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The Brain Quirk That Lets You Taste Words and See Music | Smartest Year Ever (July 24, 2025)
What if your brain didn’t keep your senses in their lanes?
In today’s Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores synesthesia—a rare and fascinating neurological trait where one sense involuntarily triggers another. Some people hear colors, taste names, or see music. Others might feel a touch just by watching someone else being touched.
But what’s really going on in the brain? Is it a disorder, a superpower, or something in between? And how might it tie into neurodivergence, ADHD, autism, and even creativity?
Gordy shares his own experience as a synesthete—and why certain songs will always be “blue.” You’ll never look at the senses the same way again.
Like, share, and follow to keep learning every single day on our quest to become the World’s Greatest Conversationalists.
Sources:
Cytowic, R. E. (2002). Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses. MIT Press.
Simner, J., Mulvenna, C., Sagiv, N., et al. (2006). Synaesthesia: The prevalence of atypical cross-modal experiences. Perception, 35(8), 1024–1033.
Hubbard, E. M., Arman, A. C., Ramachandran, V. S., & Boynton, G. M. (2005). Neuroimaging of synesthesia. Journal of Neuropsychology, 1(1), 31–43.
Ramachandran, V. S., & Hubbard, E. M. (2001). Synaesthesia—A window into perception, thought and language. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 8(12), 3–34.
Carey, B. (2006, February 20). When Words Have a Taste. The New York Times.
National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Synesthesia.
#BrainFacts #SmartestYearEver #Synesthesia #ScienceFacts #DailyFacts #MusicAndMind #neuroscience #psychologyfacts Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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By GordyWhat if your brain didn’t keep your senses in their lanes?
In today’s Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores synesthesia—a rare and fascinating neurological trait where one sense involuntarily triggers another. Some people hear colors, taste names, or see music. Others might feel a touch just by watching someone else being touched.
But what’s really going on in the brain? Is it a disorder, a superpower, or something in between? And how might it tie into neurodivergence, ADHD, autism, and even creativity?
Gordy shares his own experience as a synesthete—and why certain songs will always be “blue.” You’ll never look at the senses the same way again.
Like, share, and follow to keep learning every single day on our quest to become the World’s Greatest Conversationalists.
Sources:
Cytowic, R. E. (2002). Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses. MIT Press.
Simner, J., Mulvenna, C., Sagiv, N., et al. (2006). Synaesthesia: The prevalence of atypical cross-modal experiences. Perception, 35(8), 1024–1033.
Hubbard, E. M., Arman, A. C., Ramachandran, V. S., & Boynton, G. M. (2005). Neuroimaging of synesthesia. Journal of Neuropsychology, 1(1), 31–43.
Ramachandran, V. S., & Hubbard, E. M. (2001). Synaesthesia—A window into perception, thought and language. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 8(12), 3–34.
Carey, B. (2006, February 20). When Words Have a Taste. The New York Times.
National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Synesthesia.
#BrainFacts #SmartestYearEver #Synesthesia #ScienceFacts #DailyFacts #MusicAndMind #neuroscience #psychologyfacts Music thanks to Zapsplat.