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Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

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Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#141

Post by egypturnash »

possibleworlds wrote: post #44
noman-land wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mental images are usually very similar to how you described yours. I'm also "creative". I've casually self-diagnosed myself as "not being able to see images in my head". However there have been times where I've had picture perfect clarity of something in 3d, including color, but it only lasts for moments and I've never been able to conjure it on purpose.

I was friends (more aquaintances now since I haven't seen him for quite a few years) with an incredibly talented artist / illustrator. I worked with him for a period and would place him more than anyone else I have ever met in the genius spectrum based on a number of factors. One of them is that I know that he can vizualize fully formed images, to the extent that some of his work is just transcribed directly from wha…

he can vizualize fully formed images, to the extent that some of his work is just transcribed directly from what he sees in his mind.

FWIW this is sort of a thing that the process of becoming an artist trains you to do. I have been a professional artist for a couple decades and it is much easier for me to do this sort of thing than it was when I was a kid. There's a lot of steps involved in projecting a mental 3d model onto a 2d plane that I can just do in my head now because I've done them so damn many times.

There's definitely an innate level of doing this as well, some people start with a big boost, various psychoactive chemicals can help (I have done so much work while slightly stoned for the performance boost it gives my visual cortex), and then there is that story about one 1940s animator at Warner Bros. who got in a car accident that involved a degree of head injury, and could suddenly just "trace" stuff directly off of his mental images onto paper once he recovered.

Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#142

Post by dorkwood »

the_af wrote: post #140
dorkwood wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for your answer. The reason I wanted to give this test is that I think we may be experiencing the same thing, but interpreting what we see differently. I too can recall scenes from my last holiday trip. I can "see" the night time scene at the bar, the placement of me and my friends around the table, the lady in a white shirt delivering our drinks -- but it's not the same as a real photograph. It's a differe…

Out of curiosity, can you also not hear "vivid" music in your mind? My friend can't, at best he can "hear" himself mumbling something resembling the original piece. I however can hear passages of music I remember well: the opening from Star Wars, parts of Kind of Blue or songs from Pink Floyd, the intro song of many TV shows, etc. I probably cannot pass a test equivalent to the crossword puzzle either, but I definite…

Interesting question! I can "hear" the Star Wars theme, and the brass and strings or whatever it is that makes that iconic sound, but it's not the same as the real thing. I think the best way to describe it is that the music and images in my head are both experienced with the same level of clarity as my inner-monologue. My inner-monologue doesn't sound like a real voice in the room with me. As in, there's no way to confuse it with real sound. But it has the same tone and feel as my own voice, just as the music in my head has the same tone and feel as the real music.

This is where I think the difference in description is happening between myself and others. I've experienced both visual and auditory hallucinations before. These are indistinguishable from real images and sounds. When I picture things, play music, or talk out-loud in my own head, it's not the same as reality. It's a different type of seeing and hearing. Some people seem to imply that their imagination capabilities are on the same level as hallucinations. They say they can picture things with picture-perfect clarity, right there in the same room with them. I even had one artist say he could overlay an image on a piece of paper with his mind and then trace over it.

I have another test I'd like to ask these people: is it possible to picture a black square that sits in front of your eyes and obscures your whole vision? If not, why not?

Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#143

Post by animal531 »

postalrat wrote: post #27

Somewhat unrelated but has anyone here experience fever dreams where you are surrounded by something you can't quite comprehend and can't do anything but try to comprehend it? It's almost like a huge maze, grid, or some other pattern but painful to look at. The dream tends to be extremely unpleasant and usually returns after falling back asleep. I was trying to explain it to a friend the other day and didn't do a ver…

I both dream a lot and have great control over my dreams in general, but when I get sick it falls off the bus.

Once I tried to somehow fit a ball into blue. The two concepts were so different that I just kept on trying and failing.

Recently (also with quite a fever) I had a stack of dominoes that would fall over as I ran my hand over them. But then when I got to the end they were all upright again and I just kept going forward and back with no resolve.

It's extremely frustrating.

Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#144

Post by the_af »

dorkwood wrote: post #142
the_af wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, can you also not hear "vivid" music in your mind? My friend can't, at best he can "hear" himself mumbling something resembling the original piece. I however can hear passages of music I remember well: the opening from Star Wars, parts of Kind of Blue or songs from Pink Floyd, the intro song of many TV shows, etc. I probably cannot pass a test equivalent to the crossword puzzle either, but I definite…

Interesting question! I can "hear" the Star Wars theme, and the brass and strings or whatever it is that makes that iconic sound, but it's not the same as the real thing. I think the best way to describe it is that the music and images in my head are both experienced with the same level of clarity as my inner-monologue. My inner-monologue doesn't sound like a real voice in the room with me. As in, there's no way to c…

I get what you're saying. This visual imagery as well as the sounds are NOT hallucinations. You cannot mistake them for the real thing. I cannot replace Spotify with my mind (that would be awesome though!)

