The transcript below contains the prompts and responses used in the explanation of how to use ChatGPT for generating summaries. Be aware that if you use these prompts you may (probably will) get different results.

User

Summarize the information in the following text in not more than 200 words

'''Look around you – what does the world feel like? Some of it – like the colours – feels like it’s coming in through your eyes. You can’t hear the colours, or smell them, right? You can see them. Eyes are for seeing, ears are for hearing sounds, noses and mouths are for smelling and tasting, and your fingertips are for touching. But what would happen if you could hear with your eyes? Or see with your ears? This is what it means to have synaesthesia (pronounced sinna-STEE-zia).

What is synaesthesia?

Synaesthesia is a long word with a hard spelling that even adults get wrong. (It doesn’t help that it’s often spelled slightly differently, “synesthesia”, in the US.) It’s a word that describes a special way of sensing the world – a merging or a linking of the senses.

There are lots of different ways to have synaesthesia. Some people can see colours when they hear music. Other people can taste flavours in their mouth when they read words. And others can hear sounds when they look at bright colours, or watch silent, moving objects. We think there are over 100 ways of experiencing it, but only a small number of people in the world who do.

How can you hear a colour?

You might think your senses are separate from one another, that colours can only be seen by your eyes or sounds only be heard by your ears. But in fact, the brain is actually the big boss of everything. It’s the only one doing the seeing, the hearing, the tasting, and so on.

When you see a red rose, the colour is just the rose bouncing a certain part of the sun’s light into your eyes. This in turn makes your eyes send an electrical signal to your brain, much like a current down an electrical wire. The actual feeling of redness only happens once that signal reaches a special part of your brain, called the occipital cortex. This is the part of your brain that sees. When it receives a signal from the eyes, it kind of springs into action (neuroscientists say it “activates”), and this is when you feel the colour red. So redness is not something on the rose, but something in your brain. It is a feeling that happens when you activate a specific part of your brain. And the same is true for other feelings: coldness or loudness or prickliness all have their own brain activations too.

How does synaesthesia happen?

We’re all different right? Some people look different. And some people think differently. And different people have their brains wired in different ways too. People with synaesthesia have tiny differences in their brain which means the seeing part can sometimes become activated by a signal from the ears. Or the tasting part can become activated by a signal from the eyes. They might experience a feeling of colour from something they hear. Or a feeling of taste from something they see. They have connections across the senses that other people don’t have, which, while uncommon is completely normal. It’s also pretty cool.

What if I have synaesthsia?

If you have synaesthesia you’re called a synaesthete. And you are not alone. You might want to ask your mum and dad if they have it, as it’s often hereditary.. You could ask your friends in class too. On average, there are likely to be two to five other children in your school with synaesthesia. Having synaesthesia can lead to more creative thinking, better memory and a keen ability to picture things in your mind. Over the last 20 years as a neuropsychologist, I’ve heard from thousands of people with different kinds of synaesthesia. One common type is when you have colours for letters and numbers. So if you’ve known since you were little the exact colour of the letter A, or the colour of the number 7, then – congratulations! – you probably have what we call grapheme-colour synaesthesia: your brain makes connections between letters or numbers and colours. (Common associations are A=red, O=black or white, S=yellow, 1=black or white.) Synaesthetes’ experiences can be interesting and creative, so I wish I had synaethesia too. Researchers have even been trying to find out if you can be trained to have synaesthetic abilities. It might be rare, but having synaethesia makes you a special person. It also comes with certain advantages. Synaesthetes tend to have better memories and be better at picturing things in their minds. They even do better at some school subjects, like spelling.'''

ChatGPT

Synesthesia is a phenomenon where senses intertwine, allowing individuals to experience sensations like colors from sounds or tastes from sights. It's familial, with tiny brain differences enabling connections between senses, leading to unique perceptions. Synesthetes may associate colors with letters or numbers consistently from childhood, a condition called grapheme-color synesthesia. Despite its rarity, synesthesia offers advantages such as enhanced creativity, memory, and academic performance. Researchers explore the potential for training synesthetic abilities. Overall, synesthesia is viewed as a special trait enriching sensory experiences and cognitive skills, with an estimated 2-5 synesthetes per school.

