The Name of this Book is Secret
If You're Reading This, It's Too Late
This Book Is Not Good For You
Is the letter J yellow? Is the number 5 purple? If you've read THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET (and you should never admit it if you have!) then you know what synesthesia is: a confusion of the senses. WEDNESDAY IS INDIGO BLUE is a new book (for grownups) by a neuroscientist named David Eagleton about this "harmless perceptual condition" whereby "the stimulation of one sense triggers experience in another sense." On his website, Eagleton offers the following quiz to determine whether or not you have synesthesia.
By the way, if you, like the young artist Benjamin Blake in THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET, have synesthesia, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below.
SYNESTHESIA QUIZ
Do numbers or letters cause you to have a color experience? Example: Does the letter J "mean" yellow to you? Or does "5" make you perceive purple?
Yes, I have had similar experiences
No, I have not had such experiences
Do weekdays and months have specific colors? Example: Does July always mean Navy Blue to you? Is Wednesday always orange?
Yes, I have similar associations
No, I do not have such associations
Do you imagine or visualize weekdays, months and/or years as having a particular location in space around you? Example: Is September always located two feet in front of you to the left?
Yes, I have always felt these specific spatial locations
No, I have never had this kind of association
Does hearing a sound make you perceive a color? Example: Does a shrill car horn cause you to see the color green? Does C sharp make you see pink?
Yes, I do have such experiences
No, I have not had such experiences
Do certain words trigger a taste in your mouth? Example: Does the name 'Derek' taste like earwax?
Yes, this is familiar to me
No, I have never felt like this
Do you feel a sense of touch when you smell things? Example: Does the smell of coffee make you feel as though you are touching a cold glass surface?
Yes, I have had such experiences
No, this doesnt happen with me
We have described a few types of synesthesia. Many other unusual blendings of the senses have been reported. Do you suspect that you experience an unusual blending that other people do not have (other than the ones listed above)? These could include automatically hearing a sound when you see movement, or the sense of a shape being triggered by a taste, or experiencing a color when feeling pain.
Yes, I believe I may have other forms of unusual sensory experiences
Not that I know of