It's just a very vivid and detailed experience, but it absolutely cannot be confused with the real thing like an hallucination can.

I can see geometric shapes of all colors but they don't obscure my vision. They "bypass" my vision and go through a different "channel". I cannot confuse myself and suddenly think there's a floating black square in front of me.

Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#145

Post by the_af »

prower wrote: post #84
irjustin wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Question: When asked to remember a person's face, can you see it in your head/"mind's eye"? FWIW, I don't think the ability to visualize something specifically in your "mind's eye" has a lot to do with creativity. I interpret this as more about direct recall of memory. The stronger the visuals the more likely you are to be able to recall a specific event/visual in more detail (whether it's accurate is up for debate).…

Not the parent, but i can't recall faces (not even my parents) aside from isolated features, like a mustache. I've seen absolutely nothing on this flashing screen despite looking at it for around 5 minutes. I don't think everyone else is lying, but i wonder if other people's brains just get "bored" and start imagining things, on a moving visual canvas. Overall, this was totally disappointing.

> i wonder if other people's brains just get "bored" and start imagining things

I think that's precisely the intended effect of this experiment.

Note that whether people's minds get bored or not, the idea is the same: whether they can visualize things that aren't really in front of them.

Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#146

Post by dalmo3 »

beardyw wrote: post #83

I am not sure about this. If you stare at anything for long enough you get peculiar effects in your vision (try it). That said, in the last year or so I have begun to enjoy music from the extractor fan in our kitchen. Each time it is on I hear a random genre of music - plain chant, brass band, jazz, etc. I don't experience it in any other context (or any other hallucinations before you ask). Anyone else get something…

Lol, I thought I was the only one to hear music from extractor fans!

Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#147

Post by garmaine »

the_af wrote: post #140
dorkwood wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for your answer. The reason I wanted to give this test is that I think we may be experiencing the same thing, but interpreting what we see differently. I too can recall scenes from my last holiday trip. I can "see" the night time scene at the bar, the placement of me and my friends around the table, the lady in a white shirt delivering our drinks -- but it's not the same as a real photograph. It's a differe…

Out of curiosity, can you also not hear "vivid" music in your mind? My friend can't, at best he can "hear" himself mumbling something resembling the original piece. I however can hear passages of music I remember well: the opening from Star Wars, parts of Kind of Blue or songs from Pink Floyd, the intro song of many TV shows, etc. I probably cannot pass a test equivalent to the crossword puzzle either, but I definite…

Not the person you are replying to, but I’m like your friend, and also lack visual imagination. In fact the only thing I can create in my head is my internal monologue. Ask me to remember a tune and I’ll be internally beat boxing or humming it with my inner monologue voice. That’s the only musical “inner ear” I have. I am also tone deaf, which maybe related, and suck at visual arts.

Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#148

Post by dekhn »

dorkwood wrote: post #104
the_af wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've always suspected that people who claimed they could visualize things with great clarity were lying I know this will do nothing to dispel your suspicion, but I can see people and places with great clarity, detail, in color and moving, and if I focus on them they are not fleeting (I get involuntary images that are fleeting though). You'll be right to dismiss my claim -- I'm some random stranger on the internet a…

There's a test I'd like to give someone with your abilities one day, and I'd love if you took the time to try this. I forget where I originally saw it, but it goes something like this: Imagine you're looking down on a grid of squares. It's a little bit like a chess board, but it's only four squares wide and four squares high. In each square is a single letter, and each horizontal row spells a four-letter word. The to…

I can't do this. I simply can't imagine that grid in my head fully populated; I have to keep going back to the text. If I concentrate extremely hard, I can kind of keep one or two of the words pictured in my head for a millisecond.

Re: Simple test reveals if your mental images are more vivid than other people's

#149

Post by dorkwood »

garmaine wrote: post #147
the_af wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, can you also not hear "vivid" music in your mind? My friend can't, at best he can "hear" himself mumbling something resembling the original piece. I however can hear passages of music I remember well: the opening from Star Wars, parts of Kind of Blue or songs from Pink Floyd, the intro song of many TV shows, etc. I probably cannot pass a test equivalent to the crossword puzzle either, but I definite…

Not the person you are replying to, but I’m like your friend, and also lack visual imagination. In fact the only thing I can create in my head is my internal monologue. Ask me to remember a tune and I’ll be internally beat boxing or humming it with my inner monologue voice. That’s the only musical “inner ear” I have. I am also tone deaf, which maybe related, and suck at visual arts.

I can hear instruments, but after reading about the humming guy I could suddenly only hear myself hum. I had to force myself to switch back to instruments, like some sort of optical illusion. This makes me think it could be a learned ability.
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