Can You Visualise This? (Aphantasia Explained)

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Similar to some people not having an inner monologue or an inner voice, some people don't visualise things in their mind.
A lot of us can stop and visualise things in a flash - a rainbow, your breakfast table, your Mum's 80s haircut. But "visualising" isn't the norm for everyone - some people don't imagine things in a visual way. While our "mind's eye" allows a lot of us to see things in our head, other people imagine with words or concepts - in non-visual ways. Aphantasia is a recently named condition where people don't experience visuals in their mind - sometimes the images are to a lesser degree, sometimes they're completely absent. I speak with Andy Lord, a BrainCraft viewer who commented about his Aphantasia on my last episode. We all experience the world a little differently.
My Twitter / nessyhill | Instagram / nessyhill
BrainCraft was created by Vanessa Hill (@nessyhill) and is brought to you by PBS Digital Studios. Talking psychology, neuroscience & why we act the way we do.
REFERENCES 📚
Zeman, A. Z., Della Sala, S., Torrens, L. A., Gountouna, V. E., McGonigle, D. J., & Logie, R. H. (2010). Loss of imagery phenomenology with intact visuo-spatial task performance: A case of ‘blind imagination’. Neuropsychologia, 48(1), 145-155. www.sciencedirect.com/science/...
Carl Zimmer for Discover, 2010. The Brain: Look Deep into the Mind’s Eye discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/...
Zeman, A. Z., Dewar, M., & Della Sala, S. (2015). Lives without imagery - Congenital aphantasia. www.sciencedirect.com/science/...!
Carl Zimmer for the New York Times, 2015. Picture This? Some Just Can’t www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/sc...
Sci Show, 2015. New Insights into ‘The Mind’s Eye’ • New Insights Into 'The...
Zeman, A., Dewar, M., & Della Sala, S. (2016). Reflections on aphantasia. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 74, 336-337. www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/f...
Faw, B. (2009). Conflicting intuitions may be based on differing abilities: Evidence from mental imaging research. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 16(4), 45-68. www.researchgate.net/profile/...

[@braincraft]

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[@calmet6259]

I don’t have pictures, or even words. It’s just a blank slate

[@Mentocthemindtaker]

@@calmet6259 I have a patchwork of concepts. Like a quilt made out of ideas. I can't recall tastes or smells either, have an idea about what those tastes and smells are like.

[@tish_u2391]

i can see that very well

[@mahiragauthier1194]

Hello...I do not see anything in my head, pitch black, always been like this. I do appreciate it as I go to bed and never see anything. Moreover, past history, even my wedding nor my son's bith event I cannot see anything at all. I find vey boring people talking about events and describing all details. I learned to learn with different strategies and earned a B.Com, MBA and PhD. Also, performed scientific researches and lectured for years at Universities. The semantic memory do have all the information and I can retrieve anything, like a fennel distributing all the data I need to answer questions or inquiries. We are lucky in our live to have Aphantasia !

[@salt_provider4824]

Bruh I'm always imagining things. When people tell me stories I make a whole movie in my head. Before i do something I imagine myself doing it. Sometimes its just a quick image sometimes a show.

[@luguidubiela1654]

I never thought people could actually visualize things in their mind... i always thought it was just an expression...

[@ashleighmorison4983]

Lugui Dubiela for real like when I’m movies people went off into “Lala land” I just thought that was an visual representation of what they were like thinking🤔

[@Gymnure]

Me too

[@Laura-gp3xj]

I was so confused. And no one even bothered to mention it all the time that we walked around on this planet. My life’s a lie. Omg

[@evastoyanova8398]

Same

[@JA-os2we]

Lugui Dubiela me too

[@kttiie]

I can think of what it *would* look like but I can’t see it

[@yutxie2140]

same like i know it would be there but its not

[@SufferDYT]

Yeah, that's what it means to visualize something.

[@ribby9069]

I’m hoping I don’t have this because I feel the same. If I close my eyes and imagine I’m seeing blackness, but I could tell you what the thing I’m imagining looked like

[@boriscuduco4377]

but that's imagination, that's the visualization, that's seeing it, it is not literal the see this or that (it is to imagine it in your preferred context) People with aphantasia can't see how it would look like.

[@smw1300]

Boris Cuduco I think you’re misinformed. Most people can actually visualize images in their mind’s eye

[@loony3822]

You see, this is the kind of knowledge I wish I didn't have, because now I feel terrible about not being able to visualize things

[@slugrump9195]

Saw one meme about it and it’s messed up my entire day

[@daniellenagrin6939]

Same

[@magisterofsteam7880]

For me I used to be able to see things in my mind really vividly but now I can't at all anymore :(

[@avanijain9892]

Ikrrrr 😭

[@marioluigi9599]

@@magisterofsteam7880 you've gone "old" and it's irreversible lol. It's like needing glasses. That's irreversible lol

[@taylorkay581]

I can visual better with my eyes open.. like if i’m in an empty space, I can visualize things. But if my eyes are closed the idea gets lost.. almost like I can’t stay focused on one image, or any. Its more of a feeling for me.. Like I can feel the rainbow but I can’t see a picture

[@lux4eto160]

Yeah im the same does this mean we have this problem

[@Elkarus]

I can but I need time to adapt to the 'blackness' like if I got blinded by a flash and my eyes were still processing the light before I closed my eyes.

[@DoveWrestler]

@@lux4eto160 my understanding is that most people visualize better with their eyes open. People with aphantasia don't know what it means to visualize. There isn't an image.

