Whatcolourisittoday？Whatshapeisthatsmell？Whatdoesthatpainsoundlike？Thesequestionsmightseemlikenonsense，butfourpeoplein100mightthinktheymakeperfectsense．Thatfourpercenthavesynesthesia，andtheynaturallyexper
What colour is it today？What shape is that smell？What does that pain sound like？These questions might seem like nonsense，but four people in 100might think they make perfect sense．That four percent have synesthesia，and they naturally experience certain senses together．One form of this is pairing numbers or letters with a fixed colour-a blue"1"or a red"D．"Other synesthetes，people with synesthesia，may think the word"hurricane"tastes salty．Yet others with"mirror-touch synesthesia"see someone hit on the head and also feel the hit themselves．
Synesthesia is not completely understood though it is in our genes．The white matter （脑白质） of synesthetes is organized differently from that of people without synesthesia，which may account for the differences in perception （感知）．Synesthesia is widely accepted and researched today，but that hasn't always been true．Though it caught scientific interest in the late 1800s，it was later rejected as a self-created way of thinking．But as people have become more fascinated by the differences in individual perception，a focus on synesthesia has been renewed．At the present time，scientists in various fields are examining the phenomenon．
As scientists continue to study synesthesia，certain advantages have been noticed．Studies show that the sensation connections that synesthetes experience aid them in abilities related to memory．Researchers believe that this advantage may help stop the loss of cognitive （认知） function in the elderly．This aspect of synesthesia could even help patients recover from brain injuries．Synesthetes also tend to be artists，singers Pharrell Williams and Lady Gaga being some famous examples．Most likely，synesthesia doesn't give artistic sensitivity，but it's understandable that seeing colours in music，for instance，could inspire art．
Strong drugs and increasing blindness have been known to cause synesthesia，but these are not good options for obvious reasons．One rec