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One in Five of Us May 'Hear' Flashes of Light (theguardian.com)
One in five people is affected by a synaesthesia-like phenomenon in which visual movements or flashes of light are "heard" as faint sounds, according to scientists. From a report on The Guardian: The findings suggest that far more people than initially thought experience some form of sensory cross-wiring -- which could explain the appeal of flashing musical baby toys and strobed lighting at raves. Elliot Freeman, a cognitive neuroscientist at City University and the study's lead author, said: "A lot of us go around having senses that we do not even recognise." More florid forms of synaesthesia, in which disparate sensory experiences are blended, are found in only about 2-4% of the population. To a synaesthete, the number seven might appear red, or the name Wesley might "taste" like boiled cabbage, for instance. The latest work -- only the second published on the phenomenon -- suggests that many more of us experience a less intrusive version of the condition in which visual movements or flashes are accompanied by an internal soundtrack of hums, buzzes or swooshes. Since movements are very frequently accompanied by sounds in everyday life, the effect is likely to be barely discernible.
... but the other way around: when I'm in bed, in the absolute dark, and hear a sudden noise, I see it as a white flash that correlates very strongly with the noise intensity/position. And it's not only when I'm almost sleeping, it's enough just to be in a dark place but I started noticing it when lying in bed. Wonder if that's also common.
Or maybe it is the flashing musical baby toys that wires brains this way in the first place.
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I see each digit in a different color, and I've always thought that was the way for everyone. Only a few years ago - while reading "Born On A Blue Day" by Daniel Tammet - it occurred to me that this might not be the case.
I wonder if this has implications for what kind of fireworks different people like. One of my favorites are the ones that are just a single quick very bright flash of light, followed by the explosion that you can feel as well as hear. My wife hates those.
People with that condition would definitely "hear" something extra with those, moreso than with any other kind of firework. So that particular firework would be a totally different experience than it is for everyone else.
When people see a bright meteor in the night sky, especially a fireball that leaves a glowing trail, it's pretty common for them to report that it was accompanied by a simultaneous sound of some sort, often a crackling noise. Those reports are frequent enough that we can't just dismiss them out of hand but no one has been able to propose a satisfactory explanation from a physics standpoint. If synaesthesia is actually common that would probably explain what's going on.