[@lux4eto160]

@@DoveWrestler I can do both

[@DoveWrestler]

@@lux4eto160 right, are you thinking you might have hyperphantasia? Most people can visualize with eyes open or closed, but find it easier with eyes open. The brightness and clarity can be ranked on a scale, the top of which would be hyperphantasia. Aphantasia, as described in this video, is when you can't make an image at all. Someone with Aphantasia doesn't really understand how other people visualize things, except very rare cases when someone loses the ability to visualize.

[@ShauntSerelu]

What? I didn't realize that people did actually see vivid images when imagining things. I mostly have a mental verbal description of what I'm "imagining"

[@ShauntSerelu]

But I am quite imaginative. I write fantasy stories and novels.

[@Zhalfrin]

ShauntSerelu So like if you forget where you placed something or wanted to navigate your house in your minds eye, would you be able to? Similarly, what about, say, reaching for something specific in a bag full of stuff - how do you mentally manage that?

[@ShauntSerelu]

Zhalfrin I know exactly where I put everything in my home, but I couldn't summon a mental map with much detail. I can visually remember what I have visually experienced but I can't create a new image out of it. As for reaching into a bag for a specific item, I have to look and see exactly where it is

[@Zhalfrin]

ShauntSerelu Oh ok. Thanks for clarifying, I appreciate it.

[@swr1240]

It is pretty cool though, how we can communicate to each other, in what ways our brains work and what's going on inside our heads! Figuring out what you see, vs what I see, vs what "they" see. I definitely can't see a vivid image of something when I think about it, but I could explain how it looks, and that doesn't really make sense to me. Kind of weird!

[@refrashed]

It was easy to visualize the described scene at first, but when the questions came of "how vivid is it" I became more and more aware that I was just seeing darkness, in a way of certain parts of the image were fading away into black. It's easier to visualize something I've already seen before, something in my memories. Harder to generate something from scratch.

[@imhighafyo]

me too

[@Vishnu_Karthik]

Same here, hard to generate something new.

[@user-zr1vn9nl8r]

Totally the same for me. Once I think is it vivid, I realise nothing is even there.

[@ruth540]

Same here! It's like wearing black out goggles with only a pin prick to look out of. But everything past those goggles is just generic & grayscale, so there's no point in "looking" in the first place.

[@datboi_gee]

I tend to visualize with my eyes open unless I'm laying down to sleep. Regardless, the visualizations seem to be equally clear regardless of eyes open or closed. But your comment and my personal experiences conjured a thought up into my mind. The more I concentrate, the less vivid things become. In contrast, when I concentrate less -- when I zone out and allow the visualizations to come -- the experience becomes much more vivid. My thought is this: when concentrating, we're specifically trying to see particular elements. This backfires because we're predisposed to using the physical senses and our "external eyes," so we're actually inadvertently subtracting from the experience. In personal experience I seem to have the most vivid visualizations the more relaxed I become. And I often get stuck in this in-between place when I try to sleep where I'm not asleep and I'm not dreaming but I'm losing consciousness while experiencing full-on tangible daydreams. So if I were to give advice on how to enhance their own daydreams -- because I would consider this practice to be a function of daydreaming -- I would certainly suggest to try to relax.

[@GoddessError]

I feel like I'm missing out on an entire part of the human experience. I wish I didn't have aphantasia. My passions, like art, would be so much easier.

[@Starkl3t]

Erethess I find it fascinating that so many people with aphantasia are artists

[@AlmondishTofu]

@@Starkl3t I could never imagine anything that I wanted to draw I only knew what it looked like and I wondered Why I'm so indecisive about what to draw

[@pockypu]

Its strange. I always create Animes in my mind with incredibly detailed characters- its like I'm actually watching in real life. That's why, when I'm bored I just switch on my mental televison and put on a show. Sucks that some of yall cant do thay

[@kathy6979]

I cannot imagine/visualise images, but I love to draw and paint. I just can’t imagine the finish product. The way it works for me is that I know what I want to draw, but I cant 'see' it in my mind. When doing art I have to have a refrence in front of me and work off of photos so I can actually see what I need to draw.

[@aleksandralazarevic532]

@@kathy6979 Same! And when somebody says to me to draw without reference, im always like how?

[@CheerLust22]

Yep, never thought people could actually see clear pictures in their head, like when you say counting sheep, I always thought it was more of an expression...there's nothing but darkness for me :(

[@lornithorynquedelespace9385]

You just made me remember that I when I was a child, I tried this when I couldn't fall asleep and it never worked because I couldn't see those sheep's!!

[@blackcatzn1854]

I thought you just supposed to count the number not see to it. Is that why it never worked?

[@oneirodynia8863]

@@blackcatzn1854 That's what I thought too, I guess so 😔

[@nandinishah1709]

Honestly I'm confused about whether or not I have aphantasia but weren't you just supposed to count them and not picture them?

[@oneirodynia8863]

@@nandinishah1709 I thought it was like that too and I could be wrong but my brother who doesn't have Apantasia says he can actually see the sheep but for people also without Aphantasia maybe they just count the sheep and choose not to see it(?) If you can't visualize (actually see pictures and images you wish to conjure) with and or without your eyes closed, then you have Aphantasia, hope that helped.

[@MrFloris]

When it says imagine as if it's a photo in front of you. .no, nothing like that. It's more like.. i remember the door being red, so it feels like i am seeing a red door.. but if i focus on it, i already get distracted.

Feels the same to me

[@mmaakk32]

Right, visualization tends to work best in peripheral, where the conflicting input is less powerful.

