. Stop looking there!
2 Thought Experiments to Forever change the way you Look at the World + Philosophy Discussion
A Bit About Myself
I'm not a savant and I don't really have Synesthesia. But I'm a creative and imaginative person. Like in the 母 - "Ha Ha" - Mother scenario, I'm in kind of a middle. When I'm solving visual puzzles, most of the time I don't have to jot things down on a paper. I can build 3D mental models out of 2D images. I can manipulate images in my mind and I'm very good at all kinds of visual simulations. I can look a something and practically see it through AR goggles. It's like my mind has an in-built Augmented Reality App.
Sometimes when people like musicians who say they associate sounds with shapes, I think of Mnemonic Devices. Just take a look at this: https://www.wikihow.com/Remember-the-Colors-of-the-Rainbow Doesn't Synesthesia look like some extreme version of some of the techniques described in the article.
I know my mental simulating is something that gradually and slowly developed. Just as your body change when your exercise, you brain change when you use it in various ways. It could be my constant thinking and imagination that helped me process information like this. Many of those who have Synesthesia have spent time obsessing over some particular things, have had other development problems(Eg: Autistic Savants) or they have had some form of brain injury.
If we could study all three types, we might be able to help people learn Synesthesia as a life skill. Of course this would involve giving up on conformity and even a large portion of mental health industrial complex. Scientists would have more trouble grouping people. Some standard definitions and industry wisdom regarding the mind will have to be dropped. But as a society we have to take these steps and consider these "Happy Accident Savants" as a sign of massive untapped potential for humanity.
Individuals can have entirely different experiences regarding just 3 words. Life has far more than 3 words. If each specialize in perceiving reality in a certain way and if we could communicate and collaborate, humanity could could advance a century in a decade. It would be some real FutureShock and will need to give up a lot of egos. But everything is secondary to spiritual and psychological development.
There Were Those Who Worshiped Fire; Then There were Those Who Put It To Good Use
Those who end up with Acquired Savant Syndrome are like Keanu Reeves stuck in the bus from Speed (1994) which can't go below 50 mph. If one can learn to turn on/off these incredible accidental abilities, it could be an amazing tool. For now it seems like Acquired Savant Syndrome gets people stuck in a certain kind of a constant OCD state and many seems to eventually manage to get things to a level where they can live "normal" lives. Maybe all we need is intense and uninterrupted dedication to put our minds on a certain track. With enough time, the brain should change (or maybe just awaken some unused function) and we could be savants ourselves.
It may sound crazy. But have you tried it? An entrepreneur has much in common with an Acquired Savant or someone with Synesthesia. They don't have a real job description for them. They see the world in different eyes. When some stock or crypto goes down, they get ecstatic (I mean who wants to see 60 cent STEEM?) Many become entrepreneur after serious pitfalls in their lives. Many start out completely broke and just few bucks in the pocket. Many have also faced massive failures in life. You could say these are closer to a brain damage. But not all entrepreneur are like this. There are also many entrepreneur like Patrick Bet-David and speakers like Seth Godin and Salesmen like Dan Lok who consider these talents as learn-able/teach-able skills.
Some people discover greatness through accidents. They rest of us should try to learn from their mistakes and also from their success. We should put the lives of these entrepreneur and the lives of these savants under the microscope and figure out what makes them tick. Then we should change ourselves and build a new world and burn the existing mess made of politics and dogma.