93 • Extra Ordinary

Comments

Li

19 Jan

Hey guys, today's post isn't really a 'comic'. I have a type of Synesthesia called Ordinal Linguistic Personification which means that numbers and (to a certain extent) letters have genders and personalities to me. I didn't realise that this was not the norm until a few years ago so I thought that I would have some fun and draw the numbers up the way I see them and share them with you :) Below each person is a description of their personalities. I will have a normal comic later this week, I promise!
Larn

19 Jan

3 is a loser.
Jerome

19 Jan

So in this case 3 is the loneliest number?
Indie

19 Jan

Wow, cool! I wish my brain worked like that..
miriam

19 Jan

wow Li Li, i did not know this... how intriguing!!! you amaze me every day :)
Nadim

19 Jan

I love the drawings! I have colour synaesthesia for weekdays. Not as fun as personalities, though! It is interesting how they seem to grow older with the numbers, except for 10 :)
swb

20 Jan

I am 3. I think 7 is hot. But if we got together, we'd turn into a motherly type of woman. I am okay with that.
WC

20 Jan

Wow Li! That's the first I've heard of this. I obviously don't have it, but I'm a very logical sort of person, so that doesn't really surprise me. I agree with swb that 7 is hot... And oddly, I was also a 3. Heh. Which number is the shy, logical guy with glasses that is nice when you talk to him, but never starts a conversation? ;)
Yenny

20 Jan

Cool! Although I disagree with 3, since it is my favorite number. I consider it young, but wise.
Sharky

20 Jan

Li, have you ever read the book "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"? The protagonist, Francie Nolan, does this with her numbers, too.
plasticuser

20 Jan

I demand a recount!
Nidhi

20 Jan

AWESOME!!! nice shading and drawing! ^^ and i know the last one is like u Li!! (or it IS u) because u have that smile on!! and the hair-do is like urs too!
Roshan

20 Jan

The quiet smart dude is perfect.
San

20 Jan

oh, sometimes i think this way too.. i didn't think it was abnormal though XD; i think differently from a lot of people though. cute drawings~
Fraser

20 Jan

Why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7,8,9 Lame old joke, or brutal canabalism. You decide.
Nadia

20 Jan

Woah woah I think I have that too. Wtf.
Mattias

20 Jan

As always, zero gets left out. :(
thinkgibson

20 Jan

Wow! I also have this, although my number-personalities are different from yours. Thanks for diagnosing me, Doc!
Nojh

21 Jan

That is kinda neat. I hope it isn't a disorder for you in any way. I've never heard of this version of synesthesia. Does it very or are the number's personalties always the same? Does it effect how you do math? Sorry if these questions are very personal. Once again excellent art!
Angelica

21 Jan

how weird!! I do not create personalities but I do relate colors with numbers and days of the week. I also view weeks and months in spacial sequences. I knew none of my friends did it but I did not think much of it until I read this weeks comic. I did a little research on what you said and now I am officially a synesthete. Thanks!
Li

21 Jan

Sharky: no I haven't, I'll look into it thanks! Nojh: The personalities are defined, they never change. It doesn't really affect my maths, it's just something that I'm aware of in the back of my mind. It's not too personal :)
Ted

21 Jan

I immediately looked to see how you hid the numbers in the drawings. I think they're mostly clear, whether intended or not ; )
Thelnie

22 Jan

You've got to be kidding me. I thought I was the only one who did this and nobody I asked knew what I was talking about. I learned how to add and subtract by creating stories using these personalities I had felt. Thanks! Now I know there are others and there is a name for it!
Taryn

23 Jan

Awesome! I've done a lot of reading on synesthesia but I still didn't get the comic until I read your description. I have color-number/letter synesthesia. Here they are: http://imgur.com/NNG39.jpg I don't ever really notice the colors most of the time, kind of like how you don't notice the fact that you're always feeling things or breathing air and stuff. It's just something that's always there.
Tim

25 Jan

I thought i was the only one like that! Though mine are all female. However they vary a lot on personality. Also i only have 6 i can think of. Im glad to see im not THAT weird for doing this cuz there are others XD
Samantha

02 Feb

I don't have this with every number, but often associate people with two-digit numbers. My husband is 89, and my ex-boyfriend was 76. And it is something related to personality, not age!!
Rachel

20 Mar

I thought I was the only one who did this. I've tried to explain it to other people and they look at me like I'm crazed. I have a very different set of personalities for numbers though.
Margotte

02 Apr

I didn't even know it was unusal !
tessa

30 Apr

wait that isn't normal? i always thought everyone knew that they all had different genders. really though. and colours have genders too, and so do letters. this is called something?
lucas

