There was this intriguing show on the Science Channel last night called Real Superhumans - it featured people whose senses are far more advanced and attuned to sensory stimuli than average, and whose senses are sometimes intertwined in atypical ways, allowing them to "feel" colors, "see" mathematical algorithms come to life, "taste" music and so on.
Sure, feeling colors and seeing weird crap is nothing new, at least not for those who've dabbled in hallucinogens.....but the prospect of tasting music raises a lot of interesting questions. Would that head in the obvious and literal direction? Would the Rolling Stones taste like brown sugar? Would the Beatles explode on the tongue in a smorgasbord of strawberry fields, honey pie and savoy truffle, washed down with a hippie hippie shake (a variation of a chocolate shake, but with a strong herbal aftertaste that imparts the ability to see colors, as noted above)? Would a steady diet of Britney Spears' bubble gum pop indeed prove toxic? Bad taste would actually be a literal affliction, instead of a matter of opinion. That kind of blows my mind.
I've never been able to stomach the musical pablum churned out by the ongoing parade of American Idol winners, whose subsequent debut albums bleed together like an endless loop of call center hold music. All this time I've suspected I was merely suffering from high standards, but perhaps I'm superhuman and possess mysteriously intertwined aural receptors and taste buds instead?
Highly unlikely, however - perspective eventually rears its sensible head sooner or later. Real Superhumans also featured a gifted painter who was born without eyes, which certainly puts me back into a more mundane context. I can put on a good show about being a working mum who spins plates like a pro, until you put me in the same room with some tenacious and talented trooper who has had to overcome real obstacles - like, uh, HAVING NO EYES - at which point it becomes obvious that I whine a bit more than my circumstances really warrant.
I can breastfeed and type simultaneously, however. That's surely impressive as far as second-rate minor sub-superpowers go.......
