I have always had a special place in my heart for Vladimir Nabokov. The man was smarter than anyone had the right to be: he grew up speaking Russian, French, and English (though he grew up in St. Petersburg, Russian was the last language he learned to speak), he had nearly perfect recall and whats more, he was synaesthetic, a condition in which otherwise normal people experience the blending of two or more senses. Other notable synaesthetes include: Duke Ellington (who blended timbre and color), Thom Yorke (music, color), Richard Feynman (colored alphabet), and well, John Mayer. Nabokov’s synaesthesia is not unique, as it is not uncommon for a synaesthete to see letters in color. What makes his gift unique is its coupling with his incredible command of the English language (a command that he has actually called “second-rate”). He calls his gift the gift of “colored hearing”. In describing his alphabet, he states that:
“Passing on to the blue group, there is steely x, thundercloud z, and huckleberry k.” (From his autobiography Speak, Memory)
The picture above is taken from the book Alphabet in Color put out by Gingko press and illustrated by Jean Holabird. (more…)
