Talk:Emma Coolidge

Sound absorption?

Emma's ability is similar to Sound absorption (hearing impaired), but more like Echolocation with sight (Extrasensory perception?) -- Mike the Man-child!

• We can't say that because we don't know if her deafness is a consequence of her ability, if Peter goes deaf when he gets this, then we can say it. Intuitive Empath - Talk - Contributions 12:24, 1 August 2009 (EDT)

If she was deaf she wouldn't be listen to music on a portable. 50000JH

• Maybe she likes to watch music, and/or not the outside world? -- Mike the Man-child!
• Maybe her ability is just a more developed form of sound manipulation, since it was said she can manipulate what she sees. AltesUTC CH
• How can she visuals sound if she can't hear.50000JH
• She's not listening to anything on her earphones - she wears them so people won't talk to her and find out she's deaf. She explains then when talking to the doctor. -- Mikebdoss

Power Name

• I know these debates have been one giant clusterfuck after the other, but we're really left with no alternative. I don't think we should call her ability Synthesia because it wasn't given as a explicit name for her ability, just a condition with similar effects. Sound Visualization seems a better fit for me, but since an admin has already selected synthesia it's not likely to change anytime soon. What say you, heroeswiki? --Piemanmoo 00:22, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
  • Heroes Interactive:Ink says, "Emma's ability is a form of synesthesia". I agree it's not the best name, but it's the closest thing we have to an explicit name this week. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 01:16, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
    • Dang. I really hope someone high up on the Heroes ladder eventualy describes the power using another name. I'm in the camp of it being awkward because it's also the name of a condition, but since we have a source for it, I guess we're all stuck with it for now. --Piemanmoo 13:03, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
      • My sentiments, too. But since it hasn't even been 24 hours, I'd say let's sit and wait a bit. We're sure to learn more about the power next week. :) -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 13:12, 29 September 2009 (EDT)

Synesthesia

• It's not an ability. I have synesthetia. Synthetetes just percieve the world differently by picturing colors in our mind and most of us correlate colors with words and letters and numbers. at least that's me. Every synestete is different but for instance: I can't read that thing where you have to read the color of the world instead of the actual word. Like when reading Red. I wouldn't say that word is black, I'd say it's slightly orange with a green tint. u see? so we can take that off as an ability. Because thousands of people have synesthesia. --Jason Garrick 00:38, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
  • Similarly, I have enhanced memory when I get a good night's sleep, enhanced strength when I've got adrenaline pumping through my body, and empathy when I sit and listen to a friend. We really shouldn't worry about whether the condition exists in real life. The limits and abilities can be explained on the page. However, Heroes Interactive:Ink is the closest explicit source we have (that I know of). It says, "Emma's ability is a form of synesthesia". I think that's the best we're going to get this week. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 01:19, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
    • People have synesthesia their entire life. And if that's what the writer's say then they need to do better research. Emma doesn't have synesthesia because then most sounds near her would be making color like the color of Peter's voice. blue with red tint for me. :)--Jason Garrick 11:04, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
      • My refrigerator has an ability --Action Figure 14:37, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
• I've got some crossed senses, myself. While I'm glad that synesthesia's being depicted in a mainstream show, getting it a bit more well known, I'm a little insulted that it's being passed off as an evolved human ability. Evolved humans are supposed to be metaphors for real minorities, not real minorities passed off as metaphors. It's somewhat like how Black Lightning was a black superhero and his race was used as a part of his superhero identity, making it not quite as progressive as the creators probably intended. I really hope her synesthesia enables her to see the future or something. RyanGibsonStewart: Your "enhanced memory" doesn't turn you into a living search engine, your "enhanced strength" doesn't enable you to throw a man through a window, and your "empathy" is only empathy in the classic sense and would not enable you to successfully reproduce your friends' abilities. You're confusing real abilities/perceptions supposed to be magical abilities with magical abilities based off of real abilities. If her synesthesia doesn't have something else, something magical... I don't know. Bad Heroes. --Nogard 15:06, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
  • No, I'm not confusing real abilities with the supernatural. I'm simply pointing out that sometimes we use the names of real phenomena to name the supernatural abilities shown on Heroes. I am well aware that my empathy is nothing like the empathy shown on Heroes, or that my enhanced memory is nothing like Charlie's. My point (and maybe I made it poorly, for that I apologize) is that we often use real world names to name the abilities we see on Heroes. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 18:25, 29 September 2009 (EDT)

Sound Visualization.

Ability: Sound Visualization. Simple enough, eh? Short, sweet, defines it without missing anything. The colors can be noted on the page.