User

Summarize the information in the following text in not more than 200 words

'''Look around you – what does the world feel like? Some of it – like the colours – feels like it’s coming in through your eyes. You can’t hear the colours, or smell them, right? You can see them. Eyes are for seeing, ears are for hearing sounds, noses and mouths are for smelling and tasting, and your fingertips are for touching. But what would happen if you could hear with your eyes? Or see with your ears? This is what it means to have synaesthesia (pronounced sinna-STEE-zia).

What is synaesthesia?

Synaesthesia is a long word with a hard spelling that even adults get wrong. (It doesn’t help that it’s often spelled slightly differently, “synesthesia”, in the US.) It’s a word that describes a special way of sensing the world – a merging or a linking of the senses. There are lots of different ways to have synaesthesia. Some people can see colours when they hear music. Other people can taste flavours in their mouth when they read words. And others can hear sounds when they look at bright colours, or watch silent, moving objects. We think there are over 100 ways of experiencing it, but only a small number of people in the world who do.

How can you hear a colour?

You might think your senses are separate from one another, that colours can only be seen by your eyes or sounds only be heard by your ears. But in fact, the brain is actually the big boss of everything. It’s the only one doing the seeing, the hearing, the tasting, and so on. When you see a red rose, the colour is just the rose bouncing a certain part of the sun’s light into your eyes. This in turn makes your eyes send an electrical signal to your brain, much like a current down an electrical wire. The actual feeling of redness only happens once that signal reaches a special part of your brain, called the occipital cortex. This is the part of your brain that sees. When it receives a signal from the eyes, it kind of springs into action (neuroscientists say it “activates”), and this is when you feel the colour red. So redness is not something on the rose, but something in your brain. It is a feeling that happens when you activate a specific part of your brain. And the same is true for other feelings: coldness or loudness or prickliness all have their own brain activations too.

How does synaesthesia happen?

We’re all different right? Some people look different. And some people think differently. And different people have their brains wired in different ways too. People with synaesthesia have tiny differences in their brain which means the seeing part can sometimes become activated by a signal from the ears. Or the tasting part can become activated by a signal from the eyes. They might experience a feeling of colour from something they hear. Or a feeling of taste from something they see. They have connections across the senses that other people don’t have, which, while uncommon is completely normal. It’s also pretty cool.

What if I have synaesthsia?

If you have synaesthesia you’re called a synaesthete. And you are not alone. You might want to ask your mum and dad if they have it, as it’s often hereditary.. You could ask your friends in class too. On average, there are likely to be two to five other children in your school with synaesthesia. Having synaesthesia can lead to more creative thinking, better memory and a keen ability to picture things in your mind. Over the last 20 years as a neuropsychologist, I’ve heard from thousands of people with different kinds of synaesthesia. One common type is when you have colours for letters and numbers. So if you’ve known since you were little the exact colour of the letter A, or the colour of the number 7, then – congratulations! – you probably have what we call grapheme-colour synaesthesia: your brain makes connections between letters or numbers and colours. (Common associations are A=red, O=black or white, S=yellow, 1=black or white.) Synaesthetes’ experiences can be interesting and creative, so I wish I had synaethesia too. Researchers have even been trying to find out if you can be trained to have synaesthetic abilities. It might be rare, but having synaethesia makes you a special person. It also comes with certain advantages. Synaesthetes tend to have better memories and be better at picturing things in their minds. They even do better at some school subjects, like spelling.'''

ChatGPT

Synesthesia is a phenomenon where senses intertwine, allowing individuals to experience sensations like colors from sounds or tastes from sights. Synesthesia occurs due to tiny brain differences, enabling connections between senses. Synesthetes may associate colors with letters or numbers consistently from childhood, a condition called grapheme-color synesthesia. Having synesthesia can lead to enhanced creativity, memory, and visualization skills. It's estimated that there are two to five synesthetes per school, with synesthesia often being hereditary. Researchers explore the potential for training synesthetic abilities. Despite its rarity, synesthesia offers advantages, such as improved memory and academic performance, making synesthetes unique individuals with special abilities.

User

Extract five main ideas from the following text

'''Look around you – what does the world feel like? Some of it – like the colours – feels like it’s coming in through your eyes. You can’t hear the colours, or smell them, right? You can see them. Eyes are for seeing, ears are for hearing sounds, noses and mouths are for smelling and tasting, and your fingertips are for touching. But what would happen if you could hear with your eyes? Or see with your ears? This is what it means to have synaesthesia (pronounced sinna-STEE-zia).

What is synaesthesia?

