Amazing

The eye is part of the brain! I came across this fascinating fact while reading "The Man Who Tasted Shapes", a book on Synesthesia by Richard E. Cytowic. Synesthesia is a condition whereby a person experiencing one of the 5 senses will involuntarily experience another sense. For example, a synesthete tasting mint might also "feel" smooth, glass columns in their hand or upon hearing the number 4 might also "see" blue! Only an estimated 10 in a million people are lucky enough to experience this phenomenon and, as far as I know, I've not yet met one, but it is now a life goal to do so haha! I have been devouring information on this condition since I discovered it on Boing Boing ( www.boingboing.net )last week. I am fascinated by the concept of experiencing life without walls between the senses; unfortunately one either is or is not born a synesthete.
I cannot begin to adequately describe the phenomenon of synesthesia thus I've posted the link to an essay, also by Cytowic, which synthesizes the premises set forth in the "The Man Who Tasted Shapes" and, despite a lot of neurological jargon, relays an accurate picture of what synesthesia is.

http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v2/psyche-2-10-cytowic.html