The Frog Who Croaked Blue by Ward, Jamie;

Short description:

Everyone will be closely acquainted with a few people who have synesthesia but you may not yet know who they are because, until very recently, it was largely hidden and unknown. Now science is uncovering its secrets and the findings are leading to a radical rethink about how our senses are organized.

Long description:

As little Edgar Curtis lay on his porch, he remarked to his mother how the noise of the rifle range was black, the chirp of the cricket was red, and the croak of the frog was bluish. Edgar, like many other people, has synesthesia - a fascinating condition in which music can have color, words can have taste, and time and numbers float through space.

Everyone will be closely acquainted with at least 6 or 7 people who have synesthesia but you may not yet know who they are because, until very recently, synesthesia was largely hidden and unknown. Now science is uncovering its secrets and the findings are leading to a radical rethink about how our senses are organized. In this timely and thought-provoking book, Jamie Ward argues that sensory mixing is the norm even though only a few of us cross the barrier into the realms of synesthesia.

How is it possible to experience color when no color is there? Why do some people experience touch when they see someone else being touched? Can blind people be made to see again by using their other senses? Why do scientists no longer believe that there are five senses? How does the food industry exploit the links that exist between our senses? Does synesthesia have a function? The Frog Who Croaked Blue explores all these questions in a lucid and entertaining way, making it fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the intriguing workings of the mind.

"Ward pitches his book to a broad audience. The writing is jargon free, and there are careful explanations of both scientific terms and the methods used by scientists to test hypotheses and build theories. This should make the book accessible to a range of readers… First, those with little or no scientific training may have interest in the book, including laypersons who have synesthesia and want to learn more about it. In fact, many people who read the book may discover that they are synesthetes.… Second, the book is appropriate as a supplement to university courses on topics such as sensation, perception, cognition, or cognitive neuroscience. Students should find interest in exploring how synesthetic information processes compare with the sensory processes typically covered in university courses. Third, the book may be of use to clinicians—for example, clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists—who may encounter synesthesia among their patients.… Last, the book may be of interest to scientists who have little familiarity with the topic, and even the few experts in the area should be interested in Ward’s new synthesis." – Andrew B. Slifkin & Katherine A. Koenig in PsycCRITIQUES

Table of Contents:

The Colorful Albino. Counting on the Senses. An Altered Reality. The Screen in My Forehead. Beyond the Senses.