If I can't remember how to spell something, I see the word written out in my mind so I can look at it to check it, can you do that?
And if I say the word tree to you, do you not imagine a tree?
BILL IS FASCINATING.
Quote: Oldrocker @ July 14 2012, 1:23 AM BSTHow does anyone know what I see as red is what they see as green ?
Are lawns red?
Is the sky blue or do you see it as red?
Maybe red sky at night is what I call green ?
I know! That stuff is soooooo cool. But kind of scary.
Quote: Oldrocker @ July 14 2012, 1:23 AM BSTHow does anyone know what I see as red is what they see as green ?
Are lawns red?
Is the sky blue or do you see it as red?
Maybe red sky at night is what I call green ?
Those are learned concepts; red, green blue etc have no real meaing in the mind except as the activation of particular neurones, which were 'chosen' for that task during early childhood (baby) learning.
Of course I have equal difficulty imagining how a person with visual memory thinks.
Let me try explain what I imagine is the difference.
If you ask a person with visual memory to draw a house, they will (I think) probably bring a particular known house into their minds eye and then copy that picture line by line onto paper.
If you ask me to draw a house, I simply know that houses consist of walls, windows, doors and roofs etc so I construct a concept of a house in my head and then more-or-less transfer it to paper as if I was doing an engineering drawing. So I end up with a generic house whereas a visual person ends up with a rough sketch of a particular building.
>And if I say the word tree to you, do you not imagine a tree?
To me, I don't really visualise a tree, A tree is a trunk, roots, branches & leaves of particular types for particular species.
Spelling is interestig, for a long time I had difficulty spelling correctly which was making a mess of reports I wrote (before word processors & spelling checkers) so in the end I followed a recommendation from another person which was to make a list of the words that I mostly misspelled & then work on them one at a time until I had truly memorised its spelling.
No I don't SEE a word to check its spelling, I simply know as a concept, for instance that the word NUT is written as an N followed by a U followed by a T . In computer terminology it is a 'property' of the word.
Quote: billwill @ July 14 2012, 1:44 AM BSTThose are learned concepts; red, green blue etc have no real meaing in the mind except as the activation of particular neurones, which were 'chosen' for that task during early childhood (baby) learning.
Of course I have equal difficulty imagining how a person with visual memory thinks.
Let me try explain what I imagine is the difference.
If you ask a person with visual memory to draw a house, they will (I think) probably bring a particular known house into their minds eye and then copy that picture line by line onto paper.
If you ask me to draw a house, I simply know that houses consist of walls, windows, doors and roofs etc so I construct a concept of a house in my head and then more-or-less transfer it to paper as if I was doing an engineering drawing. So I end up with a generic house whereas a visual person ends up with a rough sketch of a particular building.
>And if I say the word tree to you, do you not imagine a tree?
To me, I don't really visualise a tree, A tree is a trunk, roots, branches & leaves of particular types for particular species.
Spelling is interestig, for a long time I had difficulty spelling correctly which was making a mess of reports I wrote (before word processors & spelling checkers) so in the end I followed a recommendation from another person which was to make a list of the words that I mostly misspelled & then work on them one at a time until I had truly memorised its spelling.
No I don't SEE a word to check its spelling, I simply know as a concept, for instance that the word NUT is written as an N followed by a U followed by a T . In computer terminology it is a 'property' of the word.
I bet you say that to all the girls.
I think I understand Bill.
Quote: zooo @ July 14 2012, 12:49 AM BSTI always assume others' brains work the exact same way mine does.
Thankfully not.
Quote: Steve Sunshine @ July 14 2012, 1:21 AM BSTIs that why you kept trying to order food from me at the last meet up.
You do tip well though, so it worked out fine.
I don't really remember anyone's face from the last meet I went to either.
But that's because I have a severe allergic reaction to large amounts of alcohol which makes me seem like I'm drunk. 
Quote: zooo @ July 14 2012, 1:29 AM BSTIf I can't remember how to spell something, I see the word written out in my mind so I can look at it to check it, can you do that?
And if I say the word tree to you, do you not imagine a tree?
I do both of those things. The tree I imagine is a silver birch, in case anyone was wondering.
Quote: Oldrocker @ July 14 2012, 1:23 AM BSTHow does anyone know what I see as red is what they see as green ?
