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What is it like when letters have colors?

For some people, a letter or digit comes with an automatic color association even when it is printed in black. Grapheme-color synesthesia makes an ordinary alphabet a very different experience, and gives researchers a challenge: how do you study a color only one person experiences?

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • What can repeated color choices reveal about an association’s consistency?
  • How is an automatic association different from a deliberately chosen metaphor?

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