Do you see what I see?

 

In life, so much depends on the question "Do you see what I see?" That most basic of queries binds human beings socially. . . . Having one's perceptions go uncorroborated can make one feel peculiarly alone in the world. . . . marooned on my own private island of navy blue c's, dark brown d's, sparkling green 7's and wine-colored v's. What else did I see differently from the rest of the world? I wondered. What did the rest of the world see that I didn't? It occurred to me that maybe every person in the world had some little oddity of perception they weren't aware of that put them on a private island, mysteriously separated from others. I suddenly had the dizzying feeling that there might be as many of these private islands as there were people in the world.
- Synesthete Patricia Duffy