01 May

You're probably not studying math, but how would you describe more abstract numbers? you know pi, e or imaginary numbers like the square-root of 1?
chris

24 May

woah! this is fukn weird! i hav this 2! i never really paid any attention to it tho an its jus like the numbers 1 ta 10 wit me! creepy... so is this like unhealty or sumtin?
jonny

24 May

I have studied Synesthesia independently for a while, but I have never come across this type. Very interesting!
Dr. Sakuya, PhD

18 Jun

6 here.
Courtney

04 Aug

This is so interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Super Author

09 Aug

I did not realize that this was not the norm. I do the same thing with numbers and letters! I always just attributed it to my colorful imagination...
ina

09 Aug

although i can't say anything about personalities, i can say i actually attribute the opposite genders to those numbers! except 3. i don't even know about 3
wick

09 Aug

thank god...i thought i was the only one who imagined this....everybody thinks im a nut case
Haxxo

11 Aug

OH MY GOSH I HAVE THAT TOO! I have COMPLETELY different genders and personalities for all my numbers, though, but they tend to pair up almost the same way. Also, with letters. Also, EVERYTHING has a color. Even first names.
Dani

13 Aug

I HAVE THAT TOO! I didn't know it had a name!!
Nancy

13 Aug

OMG! I thought I was the only one who thought that and I didn't know it was in some kind of fancy word lol but yeah I have that too but it's different.
Ouroborus

14 Aug

Wait, what? You do normal comics? ;P
jeffS

15 Aug

haha i am SO 6 except im pretty good looking and i model lol.
J

16 Aug

Ohhhh! I have that! I forgot what kind mine's called but I associate letters and numbers with colors. I thought everybody did that too...until my sister looked at me like I was some crazy foo'. xD This is cute. Btw. :D
Jackie M

18 Aug

I totally do this, too! Also with certain words so I remember how to spell 'em
Josh

23 Aug

I guess it is more common then one would think. This is the second webcomic to mention the same thing (the other being Fudge That Sugar). I had never heard about it before.Interesting.
Meg

28 Aug

I have it too, I see music :D Techno is awesome.
Silverscale

30 Aug

I have that too! It's funny to see how people's ideas about the numbers differ, 'cause yours are nothing like mine.
Kristina

02 Sep

I know this is an old comic, but I was reading it and by the time I got to 4 I was like "OH!! She has Ordinal Linguistic Personification (thank you wikipedia) Synesthesia like me! Those are her number characters!" hehehehe. ^_^ Mine are way different though. 1 is the dad, 2 is his favorite daughter, 3 is the mean but kind of quiet older brother...etc. etc. etc. =D
Emily

03 Sep

I'm majoring in cognitive neuroscience, and I'm fascinated by synesthesia. I didn't know this type even existed! Thank you for sharing! This seriously might be the coolest way in which I have ever learned something new about the brain.
Arthur Ghent

10 Sep

Fascinating! I thought I was the only one! Mine are a little different, but not by much for the first three! 1. Is male. He is popular, well-liked, but can occasionally be bossy and a bit of a jerk. He is some sort of young teenager. Bright red. 2. Is female. She is also popular and well liked, but is kinder and softer spoken. She and 1 are best friends, and although they both want something more, neither are willing to talk about it. She is also a young teenager. Deep blue. 3. Is the annoying hanger-on of 1 and 2. He's not very attractive, either gangly or a little overweight, and can also be kind of a jerk. 1 is always mean to him, but in that "ha ha we're friends" way. 2. Is very kind and patient with him, although he can occasionally get on her nerves. Bile yellow. 4. Is a young woman who is really trying her best, but it's never quite good enough. She has all the best intent, and is a very good person, but is a procrastinator and a little unreliable and scatterbrained. Periwinkle blue. 5. Is a kid that nobody really knows much about. He keeps to himself and mostly reads. He may or may not be 6's little brother. Rust red and cream. 6. Is a teenaged boy who hates everything. Long, stringy black hair in his eyes, always writing poetry and listening to angry music. Deep purple and black. Son of 7 and 8. 7. Is a nervous housewife. Snappish, OCD, and hard to get along with, she runs a tight ship and is frequently cruel to her son, 6. Bright yellow. 8. Is a once-handsome man gone to pot, greying and pudgy. He wants to be young and single again. He is having an affair with 9, which 7 knows about but will never talk about. Navy blue and grey pinstripes. 9. Is a young, attractive, conniving woman who wears revealing clothing and lots of jewelry. She loves spending 8's money. Magenta. I don't have a ten!