Are lawns red?
Is the sky blue or do you see it as red?
Maybe red sky at night is what I call green ?
There's a school of thought that the way humans perceive colour has evolved over time. Homer (Illiad, not Simpsons) wrote about a "wine-dark sea" which is often used as evidence of this. (I like to think he was being poetic as one might write "beer-angry", but that might just be because I'm a pretentious twat.)
It's interesting the part language plays in the perception of colour. We see blue in a variety of shades, but who is to say that light blue and dark blue are not entirely different colours? In some languages (examples escape me) they are perceived as being entirely different, not just varying shades of the same thing.
Not sure where I'm going with this, so I'll stop typing.
Some words, letters and numbers (graphemes) bring up colours in my mind.
For instance, the number 5 "is" red. It just is.
Tuesday is yellow, Wednesday is red. 'P' is blue.
I don't have many though. 
Quote: Rob H @ July 14 2012, 9:30 AM BSTThankfully not.
Oiiii!
I would have thought it would just be association of when you first learned that word or concept.
Quote: zooo @ July 14 2012, 11:44 AM BSTTuesday is yellow, Wednesday is red. 'P' is blue.
I don't have many though.
I'd rather not have many, gets awkward at times when people don't share the same and think you're a freak.
Quote: Lee @ July 14 2012, 11:46 AM BSTI would have thought it would just be association of when you first learned that word or concept.
Have a read of this:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapheme%E2%80%93colour_synesthesia
Quote: Lee @ July 14 2012, 11:46 AM BSTI would have thought it would just be association of when you first learned that word or concept.
Yes, I am inclined to think that's more what it is for me. Otherwise surely all words would have colours, rather than just a handful.
Although I did read somewhere there were levels of synesthesia. Who knows!
Quote: zooo @ July 14 2012, 12:14 PM BSTYes, I am inclined to think that's more what it is for me. Otherwise surely all words would have colours, rather than just a handful.
Although I did read somewhere there were levels of synesthesia. Who knows!
So how do you explain days of the week being a particular colour?I can understand singular letters and numbers but whole words?
Remember those wall posters they had in school with the days of the week on? Maybe mine had Tuesday in yellow, Wednesday in red, etc. So I always see them that colour in my mind. Stuff like that.
Quote: zooo @ July 14 2012, 12:19 PM BSTRemember those wall posters they had in school with the days of the week on? Maybe mine had Tuesday in yellow, Wednesday in red, etc. So I always see them that colour in my mind. Stuff like that.
I see, I didn't have that for whole words.
Quote: Booo @ July 14 2012, 11:18 AM BSTSome words, letters and numbers (graphemes) bring up colours in my mind.
For instance, the number 5 "is" red. It just is.
Orange!
Quote: zooo @ July 14 2012, 11:44 AM BSTTuesday is yellow, Wednesday is red. 'P' is blue.
Tuesday is green! Wednesday is orange. P is dark blue though.
Quote: Rob H @ July 14 2012, 9:30 AM BSTI don't really remember anyone's face from the last meet I went to either.
But that's because I have a severe allergic reaction to large amounts of alcohol which makes me seem like I'm drunk.
You were perfectly charming darling
Quote: Rob H @ July 14 2012, 9:30 AM BSTThere's a school of thought that the way humans perceive colour has evolved over time. Homer (Illiad, not Simpsons) wrote about a "wine-dark sea" which is often used as evidence of this. (I like to think he was being poetic as one might write "beer-angry", but that might just be because I'm a pretentious twat.)
Good old Gladstone. Thoroughly intriguing.
Quote: Rob H @ July 14 2012, 9:30 AM BSTIt's interesting the part language plays in the perception of colour. We see blue in a variety of shades, but who is to say that light blue and dark blue are not entirely different colours? In some languages (examples escape me) they are perceived as being entirely different, not just varying shades of the same thing.
Russian; 'sinney' (dark) and 'galobey' (light)
Quote: zooo @ July 14 2012, 11:44 AM BSTTuesday is yellow, Wednesday is red. 'P' is blue.
I used to think ladies moon blood was blue because of the adverts where the woman dumps a pint of ink into a sanitary towel and it doesn't spill a drop. Imagine my surprise when I found out the truth.
