Monday, April 16, 2012

n is for numbers


a while back i was discussing numbers and how people see their numbers in colors something called...well this is what wikipedia says--

Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia, plural synesthesiae or synaesthesiae), from the ancient Greek σύν (syn), "together," and αἴσθησις (aisthēsis), "sensation," is a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.[1][2][3][4] People who report such experiences are known as synesthetes. Recently, difficulties have been recognized in finding an adequate definition of synesthesia[5][6], as many different phenomena have been covered by this term and in many cases the term synesthesia ("union of senses") seems to be a misnomer. A more accurate term for the phenomenon may be ideasthesia. \

back to me---i told this person how i see my numbers, and they like everyone that i have divulged this to—were amused and a little disturbed---

for all of my life, i have seen my numbers in certain directions---not realizing for years, how this is not the case, with anyone so far, i have shared this with-----i will attempt to show you what is in my head, regarding numbers, and how they should line up---

                                    29
                                    28
                                    27
                                    26
                                    25
                                    24
                                    23
                                    22
                                    21 31
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 30
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

this is kinda annoying to type, so i will not go on---but you get the idea, 40-90 continue in this pattern---until i get to 100 and then it goes horizontal –my numbers really don't have an impression in my brain much past 112---my numbers do not come in colors---what about your numbers?

74 comments:

  1. This is interesting; hadn't heard of those terms before. I haven't thought how I see my numbers, I think in columns? Now that I think of it, I'm not sure I see my numbers......I'll have to think about this now :)

    have a good Monday!

    betty

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    1. glad i could give you one more thing to think about--thanks betty :)

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  2. Yours is the second blog I've come across where someone has written about synesthesia. I find it really interesting.

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    1. haha your comment was for corgi--- dana--hmmmm that's interesting that someone else wrote about that too--i too find it fascinating--one of my grandsons has the color thing with his numbers

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  4. Fascinating. I'm familiar with synesthesia; I have a B.S. in Psych and had to take a course on sensation and perception, so we learned all about it. I do see my numbers in colors, but only 0 through 9. No double digits.

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    1. very cool--i think i would love to take a course in this

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  5. That is truly fascinating. I don't know if this is related, by I know some autistic people view music in colors. I personally don't do anything unusual with numbers.

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    1. yes i think i have heard this also--thanks for reading, sherry

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  6. I think that's cool. I've never heard of synesthesia. Thx for sharing. :)

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    1. i know i thought it was pretty awesome when i heard of it too :)

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  7. Hi, Lynn,
    Fascinating, to say the very least! I count things. If I am folding clothes, I count them as I go. If I am performing a task of any kind where there are more than two items, I find myself counting them. Go figure. I love math and teaching math. If I am in a room and have any waiting time, I am likely to be counting the tiles in the ceiling.
    Your post was really good. Best regards to you, Ruby

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    1. i love math too up to a point---sounds like you like it a lot more than i do---thanks for reading and sharing

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  8. My number is 12 and that's all I care to think about when it comes to numbers. Thank you. LOL

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  9. Fun post and pretty interesting?

    I see numbers in color. And I like lavender and maybe that's why 17 is my favorite number because I see itin hat cool color.

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  10. That ? Was supposed to be a ! I didn't haven't doubts that it was interesting!! And thanks for your sweet suggestion that I may be always trying so hard. Probably because there is that part of me that just wants to le Italy go and neglect.

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  11. haha it's okay---and you are more than welcome---lavender, how awesome---17--good number--my daughter's birthday-:)

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  12. My seven is green.

    I'm glad you took the time to type out the first 32 of your number schema, though it was tedious for you.

    A very interesting post.

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    1. green sounds like the right color for seven---thanks, it was a chore ;)

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  13. Very interesting. My numbers are pretty boring. They line up left to right, like good soldiers.

    Lucy

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  14. well at least you see them in your head ;)

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  15. OH MY Goodness, me too. I see my numbers lined up except my go from 1-30 up with a gaps between some number like 19 and 20 then at 31 goes right to 40 then 41 on goes down (kind of) probably to death. Ha.

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  16. I've never really thought about how I "see" numbers. Spending nine years in school as either a math major, graduate student, or prof has made them too commonplace perhaps.

    This would be a cool trait to give a character though.

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  17. This is an unusual thing to think about. I've always seen numbers in a direct line.

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  18. Interesting post. My daughter is dyslexic and in school her worst subject was math. Don't get me wrong, she can count but she would get herself all worked up over the numbers. TG for her peer tutor because some of our worst arguments was over helping her with her math homework. I can't wait to show her your posting to see if this is what maybe she referred to when she had herself all upset and mad at me over math homework.

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  19. i would be very interested to hear what she says, if she wouldn't mind--thanks for reading!

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  20. I've never heard of synesthesia before, it sounds interesting.
    I don't give much thought to numbers in any way.
    I remember when I was in high school I bought a paperback book (Cannot remember title or author)about a Korean war or WWll prisoner who scraped numbers on the cell floor and came up with amazing number answers. I wish often that I had kept that book. He did multiplications that came up as an answer 1111111111 or 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.
    Unfortunately, the only thing I can remember is that the answers were amazing.

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    1. that is amazing---what a strong mind he must have been blessed with!