[@anonymouscandle1223]

Really? For me when she said visualise a sky, i already had an image of a clear blue sky woth white fluffy clouds and the sunshining in my mind. I had no problem being able to picture all the colours of the rainbow

[@shinji5217]

it's like you're in that world, you can turn your head, jump, and do anything, the vision will act like you were really there

[@shinji5217]

Anonymous Candle can i ask you a question? Can you imagine things with eyes open? Like, you visualise them in the environment?

[@oldcowbb]

"you turn your head another rainbow appear" i was like : no this is physically impossible

[@Duffzillbro]

It was at that point that I realised that I was imagining a description, not an image.

[@myflo4130]

In the meantime I'm still trying to visualise the sky

[@anacv647]

To me its so easy😂

[@meowiww]

I remember being in 3rd grade and the teacher said “relax, now close your eyes and imagine a tree, what color is that tree?” In a meditation class, when it came to me I said “b L a C. Kk”

[@emily-zh9hm]

I remember in fifth grade I had a similar meditation class, we were supposed to imagine meeting ourselves in the future. I saw nothing, lol.

[@antivisions]

@@emily-zh9hm That's kind of sad??? 💀

[@MaelMarku]

@@emily-zh9hm Dead yet?

[@emily-zh9hm]

Nah. Still alive.

[@fbob987]

Lol

[@ariahann4114]

Ever since I found out about aphantasia I have cried realizing people can picture things as they read, I’ve always been an avid reader and I love books so much and to know most people get to see the book as they read makes me feel kind of sad and angry

[@pelin6282]

I feel so sorry for you :( but please don’t make that take away your joy in reading

[@-berberry]

I am sorry :(

[@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe]

Me too. I would have been reading more if I could only imagine everything better like everyone else. It's just not fair, nothing is fair.

[@mr.fluffy770]

When I read something, I feel like I’m there. I can’t imagine it not being like this for anyone 😢

[@erictaylor5462]

I'm the opposite. EVERYTHING is pictures to me. When you tell me a story I see it like a movie. Even when I hear words like "love" or "wind" I see things like a couple holding hands or tree branches swaying back and forth. I can think in words, but only when I'm writing, but even then, I'm seeing the letters that represent those words in my mind. Unfortunately I see them as they sound, not as they are suppose to be spelled.

[@william41017]

Eric Taylor me too When I'm thinking about complex concepts like culture, knowledge or ideology I always try to find a way to visualize those things in my mind and I finde it very difficult to put these concepts into words

[@naheelazawy]

That was too much scrolling for me to find you

[@the1exnay]

From what i understand there are three different kinds of main ways to think, those who subvocalise who have an internal monologue and when they read hear a voice in their head reading it to them, those who think in patterns (like me) and those who think visually. I hadnt heard much description of the third till your comment, thanks for sharing

[@the1exnay]

Im curious what things you see for various different concepts, like what’s happiness? It’s fine if you dont care to answer my inane questions

[@erictaylor5462]

YFiraro Your question is not at all inane! AND I'm happy to answer. It really depends. I don't always see the same picture even when hearing the same story or imagining the same consent. I guess the best way to describe it, it's like a movie where I see the action described taking place. Keep in mind, I'd don't actually SEE these things with my eyes, it's more like I just think about it. Like if I say, think of a white Dodge, I picture a white car or truck in my mind.. It's kind of hard to describe, actually.

[@PainSled]

Wait... What? They aren't metaphors? Can most people actually "see" things they visualize? I guess i have aphantasia...

[@arraikcruor6407]

Even when I say or think of some specific words I can imagine or "see" the images associated with the words in my head. If someone talks about caves I can actually "see" a generic image of a cave in my head. If someone talks about Ancient Egypt I can "see" the desert, pyramids and statues in my head. I honestly cannot imagine not being able to "see" or visualise in my head. This is fascinating!

[@petitio_principii]

Why do you use quotes for "see"? How does it differ from actually having a visual hallucination? Is there any moment where you're not sure you're actually seeing things or just "imagining" them?

[@Vishnu_Karthik]

^^ Yes it is "imagining" them basically... words are confusing but yeah. If you can basically "imagine" the exact image of what you're "thinking" you have a visual memory. Some people can SOMEHOW "imagine" but cannot visualize them... like AT ALL. they recall objects&people completely abstractly.

[@jammycat476]

Exactly

[@handsome_trig]

I can imagine things, but I can't see them...

[@Analymous]

I NEVER knew people were unable to visualize things in their mind. I’m blown away

[@Shaha33able]

Then imagine how blown away we are, when we find out you guys can see things when you close your eyes. You guys have like super powers. I need to be dreaming to have this.

[@groupie8985]

@@Shaha33able meh its not that amazing trust me

[@innerstar6569]

I can imagine it but I can smell it and feel it too.

[@PoochieCollins]

@@Shaha33able : there are some advantages to aphantasia. I'm reading about it a bit, it doesn't surprise me that aphantasia is a thing, but that people with it can go so long without figuring that they thought differently. Same thing with no internal monologue people.

[@audreyshaw3492]

Wait so is it like your dreaming almost?

[@Ayzlxn]

Memory: 10/10 Literally perfect Imagination when not being told: 9 Imagination when I’m being told to imagine something: 5

[@ekvmy]

yess that!!

[@theblueslimeboi]

Memory: 3/10 I don't decide what I remember, it's almost always the useless stuff. Imagination no matter what: 0/10 just blackness until my eyes open.

[@gamergril5940]

I've never knew 'minds-eye' actually refers to people being able to see things in their mind. I'm losing my shit over this.

