Abstract:

It was like a chameleon in camouflage with the surrounding forestry. Having an undeniable physical presence, the chameleon paradoxically is absent to the unsuspecting, sighted observer. Yet, to another observer, subtle differences distinguish the chameleon from the surrounding forestry. In 1812, as part of his dissertation, Georg Tobias Ludwig Sachsbriefly discussed his unique sensational experiences. Sachs claimed that he had experienced a series of things as colors. In other words, seeing normal sequences such as numbers triggered sensations of color as well. Later during the 19^th century, much of Sachs’s experiences and similar experiences that others had were pathologized by physicians. Concerning Sach’s case, physicians of the latter half of the 19^th century conceptualized Sach’s unique experiences using terms such as hyperchromatopsia or pseudochromesthesia. Others had alternatively suggested Sach’s experiences resulted from his albinism. Efforts to categorize and pathology such experiences were pursued towards the end of the 19^th century, eventually leading to the conceptualization of the term synesthesia (Jewanski et al., 293-301). Consisting of the Greek roots “syn” (union) and “aesthesia” (sensation), synesthesia is generally understood by the scientific community as a perceptual anomaly wherein one sensation triggers another sensation (Allen-Hermanson and Matey, para. 1).

Anomaly or not, synesthetic experiences bring to question the limits of our perception. As Daston and Gallison note in their piece Mechanical Objectivity, one of the historical (and current) challenges in scientific observation and analysis is the inherent subjectivity of the scientist. They note that experimentation and analysis are mired by the scientist’s ambitions and preclinations. Thus, one’s perception of reality is distorted, making the scientific process inevitably subjective. In efforts to render scientific observations less subjective, automation of the scientific processes is vital (Daston and Gallison, 121). In this exhibit, I showcase two different sensory illusions to demonstrate inherent perceptual limits.

Project:

Optical Illusions – SD 480p

References:

1. Allen-Hermanson, Sean, and Jennifer Matey. “Synesthesia.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu/synesthe/.
2. Daston, Lorraine, and Peter Galison. Objectivity. Zone Books, 2018.
3. Jewanski, Jörg et al. “A colorful albino: the first documented case of synaesthesia, by Georg Tobias Ludwig Sachs in 1812.” Journal of the history of the neurosciences, vol. 18, no. 3 (2009): 293-303. doi:10.1080/09647040802431946