Since my post about the circle calendar, I have read a little more about synesthesia. I discovered another thing I do that I never really realized until now: my numbers have a personality. Not only do I see them in color in my mind, I see them as people. I know. But I also know some of you do, too. Here is my cast of characters, in the order in which they appear.
While One is young and stubborn (he doesn’t like to share his toys),
Two seems more compliant, a sweet, loving little boy.
Three sounds sweet and girly, red ribbons in her hair;
Four wears a tuxedo and clearly has black hair.
Five is round and jolly, named Santa Claus or Clyde,
Six is rather boring, green with envy, filled with pride.
Seven is eccentric, transgendered and quite kind;
Eight is wise beyond her years; elegant, refined.
Nine is strong, responsible, and supportive of her lover;
And Ten, though courting Nine by day, at night flirts undercover.
I’m already regretting hitting publish on this one. But it’s worth exposing in the hopes that I find others. So speak up. And don’t even try to tell me that 10 is trustworthy because he most certainly. is. not. He is green and he is bad news.
oh. My. Goodness.
This is reminding me of Francie in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Her numbers would get married, and then multiply, and died to subtract, or whatever. Do YOUR numbers do things like that?
.-= JoAnn´s last blog ..The After Party =-.
when i read this, my first thought was honestly, “no, seven is green with envy, not six!”
Whenever I count coins, I think of John F Kennedy. No explanation.
I cannot help myself from laughing out loud at that, Claire. I love it.
I laughed out loud, too. A nice, deep chuckle. That’s awesome. (here I go with the laughing again…)
.-= Boy Crazy (@claritychaos)´s last blog ..Selective Memory =-.
I read your post regarding the months and had to share with my husband. I found it fascinating and made me wonder about my kids since I homeschool and would love more insight into their little brains. Many people posted about air-typing which is something I’ve done for many years. Glad to know I’m not the only one. I had to share what my 6 year old daughter said today while working some subtraction problems. When we got to the minus 1′s she said, “The answer is always the other number’s daughter.” I totally understood that she was seeing numbers that way even though that is not how I see them. Glad that I could just smile and know that she is also not crazy. Now if I could just figure out my 8 year old’s math brain!
I’d like to see inside your brain~ I do see the days of the week and the months in a particular pattern, mostly a type of circle. But, my numbers don’t have a personality. (almost wish they did now!) There are a lot of experiences though that I have pictured on a kind of time-line, kind of like a graph. Maybe that’s a bit on this order too.
.-= Jill´s last blog ..The "Tank Garden" Continued… =-.
I had a playskool chalkboard desk with alphabet magnets… to me the letters and numbers had gender assignments. Some were grown-ups and some were children.
This was such a fun post! My numbers don’t really have any colors or personalities. I do prefer some numbers over others, because some numbers are more fun and others are more boring, but that is the extent of it. However, all of my numbers do a have a specific place where they belong, and I can see them in my mind.
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Best Friends =-.
I have number form synesthesia, too! My numbers aren’t in a circle; it’s a very complicated, three-dimensional map. The personalities are more vague – odds are a little more negative, and sharper, than evens. Except for 3, because my birthday is 3/3. My time map is very complex and a life-saver when it comes to remembering events!
How funny, I was just planning a blog post on synesthesia, too, for next week.
.-= Aimee´s last blog ..Swim and a Picnik =-.
I totally cannot relate, but it is entertaining. My son is a little Albert Einstein-esque. I’ll have to ask him if any of this makes sense to him.
Karin
OK. There was a program on ABC, I think, this week about a man who is a genius in mathematics. They showed a graph at how he “fit” numbers together in his head. It reminded me of your first post on this subject. I wasn’t actually watching it, just aware it was on. Anyone else see it?
Maybe since I don’t have this condition it explains my poor performance in math.
.-= Southern Gal´s last blog ..New Mercies =-.
Oh, no no. This is terrible for math. When your numbers are people, adding and subtracting them is kind of rude. I did not do so well in math.
This is so wierd but it makes me like you even more for some reason, which too is wierd
! Love. It.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..For the love of…love. =-.
I spelled weird wrong, a lot of times.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..For the love of…love. =-.
Fascinating. I can’t relate either, but it’s fascinating. I don’t know how I would manage all of that information inside my head.
