Synesthesia—Are All Mondays Blue?

Abstract

Does Monday have a specific color? What does the ABC song taste like? These may sound like strange questions, but for a small number of people, such questions may be very reasonable. This is due to a phenomenon called synesthesia. It originates from Greek, meaning “joined” (syn) and “sensations” (esthesia). We experience the environment through a range of senses. You may hear music with your ears or enjoy the color of a clear sky with your eyes. However, when someone has synesthesia, certain experiences seem to have an additional sensory dimension. So, on top of hearing music, a person with synesthesia may also see the song in front of them. The phenomenon is still not fully understood. However, there are several suggestions about its mechanisms. Synesthesia provides an insight into individual differences in how we experience the world we live in.