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  21. Wow! I have never considered how I see numbers. In a straight line I guess. I have the number line (negative included) ingrained into my subconscious. I do know that my favorite number is 15. Whenever I think of 15 i imagine 3x5 and I have no idea why. It's odd. I have a strong reaction to this particular math problem. When my oldest son was doing an assignment a year or so ago he couldn't tell me what 3x5 was immediately and i flipped out. (not mean, just flabbergasted!) I could not imagine not immediately knowing that 3x5 is 15. DUH!!!!!!!! LOL
    Speaking of my son, I really appreciate you sharing this. He struggles a lot in school and it really opened my eyes to the fact that we don't all learn or see things the same way. Thank you!!

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  22. i hope you will be happy because i immediately knew what 3x5 was haha----i am so glad this helped---thanks so much for your thoughtful comments :)

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  23. Intriguing - I've never heard of this before, and never thought much about numbers either. Never seen colors, or different ways of looking at numbers. Maybe that's why I'm a writer, and not a mathematician?

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  24. i am certainly not a mathematician--although i do love some parts of math--mainly the ones i understand :)

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  25. Lynn, That is absolutely captivating. I love numbers along with words, but have never encountered this way of looking at them. I find it truly fascinating.

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  26. Uh, I dunno. Probably zero to nine lined up behind each other, so you only see the zero but you know the others are there. If I went past one thousand, it would probably be the same except the 0-999 would be in a stack with only zero showing, then 1000-1999 in a stack. I think we have to trust the other numbers are there. :)

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  27. This is very interesting- thank you for sharing how you look at numbers.

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  28. This is very interesting- thank you for sharing how you look at numbers.

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  29. That's fascinating. I've never really pictured them in any particular order, really. If anything, I hear them as words in my head, and I treat them as objects to orient any way I need when making tables or other use of them.

    Thanks for the thought-provoking post!

    Erin

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  30. hmmm yours is an interesting way to use them also---thanks for reading :)

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  31. I've heard of synthesia a few times recently - very interesting. I tend to see my numbers as individuals, sometimes as they appear on decks of cards, sometimes as blocks, but nothing as cool as this! :)

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    1. i don't know--you can't beat blocks--thanks for reading!

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  32. wow, fascinating. mmh an interesting way of looking at numbers. I've never really thought of that. Never heard of Synesthesia. Will definitely look into that. :) Thanks for sharing, Lynn.

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    1. yes it is all very interesting to me now too--thanks cecilia :)

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  33. I deal with numbers all day, have always loved them, but this is neat. I had heard of color association before but yours is unique, cool.

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    1. haha maybe it is kinda neat--just thought for years that was the way everyone saw them--thanks :)

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  34. I've always had a thing about numbers. They float around in my head randomly but not, paradoxically. Everything has a formula we just haven't found some of them.

    Interesting how you relate to numbers, I'm sure it means something.

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  35. i wish i knew what--or maybe i don't---interesting how your numbers float

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  36. I just see numbers in whatever context they're placed. You certainly have a unique brain!

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    1. i have been told that haha--thanks for reading melodie

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  37. Okay, this is SO fascinating! I'm a math teacher, and I love this stuff!

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    1. oh you are--very cool---i am interested in this also--thanks alison

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  38. Intriguing!

    ---Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012

    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

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  39. This is totally strange to me. I'm mildly dyslexic and have always had trouble with numbers. I have a very hard time keeping numbers in my head. I have never been able to learn the times table, for example. And I have a hard time remember phone numbers. With the advent of touch tone phones I am better able to remember them by the pattern and sound made when hitting a number.

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    1. that is very interesting as well--i too like sounds and patterns--not particularly with numbers--thanks :)

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  40. Now that's interesting...must have something to do with your high level of creativity. I just see plain old black numbers on white space in a long row that goes on forever. Kind of boring, I think.

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  41. I am so slammed by the A-Z...but I wanted to drop by and return your follow - thanks! I will come back and read when time permits - I promise. And funny thing - you became my 78th follower - and I've just become your 79th. How about THOSE numbers? ;)

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    1. really--how neat--yeah be sure and come back--and thanks :)

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  42. Oh that's cool. I like even numbers over odd numbers but numbers with fives in them are okay. This post made me think. Thanks for posting.

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    1. oh i so agree--and 5 numbers are very cool--thanks jessica

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  43. I've never heard anything like this. Very strange and interesting.


    Lee
    An A to Z Co-Host
    Tossing It Out
    Try my networking experiment--see the letter N

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    1. i am glad i could bring you something new--thanks :)

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  44. I saw something on this on TV a year or so ago. It was the first I had heard of it. Thanks for sharing this unique post.

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    1. yeah i want to research this more--thanks stephen :)

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  45. Wow! you really hit a winner with this post! Numbers are so interesting! I've never seen anything like the directional thing with your numbers (!!!) - so cool, but I think I'd be running in circles even more than I do now, lol! But I am incredibly tied to numbers in all aspects of my life, mostly as they relate to the days of the month. I make food selections in restaurants based on numbers, sometimes answer questions in the positive or negative based on whether it's an even or odd day, etc. It drives my family nuts! Great post!

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    1. haha that's so interesting--how often do you get something good to eat based on that way of ordering---thanks elaine :)

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  46. Synesthesia has always intrigued me, and by "always" I mean "since I first heard about it a couple years ago." I really enjoyed Daniel Tammet's Born on a Blue Day, in which he discusses his own synesthesia and his mathematical genius.

    As an artist, sometimes I wish I could see numbers or music in color and different arrangements. But alas, no.

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    1. i want to read that-and i am intrigued now more than ever--thanks nate

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