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Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

matthewjamestaylor.com

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Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#11

Post by giantg2 »

hatthew wrote: post #7
mrtnmcc wrote: post #5

>> I have several hundred [four leaf clovers]. I even have a few five-leaf clovers and a couple of sixers! That doesn't fit the ratios in my experience.. I find about 1 five-leaf for every 5 four-leafers. They should have nearly 100 five leafers, not merely "a few". EDIT: I checked and indeed the standard ratio is 4.8 four leaf clovers per five-leaf. https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/73279/distributi...

I don't think they are uniformly distributed. Anecdotally, in my friend's backyard, the ratios I found were more like 10000 three-leaf 15 four-leaf 7 five-leaf 4 six-leaf 2 seven-leaf I would assume that the ratios in any given area can be quite different than another area.

This. The distribution varies greatly. Just like some patches have more 4 leaf clovers than other patches.

Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#12

Post by hamdingers »

How strange. I introduced clover to my lawn a few years ago for its nitrogen fixing properties, and since then have spent many idle minutes (probably adding up to hours) searching for four-leaf clovers.

I have never found a single one, but easily picked out at least one in each of the pictures in the article in just a few seconds. Thinking this might be a breakthrough I went and snapped a few pictures of clover patches, but alas can't spot any. I suspect I'm getting subconscious hints from the author's framing of the photos.

Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#13

Post by hamdingers »

iansteyn wrote: post #9

Meta-HN question from a newbie: Can someone help me understand why my 9-day-old submission is suddenly on the front page and says it’s from 3 hours ago? Edit: Solved.

Could be something from the second-chance pool.

See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308

Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#14

Post by SoftTalker »

giantg2 wrote: post #8

Interesting. Another thing I have that I didn't know about. I've found over 500 four leaf clovers as a kid. I still find them without looking as an adult when looking at something else on the ground or tying my shoe, etc. The movement thing isn't exactly like how I would describe it, but pretty close. It's almost like the eye auto focuses on it becuase it's different. Sometimes I would intentionally unfocus my eyes o…

My mother used to find them all the time. I asked her how she did it and all she could say was that "I just notice them."

I can only find them if I'm on my hands and knees searching a clover patch. I can't say how many I've found but I'd certainly guess a single-digit number.

Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#15

Post by zeristor »

Fascinating.

This makes me wonder if there’s a way to set data visualisation to make the most of this for those gifted people.

I’m in a minority thinking that perhaps the limiting RGB colour gamut should be made into 4 colours to accommodate those people who can see four colours, tetrachromacy, ~95% of us have a visual impairment.

Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#16

Post by iansteyn »

hamdingers wrote: post #13
iansteyn wrote: post #9

Meta-HN question from a newbie: Can someone help me understand why my 9-day-old submission is suddenly on the front page and says it’s from 3 hours ago? Edit: Solved.

Could be something from the second-chance pool. See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308

Aha, yep this is it. I got an email about it but didn’t notice until just now.

Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#17

Post by zeristor »

hamdingers wrote: post #12

How strange. I introduced clover to my lawn a few years ago for its nitrogen fixing properties, and since then have spent many idle minutes (probably adding up to hours) searching for four-leaf clovers. I have never found a single one, but easily picked out at least one in each of the pictures in the article in just a few seconds. Thinking this might be a breakthrough I went and snapped a few pictures of clover patch…

I keep thinking to make a start on a phone app to do this, there’s probably a couple already.

Highlighting clove type things that don’t have 120°.

Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#18

Post by moralestapia »

jp57 wrote: post #6

I, too, experience some synethesia with letters and numbers (two is green, three is yellow, 4 is blue), but when I look at a field of clover, I don't experience a field of numbers representing the number of leaves on the individual clover stalks. In fact that seems like a weird way of perceiving nature. When I see a bird flying with its two wings outstretched, I'm not experiencing the number 2, and thus I get no sens…

Respectfully, I don't think synesthesia is behind OP's purported skill.

Re: Synesthesia helps me find four-leaf clovers (2023)

#20

Post by Atlas667 »

susam wrote: post #3

I am not a synaesthete and I wonder how other non-synaesthetes perceived the '5 vs 2' diagram. Even though I see all the digits in plain black, the triangle of 2s immediately stood out to me. The author writes: 'For me, four-leaf clovers are a different shape so they stand out in a clover patch very much like this. Unlike letters and numbers, however, I don't get a sense of color, it's more like a sense of movement.'…

Yes, I am also inclined to believe this is just natural human psyche phenomenon.

This very specific topic about clovers is one that I relate to, I've always found 4 leaf clovers faster. But I wouldnt say I have synesthesia.

This has developed/manifested itself into looking for things on a computer screen, which I essentially do for a living. I can hold a piece of text in my head and scroll by quickly to search for it much faster than many of my peers.

And as a child colors would also have numbers related to them in my mind, and vice versa. Which I attributed to number-coded coloring books.

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