Odd visual phenomenon

[Beleth]

I don't know what to call it. "Instantaneous non-macular literacy", maybe.

Every once in a while I'll be looking at something and I'll get an image of a word in my head. It's always a word (or at least a written symbol, never just an object), and it's not something I'm actually focusing on at the time. I get a very clear image of it - down to its color, size, typeface, and orientation.

The first few times it happened, I ignored it. But then something happened that surprised me. I looked around, and way off to one side of my field of vision, I saw the word, written in exactly the same way I had envisioned it. So now whenever it happens, I take a minute to look around. Sometimes it's not easy to spot, but it's always within my field of view when I get the image.

I have tried to recreate this phenomenon by darting my eyes quickly towards, and then away from, something I know has writing on it, but it just doesn't work. My eyes take too long to focus on what I darted to. Something else is going on here.

I'm not at all suggesting that this is in any way paranormal. I guess I'm mainly posting this to see if this happens to anyone else.

So how about it? Has this happened to you, or am I the only one?

[scotth]

I know exactly what you're talking about. I've noticed it and played with for a long time now.

It doesn't appear to be a visual artifact. I'm about 99% sure that what happens when I experience this, is my eyes pass over a word or symbol that I can recognize instantly, and my mind processes it and registers the recognition. Never a whole phrase or sentence, just a word, or symbol.

Sometimes, I have found that I don't even get the word correct. But, it will be something very close.

This only works for "sight" words. That is a word that I have read so many times, that I see the word as a symbol or pattern, and no longer have to read each letter to know what it is.

It is always an odd feeling, because I read the word during a pass of my eyes over something so fast that I generally didn't even realize there is even writing there.

It happens most often when I am turning around or at least turning my head through a large angle (approaching 180 degrees).

[El Greco]

Sounds like mild synesthesia (http://www.bu.edu/neuropsychology/synvc.html) to me.

[scotth]

I fail to see the connection. I am not hearing, testing, feeling something and then seeing something that wasn't there.

I am seeing (actually reading something) that really is there, that I wasn't aware of doing at the moment that I did it.

[Beleth]

Thanks, scotth. It's good to know I'm not the only one!

I think you're right; now that I think about it, it usually happens when I'm moving my head through a large angle. That might be an "always" instead of a "usually"... it's been a while.

I don't think I've ever gotten a word wrong, though.


El Greco, it's not quite like synesthesia. I'm seeing things that are actually visual things. It's just that I'm not spending any time actually "paying attention" to them.

[69dodge]

I am reminded of this (http://www.randi.org/jr/081304permit.html#2).

(How's that for a coincidence? I didn't remember where I read it, but Google found it, and it turned out to be in one of Randi's commentaries.)