On a discussion note, my friend and I got chills when she began playing the cello(?). It was such a cool concept and it was executed beautifully. It'd be a shitty power if she had hearing though. Probably would be quite annoying.--Riddler 01:00, 29 September 2009 (EDT)

• You're absolutely right, the cello music was beautiful, and I'm really glad she didn't end up hearing. Ugh. My only objection to "sound visualization" is that Heroes Interactive:Ink says, "Emma's ability is a form of synesthesia". I think "sound visualization" would be a good redirect. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 01:20, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
• I thought it was a truely beautiful moment, I was moved by it. Very well done on their part. (Admin 01:23, 29 September 2009 (EDT))
  • Ryan, the only problem I have with Synesthesia is that it's a psychological condition, not an ability. We don't call Charlie's ability "Savantism". While it was written in the higher canon source, I don't believe whoever was writing it was thinking too hard.--Riddler 02:19, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
    • Charlie's ability was once called eidetic memory, which is also a naturally occurring condition. (It was changed because there was no canon or near-canon source to support it.) But even empathy, enhanced strength, and crumpling are conditions that regular people can have, just like synesthesia. It's the limits and abilities we put on the page that turn it from a regular condition to an ability. I agree, it's not the best name we have, but it's really the best we have right now. And I have to disagree with you about it being written without much thought. All the SMS messages must be approved by the producers, including Joe Tolerico and others. In fact, there is quite a strict process for what is released and what isn't. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 08:57, 29 September 2009 (EDT)

INK

Under the episode description for Emma, shouldn't it mention that Peter witnesses her playing the cello, and that he followed her when she fled the scene?

Ty Camden - 03:31, 29 September 2009 (EDT)

Deaf, Dumb?

She's not deaf, I've gathered that much from the scene with th doctor, but can't she also speak, didn't she shout at the doctor saying she didn't want to see their faces? Or does she use a hearing aid which is in the summary. Or is that just how she likes things? Quiet? --Fr0z3nB0nes 17:44, 29 September 2009 (EDT)

• How exactly she's not deaf? She felt pretty deaf to me. Intuitive Empath - Talk - Contributions 17:53, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
• Hearing aid? Where does it say that? And who says she's not deaf? I'm pretty sure she is...She probably can read lips. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 18:30, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
• There is such a thing as reading lips. Dean 18:30, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
  • Yes, I know a deaf person myself, while she uses a hearing aid, she can (and mostly) reads lips. She is able to speak and communicates through that, but I think she reads lips more than uses sign language. You can usually tell when a person is deaf by the way they speak as well because its so different. Most deaf people can read lips.--WarGrowlmon18 21:59, 29 September 2009 (EDT)

Mind if we use deaf?

Does anyone mind if we say she's deaf? Deafness is referred to as a hearing impairment by the hearing but people that are part of Deaf Culture like to use the terms deaf and hard of hearing. And clearly she is not hard of hearing. --Rudeboy37 23:42, 29 September 2009 (EDT)

• Like I said, I personally know a deaf person (and she doesn't try to hide it, but is very good at reading lips and speaking although its obvious) and I agree that everything seems to point to her being totally deaf. In fact, I picked up on that very quickly. I say go for it.--WarGrowlmon18 23:51, 29 September 2009 (EDT)
  • Just curious, what's all this talk about lipreading for? She may or may not be able to read lips but was it ever in the episode? Maybe I missed something, but I don't remember her ever being a part of a conversation besides the one in the doctor's office (which the doctor signed the whole time).Rudeboy37 00:09, 30 September 2009 (EDT)
    • The doctor (played by the actress from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, loved the movie, HATED her charchter in it) was simply using sign language to speak (apparently the actress knows it because her own parents are deaf while she's not) but that doesn't mean Emma can't lip read also. Most deaf people can as so few people know sign language. If someone can do sign language also, deaf people probably prefer to use it even if they can talk (as Emma was shown to be able to for a moment there) as its probably easier for them. I mean, imagine trying to talk when you can't hear what your saying??? That must be a difficult skill to master and probably one you wouldn't want to use if someone could communicate with you in sign language. I bet Emma could lip read, but just didn't as she didn't need to. My deaf friend can lip read and speak (I know because I knew her since middle school and while I know she can do sign language (I can't, in the words of Bruce Willis the only languages I speak are English and Bad English), she doesn't when around people that can't) but she probably doesn't if she doesn't have to. I simply think the doctor could sign so Emma had no reason to lip read. She wanted those requests in writting so she wouldn't have to reveal she's deaf (if she had to lip read or even speak it would be obvious as deaf people have that distinctive voice) which given what she said and her ear bud trick, is obviously what she wanted. I also think from the doctor's comment she could be a doctor if she wanted to, but doesn't want anyone's pity so she just does that job.--WarGrowlmon18 01:15, 30 September 2009 (EDT)
      • She's without question, deaf, but some people prefer "hearing impaired." Dunno which is politically correct. Regardless, on the lip reading note, the doctor was using sign language but was speaking as well to make it more efficient. Though they never explicitly say she was lipreading, I think she was when Peter was speaking to her, which is how she knew what to do. I could be wrong though. ON ANOTHER NOTE: I don't believe she was born deaf. When she spoke, there wasn't that muffled sound you usually hear when a deaf person speaks. That's just speculation, though.--Riddler 03:30, 30 September 2009 (EDT)