In literary works the term synthetic is employed in a variety of ways, often to denote a process of combining disparate elements into a cohesive whole or to contrast with what is natural or analytic. In some writings it characterizes a constructed state or artificial quality—as seen when a new, integrated entity is described as more than its parts [1] or when judgments are marked by the addition of unexpected insights [2, 3]. The word also extends into technical and metaphorical realms, from denoting manufactured materials like synthetic rubber and fibers [4, 5, 6] to articulating sophisticated mental operations that bind thought and sensation into broader, creative concepts [7, 8].