Dr. Edward M. Hubbard has a Phd in Cognitive Neuroscience and is currently doing his Post-Doc in the neural bases of numerical cognition and synesthesia at the French Institute National de la Sante et Recherche Medicale (INSERM). I met Dr. Edward M. Hubbard at Rockefeller University in 2003 when we both gave presentations at a Neurogenetics Lab. We met again at subsequent conferences on synesthesia, most recently in Houston at the American Synesthesia Association meeting last year. I know Ed best, however, from his writing. He is one of the best science writers I have ever read. His contributions to the American Synesthesia List, where he writes lengthy informative responses to questions by synesthetes, are so well-written, I save them for their writing value alone. He makes science, which is clearly his passion, accessible and understandable. I was surprised and delighted to receive his wonderful reflection in my e-mail.

What I SEE: I hear a chord of color when I look at Ed's reflection, though I noticed something interesting. If I cover up the blue with my hand, the sound goes away. At the same time, I become aware of the doubling of the red and yellow which I had not noticed before. That awareness in itself suppresses sound. If I cover up the green, I still recognize the possibility of sound, but I cannot hear it. If I cover up the blue AND the green, the music goes away completely, even as a possibility. This has more to do with the positioning of the colors and the doubling of two of them than it does with the colors themselves. If I could put the Paris lights in my hands, I would keep rearranging them to see what other combinations produce a chord.

Marcia Smilack

IN THE WORDS OF DR. EDWARD M. HUBBARD:

I have always loved the reflection of light on water, especially at night.  I remember falling asleep as a child, with my head on hands looking out at San Francisco from my window, the lights of The City reflecting off the waters of the The Bay.  Now, living in Paris, I find myself attracted to the same thing; the lights of the City of Lights, reflecting off her most famous waters, the Seine.
 
When I took this picture, I was particularly attracted to two things. The first thing is the brightly colored lights along the quay that lines the far side of the Seine, and the comparison with the yellowish-white lights from the buildings.  The second was the pattern of light off the waves.  What I find interesting here is the two patterns of waves, those far from the viewer, where the calmer water reflects the colored lights, and those close to the viewers, where the choppy water, churned by the passage of a tour boat, reflects only the diffuse colored light, and more white light from the buildings further away.               
 
In some ways, too, this picture gives me the impression of two different artistic styles.  The upper half of the picture seems almost hyper-real, with its brightly lit, angular geometric forms, while the bottom half is colorful and has no clear forms, but is more evocative.

Edward M. Hubbard