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Synaesthesia: The Strangest Thing
By John Harrison
Oxford University Press (Great Clarendon St., Oxford OX2 6DP, England), 2000.
ISBN 0-19-263245-0
Reviewed by Paul Hertz, U.S.A.
E-mail: paul-hertz@northwestern.edu
A valuable addition to the literature on synesthesia (as we Americans
spell it), John Harrison's book presents a cogent analysis of the
phenomenon that will appeal to scientists and to the general public.
While the work focuses on a series of experiments on colored hearing
directed by Harrison's mentor Simon Baron-Cohen, it provides a
careful exposÚ of the historical and scientific framework of those
experiments. Harrison's discussion of the changing historical nature
of evidence in experimental psychology is particularly welcome, and
sheds light on a whole range of disciplines where cognitive processes
are the object of scientific investigation. His chapter on notable
synesthetes, while not integral to his argument, proceeds gracefully
and will be of particular interest to those unfamiliar with
synesthesia. The crux of his argument, hierarchically developed over
anatomical, physiological, and psychological hypotheses on
synesthesia, resolves in a series of experiments with synesthetes,
where he brings neurobiology, statistics and genetics into play, with
a brief but critical role for imaging technology. Does this sound
like a plot for a novel? In some ways it might be. Harrison provides
a carefully constructed central argument, a number of fascinating
subplots, and if the experiments are less than conclusive--well, such
is life, if we wish to portray it accurately. Within the logic of his
argument, Harrison exposes potential flaws in prior research, a
particular service to non-scientists with an enthusiasm for
synesthesia, and reaches some limited but tantalizing conclusions.
Highly recommended.
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