Synaesthesia is a long word with a hard spelling that even adults get wrong. (It doesn’t help that it’s often spelled slightly differently, “synesthesia”, in the US.) It’s a word that describes a special way of sensing the world – a merging or a linking of the senses. There are lots of different ways to have synaesthesia. Some people can see colours when they hear music. Other people can taste flavours in their mouth when they read words. And others can hear sounds when they look at bright colours, or watch silent, moving objects. We think there are over 100 ways of experiencing it, but only a small number of people in the world who do.

How can you hear a colour?

You might think your senses are separate from one another, that colours can only be seen by your eyes or sounds only be heard by your ears. But in fact, the brain is actually the big boss of everything. It’s the only one doing the seeing, the hearing, the tasting, and so on. When you see a red rose, the colour is just the rose bouncing a certain part of the sun’s light into your eyes. This in turn makes your eyes send an electrical signal to your brain, much like a current down an electrical wire. The actual feeling of redness only happens once that signal reaches a special part of your brain, called the occipital cortex. This is the part of your brain that sees. When it receives a signal from the eyes, it kind of springs into action (neuroscientists say it “activates”), and this is when you feel the colour red. So redness is not something on the rose, but something in your brain. It is a feeling that happens when you activate a specific part of your brain. And the same is true for other feelings: coldness or loudness or prickliness all have their own brain activations too.

How does synaesthesia happen?

We’re all different right? Some people look different. And some people think differently. And different people have their brains wired in different ways too. People with synaesthesia have tiny differences in their brain which means the seeing part can sometimes become activated by a signal from the ears. Or the tasting part can become activated by a signal from the eyes. They might experience a feeling of colour from something they hear. Or a feeling of taste from something they see. They have connections across the senses that other people don’t have, which, while uncommon is completely normal. It’s also pretty cool.

What if I have synaesthsia?

If you have synaesthesia you’re called a synaesthete. And you are not alone. You might want to ask your mum and dad if they have it, as it’s often hereditary.. You could ask your friends in class too. On average, there are likely to be two to five other children in your school with synaesthesia. Having synaesthesia can lead to more creative thinking, better memory and a keen ability to picture things in your mind. Over the last 20 years as a neuropsychologist, I’ve heard from thousands of people with different kinds of synaesthesia. One common type is when you have colours for letters and numbers. So if you’ve known since you were little the exact colour of the letter A, or the colour of the number 7, then – congratulations! – you probably have what we call grapheme-colour synaesthesia: your brain makes connections between letters or numbers and colours. (Common associations are A=red, O=black or white, S=yellow, 1=black or white.) Synaesthetes’ experiences can be interesting and creative, so I wish I had synaethesia too. Researchers have even been trying to find out if you can be trained to have synaesthetic abilities. It might be rare, but having synaethesia makes you a special person. It also comes with certain advantages. Synaesthetes tend to have better memories and be better at picturing things in their minds. They even do better at some school subjects, like spelling.'''

ChatGPT

Definition of Synaesthesia: Synaesthesia is described as a blending or linking of senses, allowing individuals to experience sensations like seeing colors when hearing music or tasting flavors while reading words.

Explanation of Brain's Role: The brain plays a pivotal role in synaesthesia, where signals from one sense can activate another sense due to tiny differences in brain wiring. For instance, seeing a red rose activates the occipital cortex, resulting in the sensation of redness.

Variability of Synaesthetic Experiences: There are numerous ways to experience synaesthesia, with over 100 known variants. Some people may hear sounds when observing colors, while others may taste flavors when reading.

Synaesthetic Individuals and Their Experiences: Synaesthetes have unique connections across their senses, leading to experiences uncommon in others. They may perceive colors associated with letters or numbers consistently, such as associating the letter A with the color red.

Advantages and Impact of Synaesthesia: Having synaesthesia offers certain advantages, such as enhanced memory, creativity, and visualization skills. Synaesthetes tend to perform better in tasks like spelling and have a keener ability to picture things in their minds.

User

Use the above response to write a summary of not more than 150 words

ChatGPT

Synaesthesia is a phenomenon where senses blend, enabling individuals to experience sensations like seeing colors when hearing music or tasting flavors while reading. The brain plays a crucial role, with signals from one sense activating another due to subtle differences in brain wiring. With over 100 known variants, synaesthesia manifests differently for each individual, such as hearing sounds when observing colors. Synaesthetes, those who experience synaesthesia, have unique sensory connections, associating colors with letters or numbers consistently. This condition offers advantages like enhanced memory, creativity, and visualization skills, leading to better performance in tasks like spelling. Overall, synaesthesia enriches sensory experiences and cognitive abilities, making synaesthetes unique individuals with special perceptual gifts.

