Wednesday Is Brown And 7 Is Snooty: My Life With Synesthesia

追加: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Let's go back to 1995.

[00:00:02]I'm in A-level psychology class when my teacher mentions almost in passing something she'd seen on TV the previous night. A documentary about this strange condition where, among other things, people see letters and numbers as different colors. And for me, it was one of those moments of dawning realization that feels like the world shifted half an inch to the left. And I said, very cautiously, "Wait, [music] you mean not everyone does that?" The heads turned, and after a beat, the questions arrived.

[00:00:35]"What, you do that? What color is the letter A then? How about the number three? What color is it today?" To which I replied, "Well, A is red, like a ripe tomato. Three is a sort of pale denim blue.

[00:00:49]>> [music] >> And today's Wednesday, so that's brown, like an old violin." "You're making this up," someone scoffed. "Let's ask her again in 6 months, see if she gives the same answer." "Feel free," I said. "I don't have to think twice about it.

[00:01:02]Wednesday's always been brown, it'll never change." "But why brown?" someone asked. "I have no idea," I said. "I never chose the colors, they just arrived, and they've been with me as long as I can remember." Someone cracked a joke about hallucinating, so I explained that I'm not literally seeing these things in front of my eyes. When I see the word Wednesday written down, I see it in black and white on the page or on the screen, just like everyone else.

[00:01:30]But in my mind's eye, it's brown, in the same way that if I say purple giraffe, you can't help but picture it. You don't see it floating in front of you, but you know exactly what it looks like. Well, that's what it's like for me. When I think of Wednesday, it's brown, and it's a very precise shade of brown. So anyway, psychology class ended, and I went home thinking, well, that's just another example of me being a low-key weirdo. And the next morning, over breakfast, my mom mentioned this thing she'd seen on TV the night before, and it turned out that she had it too. So, we were both quite surprised to learn that we both had this thing that most people don't. So, what is this thing?

[00:02:13]It's a condition called synesthesia, [music] and it affects about 4% of the population, and it tends to run in families. So, if you have it, there's a good chance someone else in your family does, too, whether they realize it or not. It's not something you learn, and it's not the same thing as using your imagination. It's a completely involuntary response, and the simplest way to describe it is when, for no apparent reason, one sense automatically triggers another one. The word actually originates from the ancient Greek syn, meaning joined, and aesthesis aesthesis aesthesis, meaning sensation or perception. So, it literally means a joining of the senses. If this is sparking your interest and you want to go a bit deeper, I'd recommend the book Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet.

[00:03:04]It's a fascinating read, and there's a summary on Shortform if you want the key ideas first. I have an affiliate link in the description for a free trial and $50 discount. So, as we know, there are five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. There are well over 100 recognized variations of synesthesia, depending on how these [music] different senses cross over and interact, but it's completely unique to each individual.

[00:03:30][music] So, I know for a fact there'll be other synesthetes watching this going, "No, Wednesday's not brown, it's lime green or navy blue." For a few rare synesthetes, they report a crossover with taste and smell. Perhaps guitar music smells like coffee, or [music] the name Matthew tastes like cheese. And I'm quite glad I don't have that one, because I imagine that could get quite unpleasant sometimes. For most synesthetes like me, the sensory crossover revolves mostly around colors, shapes, and sounds. So, grapheme-color synesthesia is the most common one, and it's just a fancy way of saying that letters and numbers have colors, so do days of the week, months of the year, and people's names. And whenever I tell people this, the very first [music] thing they ask is, "Well, what color is my name?" Which is a fair question, but the thing is, it's never just one color, it's more like strokes of slightly overlapping paint with the different colors in their name.

[00:04:35]>> [music] >> So, I'm going to try and give you a very rough example of what I mean. I'm going to show you a girl's name. Are you ready?

[00:04:43]Okay, so this isn't completely accurate, but this is the best I could do with 5 minutes on Canva. This is how I see the name Natalie.

[00:04:52]>> [music] >> So, it's strongly influenced by the first letter, which is a sort of dark red, but there are little pops of color from the other letters layered in behind it. I also have chromesthesia, which is when sounds trigger colors, shapes, and textures. So, as you can imagine, music can be a pretty intense experience for me, but usually an enjoyable one. As for the sounds of daily life, I'm able to tune most of them out, but there are distinctive sounds and noises that are impossible to ignore. So, quite a nice example is the birdsong where I live.

[00:05:28]Crows sound like zigzag lines drawn in charcoal. Pheasants sound like a rusty bucket. The smaller, more twittery little birds, they're more like tiny little bubbles or fairy lights or little explosions of confetti. And I have some other stuff going on, too. For example, I see different units of time as a shape, which is incredibly useful, because it's almost like having a giant 3D calendar or diary in my head. And I know this next one sounds really nutty, but lots of letters and numbers and shapes have their own distinct personalities. Two, for example, is a very friendly number, but seven is rather snooty. I wouldn't go for a beer with it. I honestly have no idea how people function without synesthesia.

[00:06:22]It's so much my default setting that I just cannot imagine life without it, and for the most part, I think it really improves my life. Not only does it add an extra richness to my experience, but it definitely helps me remember things, spot patterns, and organize information in a way that feels very natural and very useful. [music] But it does occasionally trip me up, which can get quite embarrassing. For example, when two completely different names share the same color in my head, I can mix them up, and people look at me like [music] I've suddenly lost the plot. So, synesthesia isn't a problem to fix, it's simply a different way of experiencing the world due to slightly different brain wiring.

[00:07:07]And the truth is, none of us experience the world in exactly the same way. We're all walking around with slightly different maps in our heads. Mine just happens to be a bit more colorful. I'd love to know if anyone watching has synesthesia, so feel free to drop a comment below if you have it or you know someone who has it. Maybe you don't have it and you think it sounds absolutely bonkers, in which case, a very special thanks for watching this video all the way through to the end. Take care of yourself, [music] and I'll see you next time.