@todd @ReaderJohn Well now you’ve made me look it up. According to Wikipedia (which is always right) there are two types of synesthesia: projective and associative. Projective involves an innate sensory experience, and associative is feeling a strong connection between the trigger and the sensation (which W. says is “involuntary” but IMO would not have to start out that way; days of the week have colors in my mind, but I know why and when that association started). In practice I expect it would be difficult to sort out which kind someone else had, as few people have really rigorous explanations at hand of what “perceive” means. And, can you effectively talk yourself into “genuine” sensory perception? Probably?

Anyway, if you want to be a good 21st-century American and fully medicalize the self, you now have a nine-syllable label for what you thought was a charming quirk. Maybe we can start a support group.