Summarize the information in the following text in not more than 200 words. Write the response in language an eleven year old could understand easily.

'''Look around you – what does the world feel like? Some of it – like the colours – feels like it’s coming in through your eyes. You can’t hear the colours, or smell them, right? You can see them. Eyes are for seeing, ears are for hearing sounds, noses and mouths are for smelling and tasting, and your fingertips are for touching. But what would happen if you could hear with your eyes? Or see with your ears? This is what it means to have synaesthesia (pronounced sinna-STEE-zia).

What is synaesthesia?

Synaesthesia is a long word with a hard spelling that even adults get wrong. (It doesn’t help that it’s often spelled slightly differently, “synesthesia”, in the US.) It’s a word that describes a special way of sensing the world – a merging or a linking of the senses. There are lots of different ways to have synaesthesia. Some people can see colours when they hear music. Other people can taste flavours in their mouth when they read words. And others can hear sounds when they look at bright colours, or watch silent, moving objects. We think there are over 100 ways of experiencing it, but only a small number of people in the world who do. How can you hear a colour? You might think your senses are separate from one another, that colours can only be seen by your eyes or sounds only be heard by your ears. But in fact, the brain is actually the big boss of everything. It’s the only one doing the seeing, the hearing, the tasting, and so on. When you see a red rose, the colour is just the rose bouncing a certain part of the sun’s light into your eyes. This in turn makes your eyes send an electrical signal to your brain, much like a current down an electrical wire. The actual feeling of redness only happens once that signal reaches a special part of your brain, called the occipital cortex. This is the part of your brain that sees. When it receives a signal from the eyes, it kind of springs into action (neuroscientists say it “activates”), and this is when you feel the colour red. So redness is not something on the rose, but something in your brain. It is a feeling that happens when you activate a specific part of your brain. And the same is true for other feelings: coldness or loudness or prickliness all have their own brain activations too.

How does synaesthesia happen?

We’re all different right? Some people look different. And some people think differently. And different people have their brains wired in different ways too. People with synaesthesia have tiny differences in their brain which means the seeing part can sometimes become activated by a signal from the ears. Or the tasting part can become activated by a signal from the eyes. They might experience a feeling of colour from something they hear. Or a feeling of taste from something they see. They have connections across the senses that other people don’t have, which, while uncommon is completely normal. It’s also pretty cool.

What if I have synaesthsia?

If you have synaesthesia you’re called a synaesthete. And you are not alone. You might want to ask your mum and dad if they have it, as it’s often hereditary.. You could ask your friends in class too. On average, there are likely to be two to five other children in your school with synaesthesia. Having synaesthesia can lead to more creative thinking, better memory and a keen ability to picture things in your mind. Over the last 20 years as a neuropsychologist, I’ve heard from thousands of people with different kinds of synaesthesia. One common type is when you have colours for letters and numbers. So if you’ve known since you were little the exact colour of the letter A, or the colour of the number 7, then – congratulations! – you probably have what we call grapheme-colour synaesthesia: your brain makes connections between letters or numbers and colours. (Common associations are A=red, O=black or white, S=yellow, 1=black or white.) Synaesthetes’ experiences can be interesting and creative, so I wish I had synaethesia too. Researchers have even been trying to find out if you can be trained to have synaesthetic abilities. It might be rare, but having synaethesia makes you a special person. It also comes with certain advantages. Synaesthetes tend to have better memories and be better at picturing things in their minds. They even do better at some school subjects, like spelling.'''

ChatGPT

Synaesthesia is like having a superpower where your senses, like seeing colors or hearing sounds, mix up and work together in a special way. Imagine if you could hear with your eyes or taste with your ears! It's kind of like that. Normally, our brains tell us what we see, hear, taste, and feel. But for people with synaesthesia, their brains are wired a bit differently. So, they might see colors when they hear music or taste flavors when they read words. Having synaesthesia can make you really good at remembering things and being creative. It's rare, but it's not a bad thing at all. Actually, it's pretty cool! If you have synaesthesia, you're called a synaesthete, and there might even be other kids in your school who have it too. So, if you find out that you have synaesthesia, it's like finding out you have a special talent. It could help you in school and make you see the world in a totally unique way.

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