Color by Number

For as long as I can remember, numbers have been tied to adjectives like pretty, dull, vibrant, bold, harsh, quiet, the list goes on. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I realized these were not adjectives usually attributed to numbers. I was watching a science channel special on neuroscience and the subject of synesthesia came up. For those who don't know, synesthesia is when stimulation of one sense leads to an involuntary stimulation of another sense. For example, people might taste sounds or associate months of the year with positions in space. I see numbers in colors and textures. I was surprised to find out that this isn't something most people experience. You know the stoner's favorite question about whether "your red is the same as my red?" Yeah, that's what it was like. I had assumed for my whole life that numbers had a visual, almost physical and definitely emotional manifestation in the human brain. That, supposedly, was just how it worked. But apparently, it wasn't a very common phenomenon.

I remember talking to Jack one day, and for no particular reason, felt compelled to ask him what color the number one was. He didn't hesitate at all to tell me that one was black, zero was white and 9397 was a crushed-velvet type of red. It was great to tell someone that the number 5 made me angry and 1038 calmed me down and have them just nod or say, " I actually find 5 to be a very confident number."

There is a notable difference between my number-color synesthesia and how most people with the same kind of synesthesia experience it. Generally, people with grapheme-color synesthesia will see a single digit as a solid color. If 2 is red and 3 is purple, then 23 will look like this: 23. For me, the numbers 1-9 have their own color, but when I stick them together, that number takes on a new color and form of its own. For example, 1 is black and 7 is purple-pink, but 17 is blood red. The numbers also have textures. Dull, shiny, translucent, velvety, metallic. And often, the numbers are a gradient, gradually shifting between colors.

One thing that a lot of people ask is how this manifests itself. For example, if I'm reading a textbook with the number 4049 printed in it in black, do I know that it's printed in black? Does this happen all in my mind? It's a difficult thing to explain to someone who hasn't experienced, so I'm going to try to explain what generally happens when I see a printed number. For just an instant, between when I see the number printed and when I recognize the number, I know that it's printed in black. But the second I see the shape of the number and recognize it, it jumps off the page in color, in this case, a moving, sparkling, ice-blue. When the image enters my eyes, it's printed in black. And I know that it's printed in black. But the second I see that number, I know that it can't be anything but a light, vibrant, blue in motion. I don't know how else to explain it. I might be better off trying to explain how salt tastes.

For those who are curious, I'll try to match certain numbers to colors and describe their texture as I see them.

0

1

2
3
4/4 This one is sort of a gradient. Changing between yellow and blue depending on how the "light" hits it, but it's generally more yellow-orange
5 Dull, gray. I'm not a big fan of this number
6 six is a product of 2 and 3, which explains the teal color
7 This is a sheer, purple-pink. More like colored smoke than anything
8/8 Like four, this shifts between yellow and blue, but it's much more blue than four
9  I always expect this one to be green like 3, but it's not. Hmm.
19 This yellow doesn't do it justice. This is by far, the most vibrant color I've found so far
1038 I love this number. It's sheer, reflective and ribbon-like
9397 I mentioned this number earlier. It's like crushed velvet. Very deep and almost sensual- weird word to describe a number, I know
259003 I just hit the keyboard to see what number I would get. This one is really bold, with harsh lines. Definitely not a gradient. It's a number with a lot of energy