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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

#41

Post by madaxe_again »

e38383 wrote: post #27
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 fram…

> It’s more like reading a book.

This analogy may be less communicative than you think, as for me, reading a book is like watching a movie - I don’t see the words on the page, I see what’s happening in the book.

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

#42

Post by lesuorac »

antihipocrat wrote: post #35
e38383 wrote: post #25

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.

When you read a word relating to something you've seen or regularly experienced, how is that processed by your mind? For example if you were asked to draw and color a basketball, how would you approach the task without 'seeing' something in your mind?

Same way I remember somebody's name.

Do you picture name tags on people? It just comes out of nothing in my head.

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

#43

Post by lesuorac »

BigParm wrote: post #39
e38383 wrote: post #25

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.

Do you dream? Dreams are generally heavy on mental imagery.

Not op, but sleeping and shortly after waking (like seconds not minutes) are it for images.

I dunno how often you guys dream but a standard night for me is it's dark out and then it's light out without a dream in between.

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

#44

Post by e38383 »

constantcrying wrote: post #3

I still have a hard time believing this is actually real. I also don't see how you actually could do many jobs with this condition. At least I couldn't imagine doing any job I ever head without the ability to manipulate visual information in my head.

I can confirm that this is real. It also isn’t much of a problem job-wise. I can’t do creative work like drawing a picture, but I can (and do) think up algorithms and write code. I would describe it as: I can’t do creative visual work, everything else is fine.

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

#45

Post by uclibc »

boricj wrote: post #40
e38383 wrote: post #25

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.

Can you hear or imagine sounds in your head?

Not the GP, but I can. I can play back songs in my head quite vividly or remember and replay how different people sound like, when it's coupled with a memory.

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

#46

Post by e38383 »

floitsch wrote: post #16
FeistySkink wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was my biggest puzzle as a child: how do all those people in crime shows describe suspects? And was it just made up?

The other ones for me: - "go to your happy place", or "imagine you are on an island..." - counting sheep to fall asleep. I just couldn't visualize them.

I still counted them, it just didn’t make sense. It was more a spreadsheet - spreadsheep? - than visualizing real sheep.

And it didn’t help me fall asleep at all.

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

#47

Post by e38383 »

shafyy wrote: post #13
constantcrying wrote: post #3

I still have a hard time believing this is actually real. I also don't see how you actually could do many jobs with this condition. At least I couldn't imagine doing any job I ever head without the ability to manipulate visual information in my head.

It is real. My partner has it. Interestingly, she is really good it visualizing 3D concepts in her mind, but not images. For example, when she walks through an apartment she can instantly draw a blueprint. Or when we move in multi-story building, she knows exactly where we are conceptually (I always get lost). So, these two things don't seem to be connected.

Yep, that’s how it works for me too. Maps of all kinds are really easy, following someone saying „and on the red wall left“ is impossible.

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

#48

Post by e38383 »

constantcrying wrote: post #15
shafyy wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is real. My partner has it. Interestingly, she is really good it visualizing 3D concepts in her mind, but not images. For example, when she walks through an apartment she can instantly draw a blueprint. Or when we move in multi-story building, she knows exactly where we are conceptually (I always get lost). So, these two things don't seem to be connected.

>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?

I just „visualize“ a map or blueprint, not as an image, but as concept. Think of it as an image of text and lines.

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

#49

Post by e38383 »

madaxe_again wrote: post #41
e38383 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 fram…

> It’s more like reading a book. This analogy may be less communicative than you think, as for me, reading a book is like watching a movie - I don’t see the words on the page, I see what’s happening in the book.

Haha, I never thought of visualizing the images described in a book. To rephrase: it’s like knowing the words from a book, but not how the described image looks like.
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