.-= Dayle´s last blog ..The Gift of Silence =-.
Huh. My numbers have very distinct personalities (and genders). So do my two daughter’s numbers. It is a revelation to me that not everyone has the same experience.
I find this topic absolutely fascinating! I have a friend who’s daughter has synesthesia, but hers is related to music. She sees notes as colors. I love the personality of your numbers. It only confirms what I’ve thought all along, you are some sort of genius;) Have you read “A Mango shaped space”? It’s YA fiction, but you might like it as the main character has synesthesia as well. Not a common topic in fiction books!
.-= Kimberly´s last blog ..The Cherry on top =-.
At first, I had no idea what you were talking about because I don’t have the same things going on in my brain. However, after reading the links I realized that every thing, and I do mean every inanimate object, has a personality. It seems I always think in terms of people and personality traits. Maybe that’s why I read every biography in the library in third grade.
So, my numbers all have personality like that show off #1, thin as a rail, hyper, always out in front, always urging all the other numbers to keep up.
.-= Bonita´s last blog ..NCHE 2010 =-.
HA! I love it, Bonita. An dI totally see that about One. And Ten, you know…thinking he’s so perfect and all. He has such a big head, that one.
oh. my. goodness. this is hysterical. I had no idea. I will never look at number 10 the same again.
.-= Lara´s last blog ..even through un-bliss =-.
Even though I don’t do this, I am VERY intrigued!!! I will have to ask my friends & family to see if anyone else is like this. I’ve always been fond of the number 8 (that’s as close as it get’s for me) so I’m glad to know that you see it as … Eight is wise beyond her years; elegant, refined.
Thanks for sharing!!!
Trish
.-= Trish Naylor´s last blog ..Happy Mother’s Day to me =-.
My numbers are only that. Numbers. Though this whole thing fascinates me! Clearly it’s a sign of genius.
.-= The Scooper´s last blog ..Right, Left, or Middle? =-.
Omigosh, Emily. You are a poet! LOVE THIS POST! Can’t wait for the next revelation about how your brain works!
Well, I think of silverware as being male and female. Spoons=female. Forks and knives=male. Weird huh?
.-= Danielle´s last blog ..Pad Thai =-.
I, too, shared your months of the year circle with my hubby and tried to explain that I could totally understand what you were saying. You can just imagine the blank stare I got (along with a look that I can only interpret as being frightened to leave our 2 small children in my care everyday!) However, today’s post really hits home. I also think many inanimate objects have personalities. I remember being a young child and playing LOTS of make-believe. I think I can trace it back to that. Hurray for the power of imagination! Thanks for being honest and making me feel better (or at least not so alone!)
Oh my, I love it! It’s so interesting how the human brain works and is so different in each individual that God so lovingly created. I have a thing against odd numbers. I don’t care for them. I was indignant when all three (yes, three) of my children were born on odd numbered days. The only peace I find is that they were born in ’04, ’06 & ’08. Whew.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Throwback Thursday =-.
Chuckle.
I love this.
My numbers have always danced a (reel?) of some kind for me. Somehow, when i was little, i discovered it was easier to figure out where they are supposed to go by having them dance.
And i’ve always known i’m weird. I like being weird.
.-= linda´s last blog ..Joy in a Blur =-.
I think certain things are boys and certain things are girls. Like snakes, for instance, they are ALL male. I hate snakes and think them evil and therefore think no woman would take part in being a slithering reptile. Besides, Eve could only have been taken in by a man. I have never thought about numbers that way, but I can see it.
Thanks for sharing the crazy, Emily.
Emily, this is amazing! I love, love, love your poem! I’m going to have to sit down and figure out what my numbers mean to me – they have SO much personality to me. Eight – you know eight well! Thanks for hitting publish. It’s awesome!
.-= Kelly Langner Sauer´s last blog ..nonsensical =-.
Emily,
I don’t know about these numbers dancing in your head.
But I know that you are clever and your clever is well fed.
I imagine she eats crumpets and has tea each afternoon,
And has Elizabeth Barrett Browning books hidden in her room.
Emily, Keep sharing!! I never would have known that my children ‘saw’ their calendars in a shape until you posted on the synesthesia thing. Three of them do! I had no idea.