[@ribby9069]

I’m not convinced it does. The majority of people see these videos and worry that they have it, which means something is up.

[@emmanuelgoldbergstein8769]

@@ribby9069 It's because most people searching for stuff like this actually have aphantasia or have poor visualization.

[@EchadLevShtim]

Everyone dreams. This cant be a real thing.

[@emmanuelgoldbergstein8769]

@@EchadLevShtim That's not true.

[@lane_ryder6706]

same

[@TaiganTundra]

When I was a kid I could close my eyes and visualize something so clearly it looked like I had my eyes open and looking at it. Lost this ability as I became an adult.

[@dashdashdave]

Ditto! Thankful it's not just me.

[@anonuser260]

Minds eye is just like a muscle.

[@abdullahbinjs2236]

I hope you find it again. I feel like I was lost in imaginations constantly as young child, with every word I heard, a new image, feeling and color popping into my head, at least, that's how I remember it, but now as a late-teenager, I never visualise things often. I just understand them, and move on. However, I have found that if I spend a little time trying to visualise something in my head, it starts becoming clearer. If you want to imagine things like that again, maybe try thinking about it for maybe a dozen minutes?

[@somyamcdonald960]

This happened to me too! When i was 4 or 3, i was able to imagine an animal and i could actually "see" it, it was also so vivid, i could see it so clearly but when i got older i lost all of that but don't worry i still have my great imagination right now.

[@belleisasimp11]

I’m so confused. When I close my eyes, all I see is black. If someone tells me to imagine something (such as my room) I know what it looks like, but if I close my eyes I can’t see it visually. It’s more like if I close my eyes I can visualize it, but based off my memory and how I remember it looks. Does that mean I have aphantasia or not?

[@therealchayd]

Maybe aphantasia isn't a binary thing and some people are better at visualising things than others, while some people can't visualise at all. I have difficulty in fully constructing something in my imagination from scratch, but I can base it on imagery that I've seen before. I guess that's what makes some people better abstract artists or other creatives as they can see a novel thing in their imagination and translate that onto physical media.

[@martinaripamonti2722]

I'm like that too✌️🙋‍♀️

[@benjaminoverholt8056]

People need to understand that aphantasia is a spectrum type disorder, not simply a yes or no. Aphantasia also involves a lack of sounds in the “mind’s ear”. I have aphantasia and can’t see anything in my head at all, except The Void. No calling up the faces of loved ones, no imaginary beach while meditating, nothing at all. When I imagine something, I don’t get a word scramble thing either. But I do get a recollection of many experiences and sensations involving whatever I’m imagining, plus a plethora of emotional information and also all kinds of relative spatial information, a 3d conceptual model with zero associated imagery. Actually my mindscape is very similar to what a person who is actually blind from birth “sees” in their mind. Not only am I mind blind, I’m also mind deaf and cannot hear any sounds inside my head, other than my own inner voice. This means that when I imagine the sound of a guitar I only hear my inner voice imitating the sound of a guitar, but at the proper pitch. So the strumming of a guitar “sounds” like me saying “bra-da-da-da-ding” inside my head, with the approximate pitches.

[@benjaminoverholt8056]

@hello ha! It’s funny you say that. Whenever I impersonate an accent, I’m actually impersonating my own inner voice impersonating the accent, and he’s waaaaay better at impersonating accents than I am!

[@lupe2517]

@@BenightedAlizar omg this explained a lot I thought I had it because I don’t know the difference from imagining and visualizing like I can see the picture WAY back in my head if you get what I mean but I see black

[@Plantify9339]

I feel like I see images in my mind in a different way. I have imagination and can dream, but when I visualize things, I can't SEE it, but I can "see" it, as in I can describe it and picture where I'd be in a landscape, waters moving, etc. I can see images in my dreams, but not when I'm awake.

[@autumn3499]

A Random person whom you know nothing about If you’re conceptualizing the image, you “know” what it’d look like, but not actually seeing it visually, that’s aphantasia. Although from my looking into this so far, it sounds like because you do see dreams, doing image streaming exercises daily may help you create the ability to visualize consciously too. I’m going to try and am hoping so for myself.

[@jalena5244]

Autumn how has it worked for you? Also do you know any exercises I could try? :( i’ve never been able to imagine this & I really want to. it’s SUPPER frustrating

[@daniellenagrin6939]

Exactly the same for me. But it's so hard to explain this to people..

[@lina......]

@@autumn3499 can you please share which exercises you are doing to see if you can improve the ability to imagine?

[@Allusyy]

do you mean you can only imagine subconciously

[@Jakers457]

It depends what mental state I'm in. Like right now, I can't really picture anything vividly, it's kind of a distant image I can't quite get into focus. But other times, if I'm relaxing or in deep though, everything can be pretty vivid.

[@Fr00stee]

Jakers457 same, when i was trying to image the rainbow landscape everything was a simple shape with a simple color and really out of focus

[@derstreber2]

lol you could make shapes? thats better than what I ended up with.

[@soundofez]

i’m wondering if aphantasia is more like a spectrum. at one end, people with it cannot visualize anything they are told to imagine. in between, people might have visual flashes of discrete pieces, but can’t string them into a single coherent image (like me). completely phantasiac(?) people can simply imagine whole scenes. (relatedly, i’ve noticed that i don’t use physical descriptions very often in writing, if at all. if i do have to design a character, i have to physically draw them to commit the details to memory.)

[@GenericPast]

It's definitely a spectrum. I can conjure up an image if I try hard but it lasts a fraction of a second, not enough time to properly analyze details.

