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Aphantasia: I can not picture things in my mind

theguardian.com

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Re: Aphantasia: I can not picture things in my mind

#24

Post by constantcrying »

FeistySkink wrote: post #19
constantcrying wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Interestingly, she is really good it visualizing 3D concepts in her mind, but not images. I don't understand what that is supposed to mean. How can you understand the blueprint of a building without seeing a representation of that building in your head?

You can have a conceptual model of how things relate in space. Something like a class diagram or a DB schema. It doesn't need to be visual.

This seems totally contradictory to me.

Re: Aphantasia: I can not picture things in my mind

#25

Post by e38383 »

Every time I’m reading about Aphantasia, I’m confused again that people really see stuff in their head. I have basically the same as the person in the article. So, if you want to know anything, AMA.

I’m also trying to respond to a few questions which are already asked.

Re: Aphantasia: I can not picture things in my mind

#27

Post by e38383 »

MoSattler wrote: post #20

I am curious: do people with aphantasia dream?

I do dream, but most of the time not with a visual representation. It’s more like reading a book.

There are very few occasions when I wake up and really have the memory of an image. But this fades so fast that I’m not able to really describe the image. I retain the memory of having a picture in my head. And it’s boring most of the time, because it happens in the middle of a dream and it’s basically just the last frame paused.

Re: Aphantasia: I can not picture things in my mind

#28

Post by uclibc »

constantcrying wrote: post #12
floitsch wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have aphantasia, and I don't feel handicapped at all. The only thing where I really notice differences is when trying to describe people. Since I can't visualize them in my head, I can only describe "known facts", like "they have brown hair". I would make a lousy crime witness...

If I think of basically anything technical I get an image in my head. Any algorithm I write first exists in my head as a visualization of what I want to do. If I can't visualize what is going on I can't understand it and am in a state of confusion.

I might not have complete aphantasia, when trying to imagine an apple I struggle to imagine it beyond a circular form with a rod pertruding from an indent at the top. No color, no texture. As soon as I try to add more detail the previously imagined details dissapear and I have to circle back and reimagine them. Like having a very limited amount of draw calls every frame.

But I don't feel like I am impacted in imagining simple algorithms. I also construct them of very simple forms and rearrange them in my mind. I also feel like it is a lot easier for me to imagine things „automatically“ due to it being memories or being a byproduct of thinking about something. But my mind struggles constructing these images at will.

Also taking a pen and drawing these things up can replace some of the missing imaginary power :)

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