And the 3 whom I shared about your post with today all see numbers as boys or girls with personalities, one or two of whom are ‘naughty’. Again, I had no idea. I need to ask ‘the boy’, who sees his calendar in an oval, if his numbers are also like people.
Totally, totally fascinating.
This is such fun Emily!! The poem is perfect. Do you know, that if one doesn’t think of letters and numbers and months in those creative ways, it is nearly impossible to conjure it up? It sounds so neat that I want to share in the fun, but I can’t seem to make numbers anything but numbers. I feel so “uncreative.”
.-= Linda´s last blog ..When I Am Afraid =-.
ok, seriously girl, i’m wondering about you. but i find this fascinating.
.-= melissa~afamiliarpath´s last blog ..Our Financial Journey ~ Focus =-.
OK, I asked my Albert – he looked at me dumbfounded like I had two heads. Seriously, the boy is a math genius. So is his grandfather. Grandfather may or may not have called you nuts. (I totally defended you) But Pookie piped up: I see numbers in color! I looked at her amazed and started having her list what they were. Then, I took a page from the video on your original post and later asked her what some of them were again. Cleverly, she stated: Well, MOM (gee, duh, Dad kind of ‘MOM’) ~ my colors begin to repeat…Um, yeah. I don’t think so.
Although, because of this, I began to wonder at the artistry behind such thinking and how well you photograph, etc. Truly an artist in that realm, as well as with words. Still something to ponder. I am a very numbers-are-black-and-months-are-linear-kind of person. I’ve never named an appliance and my house is not a person. But I absolutely adore you that yours do and your house does…although you never shared what the ‘new’ one is…
Blessings,
Karin
.-= karin @ 6byHisDesign´s last blog ..I’ve Got Plans… =-.
I talk to my vehicles – does that count for anything?
I do find it interesting reading about your synesthesias.
Take care!
.-= Jendi´s last blog ..Our First Build A Bear =-.
I am one of the ones that cannot relate at all, Emily. I wish I could–it sounds much more interesting to think like you. I find this fascinating…keep posting. Do you see shapes as having personalities? What else?
I feel very boring right now.
.-= dawn´s last blog ..We are not ants. =-.
Ok, so I can’t identify with any of the things you’ve mentioned so far, but there is something at the edge of my thoughts that I can’t quite grasp that makes what you say seem more than reasonable. I’m waiting to discover how I see the world!
OMG!OMG! I am NOT crazy after all. I was just discussing this phenomenon with my oldest daughter. I finally at 45 realized that not everyone “sees” the days of the week or the months of the year in a weird shape like I do. What made me realize this was the fact that I am very organized and one of my daughters is not. I realized that she might not “see” her months or days at all making it really difficult to remember when things are due or when events happen. When I discussed this with my older daughter she explained the she saw the months and days in a straight line starting with January and ending with December.
I also see my letters with personality just as you see your numbers. For some reason my numbers don’t have specific personalities. Either way I am happy to know there is an explanation and that this weirdness has a name. Thank you!
.-= pam´s last blog ..if i had a nickle =-.
Nope. And interestingly, I have spent years wondering why my cousin was so certain that August was red. I mean, years. I heard him talk about these color associations when I was just a kid and always figured there was something wrong with me that I didn’t see colors in months or numbers or the alphabet.
I only see words and stories and spelling. I actually see the letter or the numbers when I am recalling a phone number or an address. So, when I can’t find where I have written it down, I “look” for it in my mind’s eye to read it.
Maybe that’s why I can recall exact movie or book quotes.
But I have never once seen any of these things in color
.-= Lisa-Jo @thegypsymama´s last blog ..If you’re feeling lost =-.
You all are making this stuff up right? My brain does not work like this. I can’t even comprehend how yours does.
Off to go sulk in a corner somewhere…
punkinmama´s last [type] ..the break-up
Emily – I was laying in bed tonight, talking to my 10-year-old son and he said, “I feel like I’m different from everyone.” Then he told me why…. he sees letters as colors and numbers as people. I remembered this post from a few years back and searched for it! He’s just like you
. I’m fascinated and can’t wait to learn more about this! He’s also very creative and a great artist, already at 10. Thanks for the post – I might have thought he was crazy if I didn’t read this 
.