Stupid brain tricks

As a person whose brain is kinda, well, broken, I sometimes lose sight of what a wacky gizmo the brain is. Frinstance, there's a little article in the NYT about a rare condition called lexical-gustatory synaesthesia, in which the brain tastes words. Snip:

One subject, Dr. Simner said, hates driving, because the road signs flood his mouth with everything from pistachio ice cream to ear wax. And Dr. Simner has yet to figure out any logical pattern. For example, the word “mince” makes one subject taste mincemeat, but so do rhymes like “prince.” Words with a soft “g,” as in “roger” or “edge,” make him taste sausage. But another subject, hearing “castanets,” tastes tuna fish. Another can taste only proper names: John is his cornbread, William his potatoes.

So let's give thanks for brains, even broken brains, for connecting us with the world. Hold the ear wax.