What color is Tuesday? Exploring synesthesia - Richard E. Cytowic

星期二是什么颜色？探索联觉- 理查德·E· 塞托维奇

Translator: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

翻译人员: Arctic Ants 校对人员: Xiao Shen

Imagine a world

想像这样一个世界

in which you see numbers and letters as colored

你从中看到的数字和字母是彩色的

even though they're printed in black,

尽管它们是用黑色写下的

in which music or voices trigger a swirl

这里的音乐或声响 会激起

of moving, colored shapes,

由移动着的彩色色块组成的的漩涡

in which words and names fill your mouth

在这里 词语和名字会用

with unusual flavors.

不寻常的味道填满你的嘴巴

Jail tastes like cold, hard bacon

“jail”尝起来像冰冷坚硬的培根

while Derek tastes like earwax.

而“Derek”吃着像耳屎

Welcome to synesthesia,

欢迎来到联觉的世界

the neurological phenomenon

这种神经学现象

that couples two or more senses in 4% of the population.

将4%的人的两种或以上的感觉连接在一起

A synesthete might not only hear my voice,

一个有联觉者可能不仅会听到我的声音

but also see it,

还会看到

taste it,

or feel it as a physical touch.

尝到

或者以物理接触的方式感知到

Sharing the same root with anesthesia,

联觉和感觉缺失的来源相同

meaning no sensation,

感觉缺失是指没有感觉

synesthesia means joined sensation.

而联觉是指感觉被联通

Having one type, such as colored hearing,

拥有一种联觉 例如“色-听”联觉

gives you a 50% chance of having a second,

你便有50%的可能拥有第二种

third,

第三种

or fourth type.

甚至第四种联觉

One in 90 among us experience graphemes,

90个人中便有一个会感觉字素--

the written elements of language,

构成语言的书面成分

like letters,

numerals,

例如字母

数字

and punctuation marks,

还有标点符号

as saturated with color.

都是五彩缤纷的

Some even have gender or personality.

有些甚至有性别或性格

For Gail, 3 is athletic and sporty,

对盖尔来说 3充满运动气息

9 is a vain, elitist girl.

9则是一个自负的精英女孩

By contrast, the sound units of language,

与之相对 构成语言的声音部分

or phonemes,

或者说声素

trigger synestetic tastes.

会联发味觉

For James, college tastes like sausage,

对詹姆斯来说 "college"尝起来像香肠

as does message and similar words

"message"还有其他类似的

with the -age ending.

以"age"结尾的词也是一样的

Synesthesia is a trait, like having blue eyes,

联觉是人的一种特征 就像蓝眼睛一样

rather than a disorder

而不是一种紊乱

because there's nothing wrong.

因为它并不代表什么毛病

In fact, all the extra hooks

事实上 所有这些额外的关联

endow synesthetes with superior memories.

赋予了有联觉者超凡的记忆力

For example, a girl runs into someone she met long ago.

举个例子 一个女孩遇见了一个她很久以前认识的人

"Let's see, she had a green name.

”让我看看 她有个绿色的名字

D's are green:

D开头的是绿色的

Debra,

Darby,

"Debra"

"Darby"

Dorothy,

Denise.

"Dorothy"

"Denise"

Yes! Her name is Denise!"

没错！ 她叫Denise！

Once established in childhood,

一旦在儿时建立了联系

pairings remain fixed for life.

关联的感觉间的联系就会伴随终身

Synesthetes inherit a biological propensity

有联觉者遗传了在大脑神经元之间建立超连接

for hyperconnecting brain neurons,

的生物倾向

but then must be exposed to cultural artifacts,

但之后必须接触接触文化产品

such as calendars,

food names,

例如日历

食物的名字

and alphabets.

还有字母表

The amazing thing is that a single nucleotide change

令人惊奇的是 在DNA序列中

in the sequence of one's DNA alters perception.

一个核苷酸的变化 就可以改变一个人认知世界的方式

In this way, synesthesia provides a path

通过这种方式 联觉提供了一种途径

to understanding subjective differences,

来研究主观认知的区别

how two people can see the same thing differently.

两个人如何对同样的事物产生不同的认知

Take Sean, who prefers blue tasting food,

拿肖恩来说 他喜欢尝起来是蓝色的食物

such as milk, oranges, and spinach.

像牛奶 橙子 还有菠菜

The gene heightens normally occurring connections

基因会增强额叶中的味觉区

between the taste area in his frontal lobe

和较靠后的色觉区

and the color area further back.

之间的正常连接

But suppose in someone else

但假如另外一个人的基因

that the gene acted in non-sensory areas.

在非感觉区作用

You would then have the ability to link

他就会拥有连接

seemingly unrelated things,

看似无关的事物的能力

which is the definition of metaphor,

这就是象征的定义--

seeing the similar in the dissimilar.

从不相似中发现相似

Not surprisingly, synesthesia is more common

自然地 联觉更频繁地出现在

in artists who excel at making metaphors,

善于运用比拟的艺术家中

like novelist Vladimir Nabokov,

像小说家弗拉基米尔·纳博科夫

painter David Hockney,

画家大卫·霍克尼

and composers Billy Joel

还有作曲家比利·乔尔

and Lady Gaga.

以及Lady Gaga

But why do the rest of us non-synesthetes

但为何我们这些非联觉者

understand metaphors like "sharp cheese"

会明白像“锐利的芝士”

or "sweet person"?

“甜蜜的人”之类的比喻？

It so happens that sight,

碰巧视觉

sound,

and movement

already map to one another so closely,

听觉

还有运动

已经联系得十分紧密

that even bad ventriloquists convince us

即使是拙劣的口技表演者也能让我们相信

that the dummy is talking.

人偶真的在说话

Movies, likewise, can convince us

电影 类似地 让我们相信

that the sound is coming from the actors' mouths

声音是来自演员的嘴巴

rather than surrounding speakers.

而不是周围的音响

So, inwardly, we're all synesthetes,

所以 在内心深处 我们都是有联觉者

outwardly unaware of the perceptual couplings

在表面上却不知晓感觉的联结

happening all the time.

每时每刻都在发生

Cross-talk in the brain is the rule,

大脑里信息的互相干扰是常态

not the exception.

而不是例外

And that sounds like a sweet deal to me!

而在我听来 这真是一件甜蜜的事！