Rusdie, Ramachandran, Synesthesia

I made an interesting synchronistic discovery as I've been reading, Salman Rusdie's novel about the invasion and takeover of Kashmir, "Shalimar the Clown," and realized that Rushdie must read or watch neuroscientist, V.S. Ramchandran.  In the novel, one of the antagonists has synesthesia, an oddity in the brain such where one smells colors, sees numbers as both color and number or tastes emotions when eating certain foods. What some would call a brain dysfunction is often found in artists, poets and writers and was first explained by Francis Gaulton, a cousin of Charles Darwin back in the 1800's. Gaulton , a polymath, anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, mproto-geneticist and  psychometrician developed a number of statistical methods to discover inherited psychological traits and one he came upon was synesthesia.

It's not unlikely that Rushdie and Ramachandran may have met of even know each other, given that they are both of Indian descent, but I found it odd or perhaps its Rusdhie's sense of black humor, that the character who displays synesthesia is crippled by it and in no way is an artist, poet or writer, but instead a warrior.
As far as synesthesia goes, I've talked to some fellow artists, actually quite a number of them and a good many exhibit some of the characteristics and are grateful for them, while a few do feel the genetic trait as a curse.
As Ramachandran explains, the brain in the fetus is a mass of connected cells. As it grows the embryo eliminates portions of the brain, cells structures, as it carves out our personality, qualities, limits and awareness.  In some people the organism forgets to disconnect various senses from each other leading to an automatic way of perceiving reality which is combined in the individual.  Some people with such a c9onnection don't even realize other people don';t have it, others feel different and outcast, yet even others capitalize on it in their creative work through perception, metaphor, expression that is unique and often found strange or intoxicating and intriguing.

V. S. Ramachdran: Synesthesia and Creativity

As quantum physics and neuroscience stretch out, I find it so interesting that creativity is more connected in both than we've ever realized. With the new brain mapping, neurologists, such as V.S. Ramachandran are working with individuals whose sensory sections in the temporal lobe of the brain are connected differently from other people creating single sensory streams whereas most people would experience these as separated sensory experiences one at a time. These connected sensory streams are often cross-connected in a brain activity called Synesthesia, where someone experiences  numbers as colors, or tastes musical tones, shapes or metals.  At one time this brain activity was attributed to crazy people or individuals who have suffered a brain injury but it;s been found to be genetic.  Such a discovery proves how different each and every one each of us has totally different perceptions of the world and universe. I took the time while at the Art Bomb show to ask fellow artists if they felt any of these off sensory connections.
Artists such as DaVinci may have had numerous sensory connections and sensory streams which enabled him to see the world in such an advanced way.
Shaggy described how he feels intense emotional reactions to the texture of each food. Mark mentioned how she can taste metals. I can taste metals like copper and when hearing the tones of the cello and other instruments as colors. Ramachandran also spoke about how Synesthesia, as a sensory function and not a cognitive or memory function is immediate and is also an brain unusual brain wiring which enables people to easily come up with metaphors - making unusual connections which abstractly fit one idea with another idea, and Ramachadran states, "Synesthesia is eight times more common among artists, poets, novelists and so forth."  He also discovered in his research that it's found in one in every two hundred people. Until I was exposed to books and videos by Ramachandran, I thought everyone experienced the world this way. I'm curious to see what further brain mapping and studies will reveal about creativity and the brain - it can only become more fascinating and revelatory.