Weird things about your brain

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Often, I'll go into phases where I react strongly to incredibly specific words (down to the grammatical inflections.) I could even find something disturbingly beautiful about "cellar", but not when it is pluralized to "cellars", for example.

Krabo, does it ever seem like the overlapping sounds of the traffic converge to "build" the vocal sounds? If so, I might know what you're talking about. I sometimes can hear voices or music in converging sounds, too.

Does it ever? Often. This is my life.

OK, now I feel a little inferior. I wish the sounds in my head were musical! Once in awhile it happens, but mostly, words, words, words of my own mind speaking to itself. Quite boring by comparison.

But I can easily visualize a map of a place I am in, as if I were popping up into the sky in my mind and seeing where to go from above.

I also had a weird visual thing for many years when growing up and my father told me of a very similar one he had at the same age. It would happen as I went to sleep. I would see a round surface, very vivid and as smooth as you can possibly imagine a surface being. Then suddenly, it would become impossibly crinkled for a time and then alternate back and forth between smooth and crinkled.

Don't feel inferior! Your mapping ability is an amazing one to have, and very useful. I often wish some of my quirks had more practical application; as it is they can be somewhat isolating, because I don't often meet people who are willing or able to understand one of the best things in my life. Everyone can appreciate a great navigator, and being able to visualize everything from above is exceptional.

Ooh, the smooth-crinkly thing reminds me of something else... and I'm beginning to think that maybe a lot of us have a lot of very similar abilities or quirks, it's all just a matter of how aware of them we are, and what form they take. Minor details are all different.

But the crinkly thing... sometimes when I close my eyes, I suddenly visualize a landscape which is blanketed with graffiti... hyper-detailed, hyper-dense, hyper-messy graffiti. Every square foot is filled with chaos, like a Where's Waldo drawing of random markings and color. Random and yet not random, because graffiti has a pattern and a purpose even though it looks messy. Just super-complex. Some kind of visual metaphor perhaps for trying to decipher all the subtle significances and complexities of life.

Sciuridae, I can relate to that as well. I hated the word "moral" for a long time, purely for the sound of it and not the meaning. On the other hand, I remember a day in kindergarten where I laughed myself silly at the lunch table because the more I repeated the word "squares", the more ridiculous it sounded to me.

It also happens to me that when I type text at my computer (like right now), I hear the words. When I type in Finnish, the sounds are Finnish. And when I type in English, the sounds are English. Weird.

It sounds like many of you are talking about forms synesthesia where one sense crosses the boundaries into another. I saw a chart somewhere of about 50 or 60 types of synesthesia with an estimate of the population with each. The one you are all talking about of having visual stimulation create auditory experience I think was among the more rare. Or do you see it as something other than synesthesia?

ThetaIn3D: How you describe the graffiti thing is a lot like the crinkled phase in my experience. Except mine was in black and white. The sound converging into music experience you have - I wonder if this fits into the synesthesia category. Did you ever talk it over with a doctor or anyone? I'm not implying it is a medical condition. But there may be some research on it as a neurological phenomena.

Sciur: I relate to having an extreme fascination for the sound of some words at times and a desire to say them over and over for fun.

Another weird thing about my brain I learned is when I started playing the piano as an adult. I could understand the notation system easily, but very hard to transfer into my hands while looking at the music while learning. Very slow, repetitive progression, which is a part of the pleasure. Then, finally, when I have learned the piece, if I even so much as glance at the music I get all messed up. Once I learn it, I can only play it by feeling and pattern recognition.

Emtyeye, much what you said I can relate to. This synesthesia thing is fascinating.

Krabo, is that how you have understood what happens to you?

*nods*

Synesthesia is awesome, I wonder how common it is with ASD.

I have Trypophobia, the fear of objects with small holes. Until a couple of weeks ago I didn't know this was a "thing" that other people share.

Right now that I am reading the above line, it appears like 3-D. When I close my left eye, it is reduced to 2-D. I don't know how this is possible.