Eidetic Memory

Recently I was told about eidetic memory.  Basically eidetic memory is an extreme case of photographic memory.  Apparently in some cases individuals (many are children who have no concept of their irregular processing) can see an image/text/stimulus in front of their face for a period of time after they see the actual object.  It is another example of a process of perception which strays from the established norm and involves the relationship between stimulus and memory.  An article on eidetic memory can be found...here.

Stamps/Color

Gavin Potenza of Exploratory Design in Portland designed these stamps as a personal project in 2007. The color and transparency is evocative of the color change in numbers when their environment changes. I saw this on Grain Edit.  

Korewa nandesuka?

I should probably explain what Synesthesia is...

...according to the extensive wikipedia article (I swear that is not where my research came from), Synesthesia is "a neurologically-based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway."  Basically a synesthete experiences multi-sensory stimulation.  Some hear music and see a shape in front of their face, or can taste the letter "A."  Some have a severe case of Synesthesia, which can be hindering, but many do not mind their cross-pollinated sensory experience.  Many see this as a interesting phenomenon because humans are supposed to separate sensory perception according to evolution, so some have hypothesized that it is a more infantile/basic form of perception, (Simon Baron-Cohen).  

  I experience Grapheme-Color Synesthesia, as I see 0-9 as very specific colors and personalities.  i see letters as colors, but there are too many in the alphabet to concentrate on individually, so they aren't as strongly identified as numbers. In my mind numbers have a familial relationship and interaction.  When I see a group of numbers I usually chunk them and attach imagery to the colors as well as note the relationship between the numbers.  

  25 is pink & purple (twilight/dusk) and very feminine as well as a mother/adolescent daughter relationship where as 19 is black & yellow (bumble bee) and a father/grown son relationship.  if you gave me a sequence of about 3-4 numbers I could paint you a random landscape using the colors and relationship between the numbers.  This sounds insane, I know.  

 

  Memorizing numbers is really easy for me, but moving numbers, like in math, is really hard. When I was little I used to entertain myself during car rides with this and didn't think it was weird until I realized no one else saw things like this when I was a teenager.  My parents thought I wanted attention and my friends thought I was high. 

 

  This experience is echoed by many who have discovered their synesthesia, as many thought they were the only ones who had it.  It is quite amazing that something so seemingly individuated is so universal.