A Man Who Listens to Colors- Sarah Richman

A man by the name of Neil Harbisson was born with a rare eye condition called achromatopsia. Achromatopsia is a condition that only allows a person to see in black and white. This condition only effects one in every 33,000 people.
When Neil was 21 (in 2004) years old he developed a robotic eye that allows him to hear color. The eye sends sound waves to an implant in the back of his head. The chip then sends the waves into Neil's bones which allows him to hear the sounds. Each color has a different set of notes programmed into the eye. For example, the color red has a higher pith than the color green.
Not only can Harbisson hear the average colors of the rainbow, he can also detect infrared rays and ultraviolet rays. And, after 5 weeks of hearing color, Neil starting to hear colors in his dreams! His brain was able to duplicate the sounds from his implant. Neil personally believes that humans no longer need to evolve. Now they can just use technology to adapt.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRNoieAnzI

Now that Harbisson is so used to hearing and detecting colors, he uses his ability to create music with pictures and pictures of music and sounds. He said that going to an art exhibit was like going to a concert because of all of the different colors. He enjoys going to grocery stores as well. On the other hand, he has painted unique pictures of classic and popular songs and famous speeches.


Above: Jusin Beiber's "Baby"

Below: (Left) Hitler's famous speech to the nation (Right) Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream"

Below: (Left)Amy Whinehouse's "Rehab"     (Right) Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World"