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

星期二是什麼顏色的？探索聯覺的世界 - Richard E. Cytowic

Translator: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

譯者: Yuen-Lam Tsang 審譯者: Coco Shen

Imagine a world

想像這樣的一個世界

in which you see numbers and letters as colored

你看到的數字和字母都是上了色的

even though they're printed in black,

雖然它們是用黑色墨水印出的

in which music or voices trigger a swirl

音樂和語音能捲起漩渦

of moving, colored shapes,

會動，且有色彩有形狀的漩渦

in which words and names fill your mouth

文字和名字會在你口中

with unusual flavors.

留下特別的味道

Jail tastes like cold, hard bacon

「監獄」嚐起來像又涼又硬的煙肉

while Derek tastes like earwax.

而「德瑞克」則是耳垢的味道

Welcome to synesthesia,

歡迎來到聯覺的世界

the neurological phenomenon

聯覺是一種神經現象

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

使世上百分之四人口的 兩個或以上知覺聯繫起來

A synesthete might not only hear my voice,

聯覺者不只聽到我的聲音

but also see it,

還看見它

taste it,

or feel it as a physical touch.

嚐到它

或者像身體接觸般，感覺到它

Sharing the same root with anesthesia,

雖然和表示沒有感覺的字「麻醉」(anesthesia)

meaning no sensation,

有著同一的字根 (-nesthesia)

synesthesia means joined sensation.

但「聯覺」(synesthesia) 是代表感覺聯在一起

Having one type, such as colored hearing,

如果你有其中一種聯覺的特徵， 例如聲音顏色聯覺

gives you a 50% chance of having a second,

你便有半成機會也有第二種

third,

第三種

or fourth type.

或第四種

One in 90 among us experience graphemes,

九十人當中，便有一個人會把字素

the written elements of language,

－就是語言的文字元素

like letters,

numerals,

像字母

數詞

and punctuation marks,

和標點符號

as saturated with color.

看成充滿顏色的

Some even have gender or personality.

有些字素甚至會有性別或者性格

For Gail, 3 is athletic and sporty,

對蓋爾來說，３是運動型的

9 is a vain, elitist girl.

９是個自負的精英女孩

By contrast, the sound units of language,

相反，語言的聲音部分

or phonemes,

或稱音素

trigger synestetic tastes.

則會引發合成的味道

For James, college tastes like sausage,

對詹姆斯來說，學院嘗起來像香腸

as does message and similar words

其他相似的，帶有 -age 字尾的字和訊息

with the -age ending.

也都一樣

Synesthesia is a trait, like having blue eyes,

聯覺是一種特質，像有藍色眼睛

rather than a disorder

而不是一種疾病

because there's nothing wrong.

因為它沒什麼不妥的

In fact, all the extra hooks

事實上，所有那些多出來的知覺

endow synesthetes with superior memories.

賦予了聯覺者超乎常人的記憶

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

例如說，有個女孩遇到她 很久以前見過的一個人

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

「看一看，她有一個綠色的名字－

D's are green:

D 是綠色的：

Debra,

Darby,

黛布拉（Debra）

黛比（Darby）

Dorothy,

Denise.

多羅芬（Dorothy）

丹妮絲（Denise）

Yes! Her name is Denise!"

對了！她的名字是丹妮絲！」

Once established in childhood,

在童年建立的聯覺配對

pairings remain fixed for life.

會維持一生不變

Synesthetes inherit a biological propensity

聯覺者遺傳了一種生物學上的傾向

for hyperconnecting brain neurons,

就是腦神經元過度連結

but then must be exposed to cultural artifacts,

但同時聯覺者必然也會 接觸到文化產物

such as calendars,

food names,

例如月曆

食物名稱

and alphabets.

和字母等

The amazing thing is that a single nucleotide change

神奇的地方是，脫氧核醣核酸 (DNA) 的排列中

in the sequence of one's DNA alters perception.

單一個核苷酸的變異已能改變知覺

In this way, synesthesia provides a path

如此，聯覺提供了我們一個渠道

to understanding subjective differences,

去了解主觀差異

how two people can see the same thing differently.

為什麼兩個人對同一事物 的看法會有所不同？

Take Sean, who prefers blue tasting food,

以西恩為例，他喜歡藍色的食物

such as milk, oranges, and spinach.

例如是奶、燈和菠菜

The gene heightens normally occurring connections

那組基因加強了他額葉中味覺部分

between the taste area in his frontal lobe

和較後的色覺部分

and the color area further back.

之間正常發生的連接

But suppose in someone else

但假設某人的這一組基因

that the gene acted in non-sensory areas.

作用於非感觀的部位

You would then have the ability to link

他便會有能力連結起

seemingly unrelated things,

看來風馬牛不相及的事物

which is the definition of metaphor,

這也正是比喻的定義

seeing the similar in the dissimilar.

在不相似中尋找相似

Not surprisingly, synesthesia is more common

也料想到，聯覺這種特質

in artists who excel at making metaphors,

在善於比喻的藝術家中比較常見

like novelist Vladimir Nabokov,

例如小提琴家弗拉基米爾‧納博科夫

painter David Hockney,

畫家大衛·霍克尼

and composers Billy Joel

和作曲家比利‧喬爾

and Lady Gaga.

還有女神卡卡

But why do the rest of us non-synesthetes

可是為什麼我們這些非聯覺者

understand metaphors like "sharp cheese"

也能明白「尖銳的起司」(sharp cheese) （意指味道濃烈的起司）

or "sweet person"?

或者「甜美的人」?

It so happens that sight,

原來是因為視覺

sound,

and movement

already map to one another so closely,

聲音

和移動

早已是緊密的連繫在一起

that even bad ventriloquists convince us

因此即使差劣的口技表演者 也能令我們相信

that the dummy is talking.

是那假人在說話

Movies, likewise, can convince us

同樣，電影也讓我們相信

that the sound is coming from the actors' mouths

聲音是由演員的口中發出

rather than surrounding speakers.

而非四周的播音器

So, inwardly, we're all synesthetes,

所以從裡面看，我們全都是聯覺者

outwardly unaware of the perceptual couplings

在表面卻沒留意那些知覺配對

happening all the time.

無時無刻也在發生

Cross-talk in the brain is the rule,

串擾 (Cross-talk) 是大腦的慣例

not the exception.

而非例外

And that sounds like a sweet deal to me!

我認為這聽起來挺是一個 稱意的辦法 (sweet deal)！