Bouba, Kiki, And The Crime of Incuriosity
I feel that, among my readership, there’s a selection bias toward appreciation for nerdy and esoteric topics that will lead some portion of you to know immediately the effect I’m referring to. For those who don’t, you’re one of the lucky ten thousand! Also, this post is directed in particular at programming events (corporate, nonprofit, dinners, etc) not especially music, though some of the lessons could apply to music, as well. The bouba / kiki effect, as it has been named, is what’s termed a “mapping” between sounds and the visual shapes of objects, and this mapping happens across cultures, ages, nationalities, and almost any other grouping you can think of. When shown the following picture: most people “map” the… Read More »Bouba, Kiki, And The Crime of Incuriosity