brain | Outside The Lines

It is said that the brain separates creativity and logic. How we view and interpret color operates in one side of the brain and processing numbers exists in the other. But when colors and numbers collide, what is the outcome? Could it be color synesthesia – a condition in the brain that makes a person associate certain numbers with distinct colors?

What is Color Synesthesia?

Known as grapheme, color synesthesia occurs in people who, when thinking of numbers, attach colors to those digits. Usually, once a number is given a color, it does not change. For instance, if the number (5) is shaded green, it will likely always be experienced that way.

This is an extremely rare phenomenon that only exists in one percent of the population. Some of the people who live with grapheme consider themselves lucky. Lani Metoyer wrote on related website, “It’s pleasant to see radiant colors as I type or read.”

A Pleasant Neurological Condition

No matter how enjoyable it seems, grapheme is a neurological condition. Even though all people connect numbers and colors to certain degrees, people with color synesthesia take this to a new level. Having over excitable brain functions, they only need about one third of the stimulation a person without the condition needs to experience light flashes, which ultimately reflects colors in places others don’t see.

Most people who have color synesthesia don’t seem to mind the condition. Doctors and neuroscientists often appreciate the insight this population has. Oxford neuroscientist Dr. Terhune says studying people who have grapheme allows for “some interesting insight into how cortical excitability may be related to conscious awareness.”

Take a Color Synesthesia Assessment

Because color synesthesia is so rare, it is common for people to overlook it or keep their symptoms quiet. In reality, it is nothing to feel shame about. Living with this condition allows a person to see the world through vibrant colors that others can never experience.

Take this assessment from http://www.synthesiastest.org/ to see if grapheme colors your world in unique ways.

Read more Segmation blog posts about Color and Science:

Artistic Characteristics of the Right Brain and Left Brain

Photography: Black and White or in Living Colors

The Many Different Hues of Blue

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Do all artists use the right side of their brains? As the region of the brain that hosts creativity, imagination and art awareness, it seems so. However, more people are finding their inner artist can be awakened no matter what side of the brain dominates.

For a long time, humans believed we only used one side of the brain. Today, most people know about the stereotypes between the right and left sides of our brains. This is because thousands of studies have been conducted on the human brain and the way it works. While we still don’t know much about its vast complexities, we do know a lot more than we used to. For instance, we know that the brain communicates between its two halves and its many lobes.

What connects the halves of a brain are bands of fibers that serve as electronic information paths. In most cases, we use both sides of our brain, but typically one side is dominant. This is not the case for some individuals as is true for people who struggle with autism, wherein both sides of the brain have no fibers connecting the two halves.

Where do you fit into this complex picture? Do you know if you’re a right brained or left brained artist?

Here are some strengths and characteristics of right-brained dominant and left brained dominant people…

Left

Mathematics
Analytical thought
Speech
Writing
Logic and reasoning

Right

Creativity
Imagination
Identifying with emotions
Philosophy
Art awareness

After reviewing this list, you, as an artist, may want to gravitate towards the right side. It makes sense right? (Pun intended!) Do these qualities seem to manifest them into yourself as an artist?

WARNING: Don’t be so quick to assume that all left brained thinking is cold and analytical, and the right is all creativity and ingenuity. Some incredible bodies of work and research explain that, due to the nature of our brains, it is impossible to be pigeonholed into one type of thinking per individual. There are always exceptions, and the flat out truth is that almost all of us blend the use of both sides of our brain.

So how does this affect your artwork? Take the opportunity to research some of your favorite artists and their works, and research what type of thinker they were. While you’re at it, explore articles about some of the many other characteristics of the right and left sides of the brain. You just might be surprised.

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