[@cats4president]

yeah, that makes sense

[@chillsahoy2640]

It may even be a spectrum with forks and branches, or with more than one axis. When I was trying to imagine the described imagery at the beginning of the video, I initially found it very easy but the more details were added, the weaker my hold on the previous details got, and in the end I felt like I could only picture about 60% of the mental image at any given time. But when I'm reading a book, I find it extremely difficult to mentally picture what characters, locations, objects or other descriptions physically look like. I can easily remember that a character is supposed to be tall or that the castle has three large towers in the middle, but conjuring up a mental image of that is very difficult, unless I draw on simplified versions of people, castles, etc that I've already seen.

[@glittersweet]

Definitely has wider variations than on or off. In my dreams I have very crisp and clear vision. In trying to imagine, I don't have a visual picture that is clear- it's fuzzy. I had excellent vision until I was 16 (shortsighted) and more recently developed astigmatism. Weirdly my visual imagining got much fuzzier with the astigmatism That said visual memory is how I memorised long scripts for plays. I'd basically have the full book, with notes, with highlighted sections, including sections I would unevenly highlight. I didn't learn the sounds of the words I learnt the actual page they were on. Including any folds or tears. The paper. I'd even sometimes remember how the page turned.

[@RinKagamineIsAmazing]

That point about astigmatism is interesting! Maybe there's a correlation between being on this possible aphantasia spectrum and having bad vision? I have pretty blurry vision and I'm somewhere on this possible spectrum- I can relate fully to what 'Me and I' said.

[@vamandave9339]

I can't imagine imaging nothing.I can see a picture in my mind without closing my eyes.

[@aadonandcloud2574]

same

[@sandysushi591]

I couldn't imagine *not* seeing things in your mind. Whenever I listen to music I make these little stories in my head that I typically express when I'm drawing/ doing animatics. I'm definitely a day-dreamer.

[@d_wang9836]

Now that I think about it what if everyone has a special way of thinking, but thinks its normal?

[@EvanBartholomew]

Have you ever hear of the beetle in a box thought experiment? It relates to what you said. virtualphilosopher.com/2006/09/wittgenstein_an.html

[@d_wang9836]

Evan Bartholomew How that did not turn into a flame war I do not know

[@IceMetalPunk]

The problem of qualia :) "Maybe my red is your green, but we just both call it red?"

[@terryg4415]

IceMetalPunk I've often wondered that!

[@thetinykid4169]

@@IceMetalPunk yeah, I always wondered if people thought a color was a different color than what most people see.

[@melanp4698]

I cant even imagine NOT being able to imagine/visualize things in my brain, wow :O

[@Ikiratuki]

Really. I don't know how to not visualize something. Every word has a picture attached. And every picture has more words with pictures attached. To me, words are the junctions. Pictures are the thoughts.

[@mmaakk32]

Ikiratuki Well put! I often have a much easier time formulating thoughts, remembering (even non visual) information, and solving problems when I don't bother with words.

[@91722854]

from my experience, it's more like everything is appearing to me as images and it's dynamics and kinematics, and words mean nothing to me until i actually need to talk to someone

[@the1exnay]

Do you ever have times where it’s just an internal monologue with no pictures? Or just thought with neither words nor picture?

[@sabinapeknikova7239]

It's always without images, just words

[@jamie9416]

For me it's like I can think of a memory I had and I can remember it quite clearly, but when i'm asked to see it in front of my eyes I can't

[@369tayaholic5]

I wonder how it feels. For me, i must visualize a memory if i have to think of a memory lol

[@jamie9416]

369 Tayaholic When you visualize a memory does it feel like you’re really there again, or do you kind of remember what things looked like? Just wondering

[@jamie9416]

369 Tayaholic is it like you got google glasses on and you literally see things as if they’re there?

[@369tayaholic5]

it's actually hard to explain. it's like i can see things quite concretely that i imagine or remember but only in my brain, so you don't actually see it in front of eyes but you can FEEL the imagery there, and it's definitely not as clear as in dreams. But sometimes i'm still infatuated with scenes of some memories if i remember their details and colors very well, just like everything happens again, but you still know it's only in your head.

[@jamie9416]

369 Tayaholic Oh wow, thanks for explaining.

[@acatwithacomputer9158]

I’m crying. I didn’t know people could acctually see things in there minds. I thought it was a metaphor. I can think about it but can’t see it. Am I normal?

[@lornithorynquedelespace9385]

Yes you are, of course. It also makes me sad sometimes but we just have a different way of thinking than the others and that's OK.

[@rockrocker100]

I don’t have aphantasia and tbh it’s not a big deal at the end of the day. A ridiculous amount of aphantasia people are artists which makes me wonder who the real “visual” people are

[@matthewmcguigan4293]

I haven't felt disadvantaged by it, and only now at 42 found out there's a word for it. It's an interesting quirk, and has some advantages.

[@abdullahbinjs2236]

I am someone who loves the concept of imagination, and even so, I don't find myself using it much anymore as even a late-teen. It's fun, but CERTAINLY possible to live perfectly normally without it. Don't worry too much.

[@baseline101]

It's fun to imagining things, but not necessary

[@N....]

I can sort of visualize stuff, but it takes immense concentration. By the time you asked me to visualize the second rainbow, I forgot what the sky was supposed to look like. But I can remember photos and movies well enough, just not the details.

[@Kirill-rc5ng]

Wait what you're telling me people aren't just making lies that they see the image in there head and its actually there.... *my life is a lie I can't see an image it's just black* 💔

[@hannahgurganus8904]

Another Thomas stan who also has Anaphantasia? lovely.

