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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

#71

Post by dorena »

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!

I think it’s also the reason why I was good at maths, very used to conceptualize stuff

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

#72

Post by xnickb »

perrygeo wrote: post #68

There seems to be a higher-than-average incidence of Aphantasia in tech folks, at least as self-reported. Our visual cortex is a huge part of our brain and in the absence of visual input can be "rewired" to other purposes. Theory: I have no evidence for this but its plausible that our obsession with solving hard, abstract logic puzzles all day (and night) somehow hijacks part of our visual cortex. Effectively reprogr…

For me it's the other way around.

I was always good at abstract sciences, like math and theoretical physics. Partially because I could operate in my mind with my very own abstractions.

But I'm for example very bad at chess and tetris, because I can't visualize.

This has been true for me at least since I was 5.

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

#73

Post by anon22981 »

xnickb wrote: post #72
perrygeo wrote: post #68

There seems to be a higher-than-average incidence of Aphantasia in tech folks, at least as self-reported. Our visual cortex is a huge part of our brain and in the absence of visual input can be "rewired" to other purposes. Theory: I have no evidence for this but its plausible that our obsession with solving hard, abstract logic puzzles all day (and night) somehow hijacks part of our visual cortex. Effectively reprogr…

For me it's the other way around. I was always good at abstract sciences, like math and theoretical physics. Partially because I could operate in my mind with my very own abstractions. But I'm for example very bad at chess and tetris, because I can't visualize. This has been true for me at least since I was 5.

Since we are going with anecdotes and gut feelings, I’d say these things aren’t related at all. I can imagine pictures, sounds and also have always been good at abstract thinking. Also chess and tetris are a matter of practice mostly, imo.

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

#74

Post by alienicecream »

majiy wrote: post #31

If somebody told me "image you are walking a winding path. To your right there is a wood, to your left there is a mountain". The image I see in my mind is basically an empty paper, with an arrow pointing to the left labeled "mountain", an arrow to the right labeled "wood", and an arrow to the middle labeled "path". Maybe, maybe the mountain is represented with two lines /\ and the path is a winding line ~~~ but that…

[dead]

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

#75

Post by lesuorac »

lambdaba wrote: post #56
lesuorac wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ever had a lucid dream?

Yeah, I can also wake myself from those dreams by raising my heartrate and it won't be throbbing when I actually wake up.

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

#76

Post by Izkata »

constantcrying wrote: post #24
FeistySkink wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think this is where I go by default, and I've described it before as a low-resolution wireframe. Only the particular part I'm paying attention to is there but I know what's around it and can shift focus as needed.

Almost like rendering a 3D image, but stopping early. I can also go full color with effort but it's generally unnecessary.

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

#77

Post by devbent »

xnickb wrote: post #72
perrygeo wrote: post #68

There seems to be a higher-than-average incidence of Aphantasia in tech folks, at least as self-reported. Our visual cortex is a huge part of our brain and in the absence of visual input can be "rewired" to other purposes. Theory: I have no evidence for this but its plausible that our obsession with solving hard, abstract logic puzzles all day (and night) somehow hijacks part of our visual cortex. Effectively reprogr…

For me it's the other way around. I was always good at abstract sciences, like math and theoretical physics. Partially because I could operate in my mind with my very own abstractions. But I'm for example very bad at chess and tetris, because I can't visualize. This has been true for me at least since I was 5.

I can own at Tetris but I am miserable at chess. The types of visualization are completely different IMHO.

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

#78

Post by e38383 »

lambdaba wrote: post #36
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.

Have you ever taken a hallucinogen?

No

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

#79

Post by e38383 »

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.

Answered here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40758231

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.

And about 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.

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

#80

Post by e38383 »

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?

No, like images it's just the concept of the sound. As I can identify images (also people or faces), I can identify sounds, but I can't imagine them.

Instead of a picture of a forest and some cracking of wood, I just have these words in my head and not the real picture/sound.

Same for every other sense.

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