The Man Who Tasted Shapes (Bradford Books) [Paperback]

Richard E. Cytowic (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bradford Books | Publication Date: April 10, 1998

In 1980, Richard Cytowic was having dinner at a friend's house, when his host exclaimed, "Oh, dear, there aren't enough points on the chicken." With that casual comment began Cytowic's journey into the condition known as synesthesia.

The ten people in one million who are synesthetes are born into a world where one sensation (such as sound) conjures up one or more others (such as taste or color). Although scientists have known about synesthesia for two hundred years, until now the condition has remained a mystery. Extensive experiments with more than forty synesthetes led Richard Cytowic to an explanation of synesthesia—and to a new conception of the organization of the mind, one that emphasized the primacy of emotion over reason.

Because there were not enough points on chicken served at a dinner almost two decades ago, Cytowic came to explore a deeper reality that he believes exists in all individuals, but usually below the surface of awareness. In this medical detective adventure, he reveals the brain to be an active explorer, not just a passive receiver, and offers a new view of what it means to be human—a view that turns upside down conventional ideas about reason, emotion, and who we are.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1979, neurologist Cytowic met a man who literally tasted shapes, and a woman who heard and smelled colors. These otherwise normal people had synesthesia, an exceedingly rare perceptual disorder in which the senses become intermingled. What Cytowic learned from them is told here through the portraits of the synesthetes and through his own detective work and consultations with medical colleagues. There is an appealingly suspenseful quality to this reportage, and the--worth waiting for--denouement is that synesthetes see nothing less than the building blocks of perception normally hidden from consciousness. Artfully drawing back the curtain of consciousness, the author suggests that synesthetes temporarily experience a shutdown of the left hemispheric cortex. The interesting implications he extracts from this finding are that consciousness is emotional rather than rational, that the emotional part of the brain--the limbic system--evolved just as much as the cortex, and that our actions are guided by a wisdom that is not apparent to the conscious mind. Also noteworthy is Cytowic's discussion of art and creativity. Artists are among the few who are able to tap into their emotive knowledge, he maintains. Among Cytowic's conclusions: Ravel and Kandinsky were synesthetes, and Scriabin and Kodaly were aware of the condition,whose existence motivated them to find colors to match tones. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A practicing neurologist, Cytowic has authored journal articles as well as a textbook on synesthesia. In this popular account, he describes this rare medical condition, in which one sense of the synesthete involuntarily conjures up another. An artist whose sense of taste elicts the sense of touch became the primary subject of a series of experiments in which Cytowic demonstrated that the limbic system is essential for the expression of synesthesia. This discovery has profoundly influenced our understanding of the brain and the primary role played by emotion. In a series of thought-provoking essays, the author expounds upon the issue of subjective experience. Readers familiar with Oliver Sacks's extraordinary neurological tales will find Cytowic's book equally engaging.
- Laurie Bartolini, Lincoln Lib., Springfield, Ill.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (April 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262531526
• ISBN-13: 978-0262531528
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,086,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard E. Cytowic, MD likes how delightfully counterintuitive neural interpretations of everyday experience can be. The Duke graduate was attracted to the brain because of the surprisingly strange and peculiar syndromes encountered in neurology. He is best known for bringing synesthesia back to mainstream science after decades of obscurity.

An Associate Professor of Neurology at George Washington University, Dr. Cytowic has an MFA in creative writing from American University. His New York Times Magazine cover story about Press Secretary James Brady, who was shot in the head during the assassination attempt on President Reagan, received a Pulitzer nomination in 1982. He is the author of five books, including his latest, Wednesday is Indigo Blue, published by MIT Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This Book, December 16, 2000

By 

R. Williams (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Man Who Tasted Shapes (Bradford Books) (Paperback)

The Man Who Tasted Shapes is an extraordinary work of research into the human mind that was, to me, only superficially about synesthesia. The information and perspective shared are much bigger than the title would imply. I believe that you'll find it to be fabulously interesting, even if you have zero interest in synesthesia.

Most doctors are afraid to write what they truly believe in their hearts lest it be challenged and scorned by their peers. Rarely do scientists allow you to "see the man behind the curtain," preferring to hide instead behind that mysterious veil we called "objective data." In this, Dr. Cytowic is far braver than most, and certainly more honest.

Here is just such an example from the book: "My innate analytic personality had been reinforced by twenty years of training in science and medicine. I reflexively analyzed whatever passed my way and firmly believed that the intellect could conquer everything through reason. 'You need an antidote to your incessant intellectualizing,' Clark suggested, 'something to put you in touch with the irrational side of your mind.'... I had never considered that there might be more to the human mind than the rational part that I was familiar with. It had never once occurred to me that a force to balance rationality existed, let alone that it might be a normal part of the human psyche."

In another chapter, Cytowic asserts, "Not everything we are capable of knowing and doing is accessible to or expressible in language. This means that some of our personal knowledge is off limits even to our own inner thoughts. Perhaps this is why humans are so often at odds with themselves, because there is more going on in our minds than we can ever consciously know."

If you read a lot of medical texts, as I do, you will find Dr. Cytowic to be far more broadminded and much less linear in his thinking than his peers. This makes Cytowic interesting, instead of boring like the others.

One final quote: "Neuroscientists have just lately come to realize how important emotion is. Placing reason and the (intellectual) cortex first and foremost is like the Wizard of Oz shouting, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." Reason, and an accomplice called self-awareness have deluded us into believing that they have been pulling the strings, but emotion and mentation not normally accessible to self-awareness have been in charge all along."

The Man Who Tasted Shapes is a delightful bridge between the hard science of neurology and the mystery that is man.

Buy the book. You won't regret it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the "Close-minded"!, February 1, 2000

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Health Enhancement Enter (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Man Who Tasted Shapes (Bradford Books) (Paperback)

While Dr. Cytowic's book mainly deals with his investigation of the rare neurological phenomena called "synesthesia", his resulting insights on emotions, reasoning and consciousness are really what make this book worth reading. He presents "The New View of How the Brain Works". A view that helps us understand the critical interaction of emotions and reasoning. If you are open-minded and ready to give an alternate point of view a chance, you will find this book to be truly enlightening, absorbing, thought provoking and enjoyable. If you are close-minded and think that science already has all the right answers - don't waste your time - try science fiction instead!

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not recommended, April 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man Who Tasted Shapes (Bradford Books) (Paperback)

Originally published in 1993, this book is a popularization of Dr. Cytowic's more detailed 1989 book Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses. At the time it was published, it was of some value in bringing the topic of synesthesia to greater attention among both scholars and the general public. Dr. Cytowic thus gets an A for public education efforts, but a failing grade for accomplishment.

The book suffers from an unwarrantedly grandiose and revelatory style, and an amateurish presentation of the psychological side of the topic. Now, ten years later, many articles and books on synesthesia have come out. None of them corroborate the limbic theory of synesthesia Dr. Cytowic presents, nor do they echo his interpretation of synesthesia as an example of emotion taking precedence over reason. For the most part, this new literature offers a much better place to start understanding synesthesia than this book.

In the revised (2002) edition of Cytowic's other book Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses, he goes some way towards taking account of these new developments; this new edition is worthwhile, but should definitely be balanced with other books on synesthesia. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, however, is no longer worth much attention.