[@fennecfox2]

It's real. It's not that extreme though. It's not like hallucinating, you don't see it right in front of you like it's there...it's more in your head, but you can see it. It's hard to explain. You brain will act as if your eyes are seeing it, and it will light up in your head as an actual thing you can see. It will also vary on how vivid it is. Sometimes its really vivid, sometimes it's just kind of there, or partly there. You can control what it does, but it will also act on it's own too..it's weird. You can do it with and without your eyes closed. If your eyes are open you kind of space out a bit as it happens. Like your vision will go a bit blurry as it happens, it's weird.

[@Kirill-rc5ng]

@@fennecfox2 thanks that helps still can't see it vividly Its like a blob

[@Kirill-rc5ng]

@@hannahgurganus8904 haha you too😺😺

[@fennecfox2]

@Big Deo Sorry if this question is rude at all (it's not intended to be) but do you guys dream at night and see visions/pictures as you dream or as your falling asleep and going into a dream? It's kind of like that except you are awake and in complete control over it, where as in a dream not so much. If not that's okay :)

[@morrisnimark1521]

Wait can people actually legitimately see things when they imagine them?!?

[@shinjite06]

We can see but not like hallucinations because you don't feel like you're receiving the input from the eyes, you are constructing the image inside your head. What is your "imagining" like then?

[@I_am_milan]

Yes. It's blowing my mind that some people can't do this 😳

[@hanakoskokeshidoll]

@@shinjite06 for me personally i can feel the thing there and like the shapes but i cant actually visualize it very well because when i do its very dark

[@stephanieb663]

@@hanakoskokeshidoll what do you mean "feel it" there?

[@stephanieb663]

Yes

[@MrKripple1]

When I imagine something with my eyes closed I sort of draw it with my eyes movements. I'm aware of the lines and where they are but don't really "see" them. It's kinda link drawing with a black pen on black paper, you can kinda see the line depending on the lighting, you also know what you drew and can feel where the pen has gone.

[@diskkets9147]

same

[@Sushigabby]

yes! with eye movements! but my eyes have to be open, as soon as i close them i cant imagine anything

[@xero1049]

What when I close my eye it’s like a movie if I imagine things . If I don’t think I can see black. Like if you dream, kind of like that. I can also do that when my eyes are open but I really need to get into what I am imagining

[@thegigadykid1]

Same

[@charli7821]

Yeah! I get that

[@SnowmansApartment]

🤔 i‘m sure i don‘t have that Aphantasia, but isn‘t visualizing extremely hard in the first place? Like, i saw black when i closed my eyes but had a feeling that in from of me, are 2 rainbows which i would see when i open my eyes. It‘s just hard to actually see those things, right? What i noticed is, that when i concentrate on something, lets say a game, for an hour or so. As soon as i stop playing and close my eyes, i see the game (visually) in my head. For example, when i played angry birds a few years back, i saw birds flying and hitting weird structures for an hour or two after stoping. Is that a kind of visualization? Because if it is, i‘m really good at it..

[@Toastmaster_5000]

Doesn't sound like you have it to me. Your Angry Birds description seems like you are still able to visualize in your head. However, I wonder if there are multiple tiers to how your "mind's eye" works. Let's use a pen on a desk as an example: 1. Recalling strictly information about objects. People who can only do this could tell you the X/Y coordinates, the orientation, and the color of the pen, but they have no image of this in their mind. This seems to be what people with aphantasia experience. 2. Recalling strictly visual memories. These may be people who can playback the memories in their mind's eye, but can't do any more than that. This would allow someone to recall the pen on the desk just fine, but, if you said "I moved the pen half way to the left of the table" that person might not be able to adjust the visual scene in their mind's eye. I'm not sure if such a person exists. 3. Merging memories. This seems to be what you can do, where you can take remembered visuals from different sources, maybe with some adjustments here and there, and splice them together to create a new scene. You aren't creating new visuals, you're just working with what you already have. With this, someone could tell you "the pen has been rotated 30 degrees and is slightly hanging off the edge". If you had already seen the pen, I figure you should already be able to imagine this. However, if someone later elaborated "the pen morphed into a piece of paper", I figure you might have a hard time imaging what that transition could look like. 4. Complete phantasia. This seems to be what the average person can do, where they can construct a visual in their mind's eye without a reference. These are the type of people who can build something without a blueprint, or draw mythical creatures. I could be totally wrong, but it's just a speculation. Each tier I mentioned uses different processes in the brain, so, what's to say that someone could have one of these be dysfunctional while the rest of them work?

[@katcel16]

That's called the tetris effect (because people would play tetris for a long time and then when they'd close their eyes they'd see the blocks falling)! I get it too if I'm playing any game with repetitive images for too long, or even when, in the summer, I look at the tadpoles in my pond too much (I'll close my eyes and keep seeing the tadpoles swimming around cx ). But yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone literally sees black with or without phosphenes when they close their eyes, I think that's why we have the term "the mind's eye" for when we "see" an image mentally, even though that image isn't actually projected onto our eyelids and literally seen visually.

[@WereWade]

Yeah that's fairly normal, at least for me and you and some others. If I play too much Overwatch or other games like that, I imagine a lot of the sounds and visuals from the game. Fragmented data of course, that fades out over time, but still there, looping over and over or scanning through a sequence of stuff.

