"Synesthesia" sounds like what you got at Boy Scout Camp in '05 because you swam too long in the lake without supervision. Or, barring that, it sounds a bit like a secret bioweapon the government will use in an upcoming alien invasion.

However, it's neither! Synesthesia is actually a brain phenomenon in which one sense "crosses wires" with another sense. More specifically, it's a perceptual condition in which one sense involuntarily triggers another sense. Someone who perceives the phenomenon is called "a synesthete" or "weird". For me personally, I can feel textures or see colors when listening to music, or hear sounds when looking at a painting. But what does it all mean? What is the life of a synesthete like? When will they bring back the McRib? Read on, for answers to 2/3 of those questions.

Every Synesthete Experiences Things Differently

So, the basic rule to remember when talking about this is that every synesthete experiences things differently. The most common form is "grapheme" synesthesia--when you associate certain numbers or letters with colors, sounds, or others senses. I debate with my friend Alyssa regularly about what color "5" is, and I insist that it's red, although she feels differently. Some of my synesthetic friends even attach personalities to letters and numbers. I've heard that "B" is sort of like a midwestern soccer mom, but "H" is angry and possibly violent. When I listen to music, however, I only see the colors and hear the sounds of letters and numbers, so I do know what it feels like to have no clue what synesthetes are talking about. (In case you're curious--"B" is light blue and sounds like steel being scraped, and "H" is grayish-brown and sounds like a light breeze.)

What Kinds Of Synesthesia Are There?

Oh boy. As I said before, any kind of sense perception can be affected by the condition, but here's a list of merely a handful:

• Grapheme/Color synesthesia (associating color with numbers/letters)
• Chromesthesia (associating sound and color)
• Auditory-tactile (triggering a sensation in the body when hearing specific sounds. ASMR is considered a form of this)
• Ordinal Linguistic Personification (associating sequences, numbers, days, months, or letters with personalities)
• Mirror-touch (feeling mimicked senses just by watching someone; I.e. watching someone spill coffee on their hand and actually feeling heat pain on yours)
• Lexical-gustatory (associating tastes with certain words, although it's rare)
• Gustatory-Kardashian (getting a gross taste in your mouth whenever hearing news about the Kardashians)

Some Synesthetes Are More Affected Than Others

Now, a question you may be wondering is: do I actually, physically see sounds, or do I just associate? Well, it's a bit complex: Personally, I don't literally feel textures when I listen to certain songs, but I immediately associate it with a texture, and can't stop thinking about that texture as long as I'm listening to that song. However, some of my friends actually do experience visions when they listen to certain music. They will literally see colors flash across their vision when touching certain objects. Although it's not a very well-investigated section of scientific research, every synesthete experiences their condition to a different degree. I really doubt I could deal with every word I hear tasting like something different, so I'm pretty okay with how mine works.

What's It Like?

A lot of people have tried to show others what it's like to be synesthetic, but I prefer these three examples:

"Ride The Prejudice", by Phonat

THIS. SONG. It's trippy as hell, but the video and the song capture the split-second associations that synesthesia triggers. It's mesmerizing to anyone who watches it, so give it a try even for the experience.

Sonified

It's an app that takes video and turns it into audio! You can "hear" any video you process with it. Here's an example of what it does. (1:02 is the coolest section)

Synesthetic Locked, by Oscar López Rocha

Phew. This is weird, and more than a little scary, but yet again does a spectacular job of simulating the disorder. Recommended viewing with headphones and without a headache.

How does it affect life?

To some people who have more intense synesthesia, it can be more of a curse than a blessing. Reading is an assault on the senses, conversation is too much stimulus, and staying inside can be easier than going out. Sometimes I get way too overwhelmed by being in public or watching a movie. However, for most of us, it's an absolute blessing. I wouldn't be as interested in the arts as I am without synesthesia. I listen to music and paint based on what I see, and can look at art and compose a song based on what I hear. It's an easy way to grease my artistic gears and feels really natural. I have friends who are interested in learning different languages because they see new colors when they hear other languages being spoken, and can do differential calculus because the numbers "have cool personalities".

Synesthesia is classified as a disorder, yet most synesthete will tell you it enriches their lives. It lets us entertain the idea that perhaps "disorders" don't mean you're broken - they may just be able to enrich your world, too.

Also, I genuinely have no clue when the McRib is coming out. Please tell me if you find out.