Creation in Common Sense: “Super Senses”
On April 24, 2008 in Science Related
I had a spot in the discussion on Synesthesia in the latest episode of Creation in Common Sense.
I need to clarify something I said in this video. I described a test where people are shown two objects, one of which is very round and puffy, and the other consists primarily of jagged edges and sharp corners. I mentioned how people will generally guess that “kiki” describes the sharp-edged object. I stated that there does seem to be a “dormant ability” in most people, but that probably wasn’t the best choice of words. I do not think that people originally had the ability to taste colors, or smell sounds. I am not convinced that Adam and Eve were synesthetes, nor am I convinced that we will be synesthetes in Heaven. I do think that people subconsciously use combinations of senses often, but not to the scale of noted synesthetes.
To learn more about Daniel Tammet, check out his wikipedia page.
When one has nothing better to do, it’s only expected that one uses his imagination to associate one thing to another.
I agree, kiki does sound sharp and jagged. You and I might both think orange is more calm than red. Artic countries like Norway has a high suicide rate during winter where daylight is extremely short because people associate darkness with sadness.
Does a person actually need to touch fire to know fire is hot? Did we learn red is hot or is it instinct? Maybe a little of both, for example, we all have a tolerance of how loud music can be before it hurts our ears, sharp sounds hurt our ears, these are senses that can be described in words like “full” or “acute”. This is how one associates senses when he chooses to cross borders of distinction.
A good reason we don’t think about things like this is because we have direct ways of thinking. Otherwise, it’s almost Pavlovian.
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