Comments on: Synesthesia And The McGurk Effect

By: YT

YT — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:14:00 +0000

Graham – I have read many people’s colours for the days of the week, yours is the first so far to match mine, please continue with the other days! Friday is yellow, yes?
I haven’t read the full paper yet but I wonder if it distinguishes between projector/associator, lower/higher, or localised/non-localised synaesthestes, because it is thought that they perceive colours differently, i.e. some are affected by the sound and some by the meaning of the word.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:36:07 +0000

Listen to the video link with your eyes closed, and the McGurk effect is eliminated. If you do that, you will realize that he is NOT saying the same thing both times!

By: JayKay

JayKay — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:23:39 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtsfidRq2tw this video might illustrate the effect a little better.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:06:26 +0000

Graham, the thing that you describe is not a mild case of synesthesia, but rather a common case of association. This is completely distinct from the experience of synesthesia. Say someone experienced synesthesia in the form of hearing a different tone for each different number they saw. This person would not be merely experiencing a strong association with that sound, but would be actually hearing it in a way that would be indistinguishable from hearing the sound reproduced genuinely, say, by a computer.
It is a very strange thing. Apparently people with forms of synesthesia like the one I used in my example, when presented with a sequence of numbers, hear a chord, or a sequenced tune. How awesome is that?

By: Graham

Graham — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:40:30 +0000

Apologies for my ultra-cool way of spelling synesthesia

By: Graham

Graham — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:38:30 +0000

Aren’t milder ‘symptoms’ of synastesia a fairly standard feature of the human brain. For me each day of the week has a solid connection with a certain colour – all different. However, it’s not like whenever I read the word Tuesday I think of, or see, blue… it’s just in my imagination the word Tuesday is intrinsically blue, Wednesday green, Thursday purple. Numbers 0-9 have this going on too but to a less definite, solid degree.

Isn’t is a simple associated learning ‘trick’ of our brains to assist in our thinking? I assume it being rare is referring to those in whom it’s become abnormally over-developed. As a cognitive mechanism I would argue it’s common, just with varying development.