Synesthesia In A Mango-Shaped Space By Wendy Mass

Imagine a world where numbers, letters, tastes, and sounds have color. Imagine a world where letters and numbers have personalities. For a synesthete, this is their world. Synesthesia occurs from a cross wiring in the brain. Instead of one sense being used in a particular action, multiple senses are used. Although little medical knowledge is known about the condition, it is fascinating and continues to impact our world.

I was introduced to synesthesia when I read A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass. The main character, Mia, discovers she has synesthesia. The novel follows her journey in accepting her condition and realizing its unique value. While reading the book, I became intrigued synesthesia, and spent significant time researching it. Little

As no two synesthetes’ share the same experience, a synesthete is more likely to feel alone with no support. Descriptions of their experiences can often be met with disbelief and ridicule, causing young children to question the validity of their experiences. Synesthetes also suffer from common stereotypes. The media have led to the spread of the erroneous belief that synesthetes are left-handed, creative, artistic, and bad at math. However, research has proved the first three as an invalid stereotype, while the last is specific to only certain types of synesthesia. ‘Sound to vision’ synesthetes face a safety hazard when sounds impact their vision. If a fire alarm is sounded, the synesthete may have difficulty exiting the building with impaired vision, causing them to bump and fall (listverse).

Most synesthetes say they do not know how they would live without their synesthesia. Singer Pharrell Williams attributes his musical talent to his synesthesia, "It's my only reference for understanding... if it was taken from me suddenly, I'm not sure that I could make music. I wouldn't be able to keep up with it. I wouldn't have a measure to understand."