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Originally Posted by MSD
Out of curiosity, when you were young, did your parents or teachers ever worry about your unique perception? I've heard horror stories of synaesthetes being misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, especially before synaesthesia was understood by the medical community.
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I don't know that anyone ever realized anything was amiss. I certainly don't recall anything ever being made of differences in my perception as compared to that of my peers, which would be why it came to such a surprise to me about a year ago when I discovered it.
It's not something I talk about often. I can think of a handful of instances where I made an off-hand comment that in retrospect was no doubt quite confusing (and it does explain some reactions) but I don't think anyone ever connected the dots. I never thought that I should discuss this in any depth with anyone, because it didn't occur to me at the time that it was unusual.
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Originally Posted by olivertwist69
So if the power of synesthesia is simply a freakish memory boost then would you say that it is advantageous or would you say that it is not advantageous to have synesthesia. I personally feel pretty happy without it. I think that if I had a bunch of arbitrary sensory hangups then I would be impaired as an artist/aesthetician (and artistic expression is what I am working to be great at).
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I don't see how it's a hindrance at all. Art is at it's core a method of translating and relaying perception. It all starts with what you see, hear or feel. The art is in taking those things and putting them into a form that's accessible to others. The mandate of an artist is to reach out and evoke feelings in his or her audience. In that context, a different perception may inform the art, but need not limit it in any way.
Some of the greatest musicians of our time and of history may have been synesthetes, according to my reading. In light of that, I find it difficult to argue that synesthesia hampers artistic expression in any meaningful way.