Is it just me...

[Doktor Howl]

Omigawd, I was listening to this 'here to go' remix in the car, and I got this great music video of vector arrows popping out of everything, and equations flying all over the place.

So cool.

Interesting.  I've been having visual illusions for a few weeks now.  I wonder if something is going around?

[Jasper]

Can message boards serve as a vector for collective insanity?

[Doktor Howl]

Can message boards serve as a vector for collective insanity?

Since the psycho letters started, I'm thinking yes.

[Jasper]

Can message boards serve as a vector for collective insanity?

Since the psycho letters started, I'm thinking yes.

Good news, everybody!
                \

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Sometimes there's a post-apocalyptic world overlaid on this one, ever since I was a kid. Not bombed-out or anything, just underpopulated and falling apart. It was pretty rad, walking around looking at things all decayed and overgrown. I definitely see it a lot less now, but it delights me when I find places (like the mausoleum) that are like that for real. It's kind of comforting.

[Nast]

When I was a kid and was dragged around on errands by my parents, to alleviate the boredom I viewed the stores as levels in a platformer videogame. Needless to say I annoyed my parents by hiding under clothing racks, only stepping on certain color tiles, or collecting things found on the ground.

[Nast]

Now all I see is homeless people. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Now all I see is homeless people. 

Like that kid in the Sixth Sense?

[Lies]

Omigawd, I was listening to this 'here to go' remix in the car, and I got this great music video of vector arrows popping out of everything, and equations flying all over the place.

So cool.

I think you might be suffering from synesthesia...

This could be a good thing, if you learn how to use it to your advantage.

Lots of techniques to remember things and add up numbers really fast rely on it.

[Nast]

Now all I see is homeless people. 

Like that kid in the Sixth Sense?

Nah, like for real real homeless people. Undressing in public, staring with dead eyes into the distance, muttering to themselves; you know, doing homeless people stuff.
Our mild climate brings them out this time of year.

[Shai Hulud]

Omigawd, I was listening to this 'here to go' remix in the car, and I got this great music video of vector arrows popping out of everything, and equations flying all over the place.

So cool.

I think you might be suffering from synesthesia...

This could be a good thing, if you learn how to use it to your advantage.

Lots of techniques to remember things and add up numbers really fast rely on it.

According to wikipedia, "It is estimated that synesthesia could possibly be as prevalent as 1 in 23 persons across its range of variants."

[Edit: After reading most of that synesthesia article, it doesn't really sound like that is what the OP describes, though.  From what I can tell from the article, synesthesia involves two different overlapping senses, at least the variations described in the article seem like they involve two distinct, overlapping senses.  But then again, that's only based on the wiki article, I don't really have any clue.  What about the OP makes you think synesthesia, Lysergic?]

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Omigawd, I was listening to this 'here to go' remix in the car, and I got this great music video of vector arrows popping out of everything, and equations flying all over the place.

So cool.

I think you might be suffering from synesthesia...

This could be a good thing, if you learn how to use it to your advantage.

Lots of techniques to remember things and add up numbers really fast rely on it.

According to wikipedia, "It is estimated that synesthesia could possibly be as prevalent as 1 in 23 persons across its range of variants."

I experience it, as does my weird math savant friend. It seems pretty common.

[Shai Hulud]

I experience it, as does my weird math savant friend. It seems pretty common.

Oh, cool!  What's it like?  I've always been pretty fascinated by that sort of thing. I've never "heard a color" or anything like that and I can't imagine how it must be to process sensory information in a nonstandard way.  Must be pretty intense, huh?

[Jasper]

The closest thing to synaesthesia for me is the way my mind likes to interpret music as movement.  For instance a certain kind of techno might feel like a dogfight in fast-forward to me.  Often, it's really visceral and it really seems like I'm experiencing high-gee forces.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I experience it, as does my weird math savant friend. It seems pretty common.

Oh, cool!  What's it like?  I've always been pretty fascinated by that sort of thing. I've never "heard a color" or anything like that and I can't imagine how it must be to process sensory information in a nonstandard way.  Must be pretty intense, huh?

Not really; it's pretty mundane. I suspect that more people experience this than most people think, in one form or another. Colors have smells and/or flavors, words have textures and temperatures, especially names. Sounds have physical sensations, like raspy or sticky. Not ALL colors or words or sounds, but some of them. For my friend, numbers have personalities. Sometimes even life stories and relationships with each other. I loved it when she was telling me about the primes. Some of them even DATED each other, or were married and had kids.

If you think about it, for an artist some form of synaesthesia seems almost like it would be necessary, and it certainly seems pretty helpful in math as well. I can't conceive of being able to do what I do if I didn't know, for instance, that some shades of pink are sweeter than others or that green-yellows and yellow-greens smell like vinegar.