Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
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Alright, folks, get ready. I'm about to let you in on just a smidge of how my brain works. It might scare you away forever, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.
All my life I've "pictured" the days of the week and the months of the year in my head. I think maybe once when I was young I tried to describe this to a friend, but she looked at me as if I had lost my mind, so I never spoke of it again. Not once. Not even to my husband.
But I've always, always, always classified time visually. It just works for me.
Well, this week I feel like I've joined the real world, finally, because Emily admitted that she, too, visualizes the days of the week and the months of the year. You just have to--HAVE TO--go read this post because she explains it so much better than I do.
It's O.K. Go ahead over there for a minute. I'll wait.
I was so excited to read Emily's post that I told B about it. He looked at me as if I had lost my mind, just like my friend when I was younger. But this time I felt justified. I am not alone. If you scroll down through Emily's comments you'll see that there are all kinds of people like us who visualize time.
It's like I'm breathing a sigh of relief here. Breathe with me, will you? In. Out. In. Out. Ahhhhh. I'm not crazy!!
Anyway, just in case you didn't scroll down to read all the comments on Emily's post, here's what I told her about how I see the year and the weeks:
Thanks to Emily, I've learned that this "condition" is called Spacial-Sequence Synesthesia. Wikipedia has an interesting explanation.
Another article I read said that people with this "condition" also have superior memories, which actually makes me laugh because I definitely DO NOT have a superior memory. BUT, I do have this other kind of uncanny ability . . . I remember phone numbers. B is always asking me, "Hey, what's so-and-so's number?" and I can usually tell him.
And you know how I do that? For some strange reason I just visualize the number by picturing the buttons on the phone.
Emily also mentioned another type of synesthesia that involves color. I don't have that, but apparently some people associate numbers or letters with colors. Weird, I say.
So last night I was talking to my family about this. B doesn't get it at all. No surprise to me there--he's a very linear, analytical person. Maggie doesn't have it either, although she does say she sees shapes on the pages of books she reads. But as we were talking, Abby walked by and I asked her if she pictured the days of the week in her head. She kind of smiled and said, "Well, yeah. And every day has a color."
Ah-ha!!!
So I asked her to explain. She said, "Well, Thursday is orange."
I'm not sure I should even admit this, but I almost cried with pride and joy. Another synesthetic person in our home! Hooray!
(Kate is out of town this weekend, so I can't ask her about this, but you can be sure I will bombard her with questions as soon as she gets home. I'm guessing she has this too.)
Well, there you go. A little insight into my brain. I know, it's scary. But there it is.
Strange? Maybe. But it sure makes sense to me.
So how about you? I am dying to know--do you picture the days of the week or the months of the year? How do you see it?
All my life I've "pictured" the days of the week and the months of the year in my head. I think maybe once when I was young I tried to describe this to a friend, but she looked at me as if I had lost my mind, so I never spoke of it again. Not once. Not even to my husband.
But I've always, always, always classified time visually. It just works for me.
Well, this week I feel like I've joined the real world, finally, because Emily admitted that she, too, visualizes the days of the week and the months of the year. You just have to--HAVE TO--go read this post because she explains it so much better than I do.
It's O.K. Go ahead over there for a minute. I'll wait.
I was so excited to read Emily's post that I told B about it. He looked at me as if I had lost my mind, just like my friend when I was younger. But this time I felt justified. I am not alone. If you scroll down through Emily's comments you'll see that there are all kinds of people like us who visualize time.
It's like I'm breathing a sigh of relief here. Breathe with me, will you? In. Out. In. Out. Ahhhhh. I'm not crazy!!
Anyway, just in case you didn't scroll down to read all the comments on Emily's post, here's what I told her about how I see the year and the weeks:
"My year looks more like a balloon that's laid on its side. January and December are separated by the knot in the balloon, and spring lays on the bottom (picture the balloon lying on a table). Summer is my upswing, and fall is on the top of the balloon, heading back down toward the knot. . . .
You mentioned the weeks as well. My weeks definitely have a shape. I always picture two weeks at a time, in the shape of a football. (You promise not to laugh?) The side toward me is the current week; the side farthest away from me is next week. Of course, the weeks shift position every week. And each day is a sort-of square, like the squares on a sidewalk. Like I'm walking through my weeks."
Thanks to Emily, I've learned that this "condition" is called Spacial-Sequence Synesthesia. Wikipedia has an interesting explanation.
Another article I read said that people with this "condition" also have superior memories, which actually makes me laugh because I definitely DO NOT have a superior memory. BUT, I do have this other kind of uncanny ability . . . I remember phone numbers. B is always asking me, "Hey, what's so-and-so's number?" and I can usually tell him.
And you know how I do that? For some strange reason I just visualize the number by picturing the buttons on the phone.
Emily also mentioned another type of synesthesia that involves color. I don't have that, but apparently some people associate numbers or letters with colors. Weird, I say.
So last night I was talking to my family about this. B doesn't get it at all. No surprise to me there--he's a very linear, analytical person. Maggie doesn't have it either, although she does say she sees shapes on the pages of books she reads. But as we were talking, Abby walked by and I asked her if she pictured the days of the week in her head. She kind of smiled and said, "Well, yeah. And every day has a color."
Ah-ha!!!
So I asked her to explain. She said, "Well, Thursday is orange."
I'm not sure I should even admit this, but I almost cried with pride and joy. Another synesthetic person in our home! Hooray!
(Kate is out of town this weekend, so I can't ask her about this, but you can be sure I will bombard her with questions as soon as she gets home. I'm guessing she has this too.)
Well, there you go. A little insight into my brain. I know, it's scary. But there it is.
Strange? Maybe. But it sure makes sense to me.
So how about you? I am dying to know--do you picture the days of the week or the months of the year? How do you see it?
