# Diagnose this odd mental quirk **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 26, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429 "2022-01-26T17:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/1 "2022-01-26T17:14:44Z")
I’ve lately begun walking with a cane when not at home. So I bought a snazzy [purple cane](https://www.hurrycane.com/products/hurrycane-freedom-edition?variant=49691214852), which I keep by the back door. The strange thing is, when I’m not actually with the cane, I think of it as green. I never actually _believe_ I have a green cane, but if I casually think about it, I picture it as green. When I do see it, I’m mildly surprised at its purpleness. For the record, I have never owned a green cane, and never considered owning one. I don’t even recall ever seeing one. So why do I imagine my beautiful purple cane as green? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/2 "2022-01-26T17:22:45Z")
WAG > **[Complementary colours, after-images, retinal fatigue, colour mixing and...](https://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/light/complementary-colours.htm)** > > complementary colors, after-images, optical illusions, rhodopsin, retinal fatigue, color mixing, contrast sensitivity. Physics with animations and video film clips. Light, eometrical optics: the lens equation: object distance, image distance and... [![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1045/4410/articles/color_wheel_1200x630.jpg?v=1515372008) ](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1045/4410/articles/color_wheel_1200x630.jpg?v=1515372008) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/3 "2022-01-26T17:24:44Z")
> **[The Zap Gun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zap_Gun)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Zap Gun is a 1967 science fiction novel by American author Philip K. Dick. It was written in 1964 and first published under the title Project Plowshare as a serial in the November 1965 and January 1966 issues of Worlds of Tomorrow magazine. > This novel is set in a then-future 2004. There is still a (theoretical) Cold War between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. At the elite governmental level, however, bot... 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/4 "2022-01-26T20:57:28Z")
_Purple cane, purple cane Purple cane, purple cane Purple cane, purple cane I only want to see you walking with the purple cane._ ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/5 "2022-01-26T21:27:09Z")
Chromaflair paint? Changes color dependent on light source. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/6 "2022-01-26T22:11:25Z")
I’ve never owned a purple cane. I’ve never even seen one. So every time I see one now, I always see a green one. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/7 "2022-01-27T00:21:56Z")
Are you a big fan of the Hulk [![](https://mmv2api.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/products/images/2372_Hulk_AvengersAssemble_46%20(1).jpg) ](https://mmv2api.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/products/images/2372_Hulk_AvengersAssemble_46%20(1).jpg) Or maybe Barney? [![](https://www.people.com/thmb/GrX6tBABYe_cbfhNN2iP6bp2gR8=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/barney-purple-dinosaur-2000-aea2a9a6087248c38a840192a59008d8.jpg) ](https://www.people.com/thmb/GrX6tBABYe_cbfhNN2iP6bp2gR8=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/barney-purple-dinosaur-2000-aea2a9a6087248c38a840192a59008d8.jpg) Or Mardi Gras [![](https://cdn.abcotvs.com/dip/images/3000183_012818-wls-mardi-gras-beads-img.jpg?w=1280&r=16%3A9) ](https://cdn.abcotvs.com/dip/images/3000183_012818-wls-mardi-gras-beads-img.jpg?w=1280&r=16%3A9) ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/8 "2022-01-27T00:34:28Z")
This is quite a riddle you have set for us. How do you feel about bats? [![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1277/9277/collections/the-riddler-388173.jpg?v=1630837980) ](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1277/9277/collections/the-riddler-388173.jpg?v=1630837980) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/9 "2022-01-27T00:34:50Z")
My guess is there was probably a green cane sitting next to the purple one at the store you bought it at. You don’t recall seeing it because, you know, you’re old. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/10 "2022-01-27T00:51:49Z")
Envy? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/11 "2022-01-27T02:20:38Z")
Mandela Effect. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/12 "2022-01-27T04:40:34Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > So why do I imagine my beautiful purple cane as green? A very narrow form of synesthesia? I rarely have a mental picture of anything, so beyond that guess I’ve got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/13 "2022-01-27T13:22:56Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > A very narrow form of synesthesia? I rarely have a mental picture of anything, so beyond that guess I’ve got nothing. You may be onto something, since I do have synesthesia. But it usually involves letters, numbers and musical notes and keys, not canes. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/14 "2022-01-27T16:30:25Z")
I’m going to also go with @running_coach 's WAG, that your mind is confusing the colors because they are not-quite complementary, analogous to each other. Try staring at your cane for a minute, then either close your eyes or look at a white wall. What color afterimage do you see? > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Mandela Effect. I once made a post about about remembering a scene clear as day with Geena Davis in a green bikini in the movie ‘Earth Girls are Easy’, then recently rewatching and finding out it was actually a pink bikini. I referred to it as my experiencing the Mandela Effect, but it was pointed out to me that the Mandela Effect is only when a group of people independently have the same shared mis-memory. So I feel I must pass the pedantry on to you-- NOT the Mandela Effect here. Sorry 😊 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/15 "2022-01-27T19:13:42Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > You may be onto something, since I do have synesthesia. Ahhh, but shapes can have their own colors to a synesthete. Maybe snakes are green to you, or anything else cane-shaped. Just like, to me, a single electric guitar note is a yellow triangle coming in over my left shoulder. (Mine isn’t synesthesia, it’s just an imagination with poor impulse control) ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/16 "2022-01-29T18:46:53Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > So why do I imagine my beautiful purple cane as green? I see that the cane isn’t even available in green. I think it’s a case of wanting what you can’t have. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/17 "2022-01-29T20:54:12Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I think it’s a case of wanting what you can’t have. The cane is always greener … ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/18 "2022-01-30T01:12:39Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I see that the cane isn’t even available in green. I think it’s a case of wanting what you can’t have. No, if green were available, it would be my last choice. I did briefly consider a red one. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/19 "2022-01-30T03:09:43Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’ve never owned a purple cane. > I’ve never even seen one. > So every time I see one now, > I always see a green one. I can’t be the only one who sees what you did there. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429/20 "2022-01-30T22:59:10Z")
You said your synesthesia involves letters and numbers. Your cane does look like a seven, a gamma, and an upper-case L. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-odd-mental-quirk/958429.md?page=2)