Interview with a Synesthete
Interview Conducted by Sean Byram (thecorinthian)
Definition of Synesthete: A person with synesthesia, a condition in which the normally separate senses are not separate. Sight may mingle with sound, taste with touch, etc. The senses are cross-wired.
Sean says:
So, to my understanding you are a synesthete?
Tom says:
pretty sure, yes
Sean says:
Can you explain what synesthia is, at least in your case, and also in more of a general sense, to those who are unenlightened?
Tom says:
well, synesthesia is a cross-wiring of senses, where one stimuli produces a reaction in a different sense, for instance, the smell of a strawberry will just be smelled by one person, but to another it might bring on a sound in their ear, or a texture to their mind's eye,
Tom says:
my synesthesia experiences have always had to do with sound and visuals
Tom says:
sound produces visuals in my mind's eye
Tom says:
it's on a different level than just seeing something that you've associated with the sound
Tom says:
but there is a chance that the things I do see could have been associated at a very young age
Tom says:
which happens to be one theory
Sean says:
interesting. so you see it in your mind; it's not like a hallucination?
Tom says:
no, like if I told you to imagine a dog in your mind, that's how it is. It does not overlap my real vision
Sean says:
ok. do you happen to use an alarm clock?
Tom says:
yes
Sean says:
as you are waking, do you get a mental image from this auditory barrage, and if so, what?
Tom says:
well, I have it set to radio, so it's not one of those drone noises... and usually the radio is detuned, so it's staticy. In my mind, it's just a grey mess, it's a flat noise, not much depth in texture.
Tom says:
like a pollick painting, but less contrast
Tom says:
excuse me, pollack
Sean says:
lol, okay. i was just imagining what sort of crazy images an alarm clock would bring on. well, i'm going to have you listen to some sound clips and tell me what you think. first though, are there any other common noises you hear every day that bring up imagery?
Tom says:
loud pops are white circles
Tom says:
if I'm sleeping and something falls over and wakes me up, I see a white flash
Tom says:
but since I'm being awakened, it's hard to tell whether it's overlapping my actual vision or just in my mind's eye
Sean says:
have you ever tried listening to music while you sleep?
Tom says:
yes, I did that a lot in middle school
Tom says:
I listened to Radiohead's OK Computer for like a year every night
Tom says:
I think it did stuff to me, haha
Sean says:
did it effect the content of your dreams?
Tom says:
honestly, not to my knowledge, I mean it may have, but not that I can tell
Tom says:
nothing special
Tom says:
but one interesting thing is that I've had more of a variety and vividness to my mind's visuals while listening to Radiohead
Tom says:
more intensity to textures and solidness, a tendancy to stick around
Sean says:
okay, im going to now have you listen to a few pieces of music of varying genre, loudness, beat, etc. If there are any visuals, you can describe them once you finish, and hopefully correlate what specific sounds in the song gave you these images.
Tom says:
ok
Sean says:
also note you don't have to listen to the whole song at once. we can move through just small sections. For our first clip, I will send you "Rock Lobster" by the B-52s.
Tom says:
ok
Sean says:
just listen to say...........a minute or 30 seconds, or so.
Sean says:
while we're waiting for that song to load, can you tell me when you started noticing this. Have you had it from birth?
Tom says:
yes
Tom says:
that's a summary
Tom says:
of what my mind sees
Tom says:
this song is hilarious
Sean says:
cool! nice drawing.
Tom says:
I guess those white dashes are the keyboard
Tom says:
and the blue things are the guitar
Sean says:
okay. i'm going to send you another song of a quite similar genre, and we can compare the pictures. okay?
Tom says:
one problem that I run into while trying to figure out what's going on with synesthesia is the fact that I'm an animator and part of being an animator is using your animation to create visuals for sounds
Tom says:
so sometimes I can't tell if I'm just making it up or if it's there already
Tom says:
but the part I do know is that it does come natural
Tom says:
I'm currently attending art school and I've run into at least 3 people that have had similar experiences with synesthesia
Tom says:
maybe there's some kind of pattern with which parts of the brain you use when you're an artist
Tom says:
and synesthesia
Sean says:
hmm. that does change things. okay. this next song is "Surf", by an unknown artist.
