When that delicate internal mechanism—the filtering and sorting of sensory data—varies markedly from the statistical norm, the disclosure of that difference can be startling, sometimes even disruptive, to the general conversation. This was precisely the case during a *Hollywood Reporter* roundtable when Cynthia Erivo described her experience of chromesthesia, a form of synesthesia where musical input automatically evokes color.
Erivo stated simply, "I have had synesthesia. So I see color with music." This acknowledgment of her unique internal landscape—a condition believed to affect only two to four percent of the population—met an immediate, conversational deceleration. The subsequent, joking interjection from Jennifer Lawrence, a brief skeptical one-liner, acted less as a harsh judgment and more as the sudden, confused laughter that arises when the rules of perception are momentarily suspended.
The complexity of a mind that automatically translates sound frequency into visual wavelength is difficult to process on the fly; it challenges the very notion of what constitutes common sense.
The Difficulty of Shared Sensory Experience
The initial reaction on social media often defaults to skepticism, a tendency to categorize the unfamiliar as either performance or error.
Yet, the very nature of synesthesia demands a critical pause. It is not an imaginative association, but an involuntary, cross-wiring of neural pathways. While Erivo’s experience is chromesthesia—the perception of sound as specific color—other manifestations are far more perplexing, such as gustatory-auditory synesthesia, where certain sounds produce a discernible taste, or the intricate systems where individuals perceive time not as duration, but as distinct, geometrically ordered spaces.
To imagine viewing the week as a coiled spiral, with Tuesday existing spatially closer to you than Saturday, requires a genuine leap of empathy.
The sudden shift in the roundtable’s mood, from serious artistic reflection to public lighthearted confusion, illuminates the critical barrier between interior life and external dialogue.
It is a moment of vulnerability to reveal that one’s senses operate outside the standard convention. While the online commentary contained humorous relief concerning Lawrence’s disarming candor—"Jennifer Lawrence never takes anything seriously, and that makes every conversation better"—it simultaneously affirmed the silent existence of those who genuinely taste a C-sharp minor or see turquoise when they hear a specific tone.
Synesthesia and Creative Latitude
It is fitting that this phenomenon often finds its most lucid expression within artistic disciplines.
If the internal world is richer, or simply mapped differently, the material available for creative translation is dramatically expanded. Artists like Billie Eilish and Pharrell Williams have publicly discussed their own forms of synesthesia, confirming that this neurological arrangement is not a hindrance, but often a profound catalyst.
The experience of seeing a song not merely as an auditory event but as a shifting, chromatic panorama fundamentally alters the creative starting point.
This blending of senses offers an enviable latitude. To be granted an additional modality of information about the world—to have the aural and visual realms reinforce one another seamlessly—suggests a heightened, perhaps more nuanced, engagement with composition.
That such unique forms of perception, despite their rarity, have moved into the public sphere through these discussions is inherently optimistic. It suggests that the mysteries within the self, even those defying immediate, shared logic, can be received not only with amusement, but with a widening acknowledgment of the magnificent variance of the human brain.
In one of The Hollywood Reporter's actress roundtables , Cynthia Erivo discussed how musical notes can evoke colors for her.Looking to read more like this: Visit website
