I’ve recently been researching a rare neurological condition called synesthesia, which is defined as “a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.”
The most common examples of synesthesia are when a musician can “see” the music, or when a person sees colors associated with numbers.
One related concept is that people with synesthesia have a different texture of reality from people who don’t have synesthesia—similar to how my cat, with much better hearing and a sense of smell than any human, may have a different texture of reality from me.
I love that idea of reality having a complex texture, with perhaps every living thing perceiving this texture differently. Does this mean there is one reality which we are all perceive differently, or are their multiple realities, one for each of us?
Either way, it’s both humbling and amazing.