The Brains Boundaries:  Synesthesia and Sensory Expansion

Synesthesia, which means, "joined sensation” is a condition in wherein the real information from one sense is accompanied by a perception in another sense. A person may see colors when hearing a sound or may experience a smell when seeing a certain color. Many brilliant people have had synesthesia, including: the physicist Richard Feynman who saw colors in his physics equations; the abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky who saw the colors for his paintings when hearing music; and the composer Franz Liszt who saw colors when hearing musical notes.   In its own particular way, synesthesia points to another way that life can be experienced.

Neuroscientific research on phenomena like synesthesia has accelerated over the past decade as more powerful techniques have emerged.  Breakthroughs in understanding how syndromes operate will lend important insights into what the potential boundaries of experience can actually be.  Once understood, one might just want to induce synesthesia for a few hours.  Think of the impact on art and media.  Whole new avenues for growth and exploration.  I wonder what Van Gogh sounds like.

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