Of colors and numbers...

I have been thinking for a while, why some people are better with numbers than others. I saw a show on The Science Channel sometime back which stated that some people associate numbers with a variety of visual objects. The condition is called Synesthesia. Once i heard that, it all made sense to me. I have ALWAYS associated numbers with colors. However, unlike people with synesthesia, I do not have any other signs. If I look back on my childhood, I must have heard or seen someone associate colors with numbers and picked it up as a conscious habit. In fact, i remember thinking around the age of 6 or so that if there are 7 colors in the rainbow, and only 10 single digits in the world (0-9), how come we don't associate colors with numbers?

Another commonly used associative behavior is that of numbers and music notes (think "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"). But my music abilities are best left unexplored! LOL.

I cannot predict or confirm if it always works. However, i have found that associating numbers with colors makes it easier to perform mathematical functions and memorize sequences. This all aids only short-term memory for me, but studies show that in many cases, even long term memory is affected.

Let me try to give you an insight into how this works. And perhaps remembering phone numbers or order tracking numbers or confirmation numbers when you don't have a pen handy might become just a teeny bit easier.

First and foremost, let me give you my color spectrum:
0 = White
1 = Red
2 = Light Blue
3 = Green
4 = Yellow
5 = Black
6 = Indigo or Dark Blue
7 = No Color
8 = Orange
9 = Violet

If you notice, all of these colors are basically derived from VIBGYOR or the sequence of colors in the rainbow - violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. The other three numbers have Black, White, and No color. I refer you again to the first paragraph of this post that clearly states that for me color association was a conscious effort and i have been fairly successful.

Now, suppose you need to remember a number, say 53. In this case imagine a black stripe and a green stripe next to each other. I often will associate a small number with a food item. For instance, mint chocolate (think pillow chocolates in hotel rooms or dessert chocolates given in restaurants) is dark brown (almost black) and green in color. Thus, 53 corresponds to a mint chocolate as does 35. However, 35 in an "reverse mint chocolate." Does this make sense?

Let's take a bigger example. Let's consider the number 3,125,597,845. As we can see this is a 10 digit number and is most likely to show in phone number formats. Therefore, first break it down into the format we are used to seeing 10-digit numbers in --> 312-559-7845. Now, the first band of numbers is Green-Red-Blue; second band is Black-Black-Violet; and the last band is None-Orange-Yellow-Black. If you think in "stripes" of color corresponding to each number, you will find that the green-red-blue will remind you of many a childhood toy (children are attracted towards basic colors). The black-black-violet corresponds to a thick black stripe with a violet border - to me, it translates into a beautiful saree i had seen someone wear a long time ago. The last set of numbers is tricky because the first stripe has no color. However, Orange-yellow-black typically reminds me of bees or taxi-cabs (with a major nod to So----, who knitted a beautiful hat in those colors for my son). Thus, now i have to think of three objects instead of the sequence of numbers - favorite toy, saree, and taxi-cab hat. Thus, the sequence of numbers is 312-559-7845 (i wrote this from memory)...and double-checked... VOILA!!

I am going to let you all play around with this method...and make sure to post comments if you have questions about the method or need to clarify some visuals.

For the "Factor of 3" bandwagon, i am on: I have always associated the number 3 with green. Three looks like the top portion of a heart laid sideways. But it also looks like 2 consecutive petals of a flower. To me, 3 also represents femininity (think about it - it is an obvious reason why). All of these in my opinion have always represented fertility - which is embodied in the color 'green' - one of the first lessons we had on the Indian flag. "Green represents fertility and growth." Anyways, my point here being that when my son was born, he completed my circle of 3, and guess what his favorite color is? Remember, that my favorite number is 1 and favorite color is Red. Thus, my sub-conscious efforts were always to encourage him towards Red. However, i am proud to admit that despite my manipulations (they were not too many), my 3rd factor prefers the color green and learned how to say "Three" before any other number!!

Till tomorrow, or later...ADIOS!