[@Fr00stee]

I can imagine the whole entire picture, but nothing is clear its all just the basic shapes or colors for everything

[@SnowmansApartment]

I just noticed when waking up and being too lazy to get up, that visualizing is much easier in a really relaxed state.. Like when walking up or being tired 🤔

[@MateusAntonioBittencourt]

I have this... I'm not completely "blind", but it's very hard to imagine things. But one think I can't do is visualize faces in my mind. I know how people I know are suppose to look like, I can recognize them without a problem (I don't have Prosopagnosia),I just can't imagine them, it's all a fog mess. I can't even describe my mom's face, or mine if someone asked me. When I was younger I tough sketch artists in crime movies and TV were made up, since I thought that nobody could describe faces as well.

[@arianam9977]

I know this comment is 3 years old, but I relate 100% to this. I always wondered why I couldn't imagine people's faces in my mind, not even my own. Now I know it also happens to a few other people 😅

[@honeybee3808]

I can't imagine (excuse that) what it's like to not imagine. Every time I hear something, a story, or anything, I automatically (and subconsciously) imagine what their saying.

[@teresaruiz1525]

Honey Bee so basically there is just like noething in your mind like you understand what your trying to imagine but it’s not picturing in your mind

[@merfwriter]

Me too.

[@LifeOfAndyNT]

Thank you. Sometimes I swear people don't believe I have this, and I'm making this stuff up.

[@rikthomson9758]

Today i learnt the term Aphantasia was the name for how i think. I always thought that i think in concepts, hadn’t realized others do so in images. I dream rarely and if i do remember it tends to be surreal. Often my dreams are almost like being a flying drone in a virtual reality space. I dont see an image but i feel, and process the idea of the dream to a high level.

[@Ayato-von-YT_LukasBrennecke]

I have synthestesia, so when I'm listening to music whole color schemes pop into my mind and somethings I create a whole music video with camera movements, editing, color etc. in my mind and I kind of "store" them in my mind. So I also have a very visual imagination. As a worldbuilder I can really "see" all landscapes I've build.

[@God-ch3ht]

When you close your eyes, all you see is darkness. When you start imagining, you don't acknowledge that darkness. It's kind of like your looking up into something and you can see through that floor. Then you stop imagining and all you see is darkness... You can see both at the same time. my mind is fucked

[@openmayo]

I always thought that nobody actually saw things in their minds until now. I am broken lol

[@innerstar6569]

I can imagine a pizza and smell it and feel it too. You are not broken. You are unique..that's all.

[@williamfickas2542]

This is me too. I can get little glimpses sometimes f things I’ve already seen, but not create things new. Mostly it’s just black and I think in concepts. I wonder how much this relates to how much time we spend in abstract thought and/or discursive thought rather than living in the present moment. Thanks Nessa

[@heyheywoopwoop]

I wonder if there's any research on developing a Mind's Eye for those of us who have it blind? It just sounds so dreamy and incredible, I'd love to experience it in some capacity one day

[@sven9033]

What happens to me is that I feel like I’m imagining stuff, and I swear I feel like I am, but I realized that it is actually fully black. My mind plays tricks on me and makes me feel I am, and it is extremely difficult to. It just isn’t in my mind, my mind thinks it’s picturing but it’s not

[@LS-qt9bo]

Same.

[@emily-zh9hm]

Same.

[@xero1049]

Ohh u guy are in that imagining where u shift. You need to focus on what u thinking of and let your mind drift. Like close ur eyes think of something and continue thinking and let it go

[@lupe2517]

@@xero1049 I’m trying to shift but all I see is blackness but I can see the picture in the back of my head like I can feel in my mind for example I imagined sitting on a couch and feeling the fabric I can feel it but it’s in the BACK of my head and I can’t see it in the front if that makes sense

[@vikingursigurdsson]

Yes, that's what imaging is doofus, imagining is not seeing things with your eyes. Your brain is playing tricks on you, that's what imagining is

[@tsunchina3040]

i can’t visualise things, my mind is literally writing the words you’re telling me to imagine

[@EllieMackinRoberts]

I also have aphantasia, and didn't realise until only a few years ago when I read an article about someone else with it. Like Andy, I thought 'imagine' (etc.) were just being used euphemistically. I really enjoyed this video, and will be sharing it with friends who - according to them - just can't imagine (ha!) not being able to imagine visually!

[@DAndyLord]

Super weird, eh? I just they were quirks of the English language. Silly us.

[@aashisharibam4946]

I have a pretty strong mental eye. I can vividly imagine scanarios, people, places, colors and pretty much anything in my mind. The scene you said with the sky and rainbows was so clear in my head I felt so calm and happy because it's a preety picture. Thank you.

[@terryg4415]

This fascinates me as I can’t imagine NOT being able to visualize. I remember discovering in my late teens that others didn’t. I even “see” a number line, the alphabet, hours, days, months, etc. in a 3 dimensional way. If someone gives me directions to a place, I have to remember it as a map, not as words. The brain is amazing.

[@braincraft]

If a neuron doesn’t fire for a while, is it more likely to fire? ...I’m back! 🧠💁🏻‍♀️

[@harrytsang1501]

No, it's an organ of animals, use it or lose it

[@d_wang9836]

BrainCraft If it's Trump's neuron, you could say Its fired

[@sebastiantheeight1258]

Hmmmm, just a thought, but depending on the scenario I think ions would eventually accumulate and cause it to depolarise given enough time, so eventually a healthy neuron would have to fire from either surrounding ions accidentally entering or synaptic buildup, but to say that's more likely to fire depends on what you mean by likely and more (more than a neuron that fires often, or an identically setup neuron that has just fired while this one hasn't for awhile). ...Also I wonder if the neuron would become more sensitive to action potentials by gradually gaining a lower membrane input resistance due to adjusting to a lower input charge and thus more excitatory. Damnit stop asking such semantically tricky questions BrainCraft, also great video especially for someone who has aphantasia~

[@omri9325]

Are you talking about the average neuron in a human brain?

