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emw

macrumors G4
Aug 2, 2004
11,172
0
I must not be that tuned in - all music tastes like chicken to me.
 

Hemingray

macrumors 68030
Jan 9, 2002
2,926
37
Ha ha haaa!
She doesn't imagine the taste, she really tastes it.

How can that be if there isn't anything physically on her tongue? The aural stimulii may connect somewhere up in the brain to her senses of taste, giving her the impression that she's tasting something, but without anything for her taste buds to actually come into contact with, I don't see how that's possible what that quote is saying.
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
Hemingray said:
How can that be if there isn't anything physically on her tongue? The aural stimulii may connect somewhere up in the brain to her senses of taste, giving her the impression that she's tasting something, but without anything for her taste buds to actually come into contact with, I don't see how that's possible what that quote is saying.
There are a number of cases where people have senses which are cross-connected to others or even to types of thought - for example, a man who "sees" numbers as geometric shapes.

The brain is quite an interesting subject.
 

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
The condition is known as synesthesia.

Oliver Sacks is one of many people who have written about it.

Here's an overview of the subject.
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
Seems to me like she could save a fortune on seasonings and higher-quality foods simply by putting the right combination of songs on her iPod while eating. In fact, with GarageBand, she could synthesize the perfect meal and "eat" it whenever she wanted. ;)
 

Wyvernspirit

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2002
813
99
Massachusetts
jsw said:
Seems to me like she could save a fortune on seasonings and higher-quality foods simply by putting the right combination of songs on her iPod while eating. In fact, with GarageBand, she could synthesize the perfect meal and "eat" it whenever she wanted. ;)

Its a new weightloss program. You should market it and make some moola on the deit craze, come to think of it I should invest and make a profit too. :D
 

stoid

macrumors 601
Blue Velvet said:
The condition is known as synesthesia.

Oliver Sacks is one of many people who have written about it.

Here's an overview of the subject.

Yeah I read an article on that awhile back, crazy stuff. Tasting colors, smelling sounds. Some things can be a product on repetitive reinforcement, but it's also a mental disorder, albeit not as debilitating as others. I believe it's LSD or something that can cause a similar effect in regular people. (just in case you want to try it out at home ;) )
 

emw

macrumors G4
Aug 2, 2004
11,172
0
virividox said:
i wonder what she tastes when listening to william hung or numa numa hehe
Hits. Or some variation of that.

But that does bring up an interesting question, for me at least. Can she taste things through music that she's never tasted for real? The article alluded to general types of tastes (sweet, salty, etc.) - is this all she tastes, or is it like we've joked, that a particular sound could taste like, say, steak?
 

minimax

macrumors 6502
Feb 9, 2005
351
0
Wassily Kandinsky, accredited as the first abstract painter, also had this condition.
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
Blue Velvet said:
Only if she listens to moo-sic...

:D
I think it would beef unny if Simon Cow-ell had this condition. That might explain some of his expressions during American Idol. No steak yet, apparently.
 

wdlove

macrumors P6
Oct 20, 2002
16,568
0
This is very interesting, think that I have heard of this condition before. I imagine that like anything else it has its positives as well as negatives. Just hope that all the tastes are good one's.
 

Chappers

macrumors 68020
Aug 12, 2003
2,247
1
At home
Of course for some people this is a serious disability whilst for others its something they wouldn't be without.

What a strange organ the brain is.
 
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