Tom says:
what changes things? what part of what I said are you referring to?
Sean says:
the fact that this may not be an actual physiological happening like I have read about in classic cases of synesthesia. Leading neurologists think that synesthesia is an actual crossing of nerves in the brain and that signals get mixed.
Tom says:
yeah, it could just be a very active imagination
Tom says:
I think it goes both ways..
Tom says:
for me, sometimes things happen that I'm not trying to, and sometimes I'm more constructing
Tom says:
or sometimes the visual in my head is not as clear, but I can base a drawing off what little i can see
Tom says:
the drawing wouldn't reflect exactly what I saw
Sean says:
okay. i've got something a little different now. lol, a lot different. some techno, "Harder, better, faster, stronger" by daft punk.
Tom says:
oh man, I love that song
Sean says:
haha, you know it??
Tom says:
or maybe I'm thinking of a different song..
Tom says:
what album is it off of?
Sean says:
discovery i think
Tom says:
hmm.. we'll see
Tom says:
are you in school?
Sean says:
right now???
Tom says:
not this second, but just in general, I have no idea how old you are
Sean says:
oh. lol, i thought I was the interviewer. okay, im 16, im a sophomore in high school.
Tom says:
ok
Tom says:
just curious
Tom says:
I see bracket shapes
Sean says:
can you draw it like before?
Tom says:
yes, hold on
Sean says:
okay. now a heavy metal piece. "Iron Man" by Ozzy.
Sean says:
interesting. not very colorful
Tom says:
nope
Sean says:
reminds me of a concentration camp
Sean says:
okay, next one. "blister in the sun" by the violent femmes
Tom says:
i know this one
Sean says:
okay
Sean says:
do your thing
Sean says:
only 3 more to go
Tom says:
ok
Sean says:
you done?
Tom says:
not sure why it logged me off
Sean says:
from now on, no names or artist names until after. i think that may be contributing towards your art. i'll load the next one.
Sean says:
well, damn, it's sorta in the file name.........
Tom says:
just name them numbers
Sean says:
ok
Tom says:
squirrel nut zippers, i like them
Sean says:
okay, that will be all for songs. a few more questions, then i'll wrap this up.
Tom says:
ok
Sean says:
at what age did you start noticing this? at birth, or did it develope, or what?
Tom says:
Well, there's this other part that I'm not sure about, it seems to me like it might be related, but I'm not sure
Tom says:
when I was a really little kid, like 4, I had these intense sensations
Tom says:
I can't say what was causing them, maybe emotions themselves...
Tom says:
but it felt as if a large sphere was traveling around my mind, like I could feel the weight of it
Tom says:
and it was heavy
Tom says:
and it scared me
Tom says:
I still get it sometimes
Tom says:
it doesn't scare me anymore though
Sean says:
very interesting. does it hurt, when it happens?
Tom says:
no, it's just kind of uncomfortable
Tom says:
it's like teetering on an edge
Tom says:
the only pattern I've found about it is the fact that it happens most often when I am praying or having some kind of interaction with God.
Tom says:
my fiance experiences someting kind of similar
Tom says:
but when I was a kid, I didn't really pray much, I didn't know what was going on
Tom says:
so I don't know, haha
Tom says:
that might seem off topic, but I've always felt it's somehow related
Sean says:
very interesting. I've heard aneurism patients describe the same thing, and doctors explain it as a clot moving through the veins or arteries in their brain.
Tom says:
really? where did you read that?
Sean says:
have you seeked out a proffesional's help with this experiance, or do you feel a need?
Tom says:
I've never felt the need
Tom says:
it's never complicated my thinking
Tom says:
or any action
Sean says:
one of my grandmother's friend's friend had an aneurism, and that's what they felt very often before it happened
Tom says:
hmm.. well it's happened to me all my life
Sean says:
yeah. well, i have to end this for now. is there anything you would like to add?
Tom says:
nope
Sean says:
okay. it has been a pleasure interviewing you.
Tom says:
yeah, no problem
Sean says:
also, i did say this was for a public site, right?
Tom says:
that's fine
Tom says:
yeah, you had mentioned it
Sean says:
the free info society
Sean says:
okay, well, goodnight.
Tom says:
goodnight
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