[@ozdergekko]

Yoshikage -- I'd say: he'd be in a vegetative state if his brain cell (sg.) didn't fire from time to time.

[@upandatom]

Aww this makes me sad :(

[@lornithorynquedelespace9385]

Why?

[@SuperGoose42]

Where's your check mark? You have more than 1k subs 🤔

[@theonebeam]

when i was a kid, i used to hear ppl saying "imagine this" but i just couldnt and i always thought i was dumber than everyone else.

[@zinabosman4980]

I really really appreciate your work. I'm learning English for the Ielts exam and I am glad to watch your videos with English sub❤❤❤

[@TomorrowWeLive]

I can picture things, but it's sort of dark and hazy, like a really, really old TV.

[@somethingsomewhere3427]

OMG!!!! i legit thought i was normal for not seeing anything lmaoo

[@elliekat7248]

I’m an artist who has aphantasia and I can still draw I just can’t imagine the finish product. I can still say “I’ll put a tree there” I just don’t really get the whole ‘seeing things inside your head’ it’s confusing

[@vikablaire3528]

Funny thing is, a lot of current commentary on aphantasia is from artists.

[@rancio3354]

I dont buy it if you can draw a fucking tree you know what it looks like is not random or you are always drawing with a picture of the tree if you know what trees should look like then deep inside you see it just not vividly

[@Ghrylke]

Facundo Alvarez just because you have Aphantasia doesn’t mean you dont have memory of what it looks like, for example, i KNOW what my parents look like but i cant see then in my mind.

[@elethumatokazi8385]

Same I just put something on the paper and I keep adding I don't have a visual of how I wanted to look it just a sketch and I keep adding 'till I get a finished product

[@feedmewithhate]

@@rancio3354 you obviously don't know what aphantasia is, then

[@jessicasaiymeh6656]

I definitely have inner monologue but imagining is VERY hard for me. I’ve always wondered why I can’t do it. I can’t visualize a single image for longer than a fraction of a second unless it’s in my memory. I’ve always found the beginning stages of meditation and visualizing so perplexing because its very close to impossible for me to do and I never knew why or how we are instructed to do so as if it’s easy.

[@WhisperingEchoes56]

Wow, this is so interesting. Everyone in the comments with Aphantasia is coming together and discussing this very unique and new condition. I love this.

[@nikkicook4649]

Was in my 20s when I realised people could actually picture things in their head. I can't see images, but instead list a series of descriptive words for what I am trying to 'imagine'

[@hanakoskokeshidoll]

*it made me sad that i cant see what you were describing cause it sounded so pretty*

[@welder1357]

Over the years I've noticed while driving new sections of road in countryside. That I would listen to recordings of lectures, podcasts, or music although the images not really visible in my mind at the time. But later could be many years travel down some of those same roads and I hear that story or podcast again in my head. Sometimes it'll be so specific that I know exactly what portion of a song was playing while I drove that section of road.

[@greatwhitenorthlife2327]

Holy cow. I never knew this was a thing! I am thankful to have my mental imagery in tact!

[@daddyleon]

Hi there, a request: please, next time turn the music down just a little bit. that makes it much easier (for me) to listen to your fabulous videos :)

[@eliseivanica]

well what if i like know what something looks like so i can “imagine” i’m seeing it but i cant actually see anything... like it’s all black, i can’t imagine any kinda colour or shapes it’s just kinda like my brain is replaying the memory without me seeing anything... like i can remember something without seeing it in my head?! but thats only if i have seen or thought of that thing a lot.

[@kadillakz5055]

Learning i have aphantasia changed my life . I learned it 24 des 2021. It explains so much about me as an person.

[@janyanstyles6478]

Omg this is mind-blowing now I'm imagining a rainbow and then I think yes I see it in my head but where exactly is it?! How am I seeing all this without using my eyes? Or visualizing events like mentally preparing to meet someone.. Damn this is so important. I can't imagine living a life without imagining visually. This is also so entertaining when I'm bored or walking alone just imagine scenarios in my head to prevent being all bored. I also love visualizing a painting before actually painting it. I am really grateful now. this is something I never realized is so important.

[@alexandregalvaosilva]

I wouldn't be able to describe a person's face from my memories for a composite sketch.. not even my best friend's face! Does that mean I have Aphantasia?

[@Sarah-og3mp]

Alexandre Silva i have exactly the same thing. i can visualize objects no problem but faces are impossible, even though i do recocnize them easily. Glad to hear im not alone

[@Darticus42]

Alexandre Silva I can only speak from personal experience, but I have a lot of trouble picturing faces (and if I can, only vaguely from a memorable “snapshot”) and I am almost completely unable to describe features of a person’s face verbally. However, I can visualize everything else with relative clarity though, like the double rainbow image, and dynamically too (not just a snapshot) To answer your question though, I think it’s a different thing?

[@anoukfleur2513]

Trouble with recognising (remembering features from) faces is its own thing... Sadly I don't know the name of the condition/spectrum/whatever it may be.

[@Sarah-og3mp]

Anouk Fleur we dont have trouble recocnizing though. Just with imagining

[@aquaintsound]

Same

[@juli3836]

When I discovered that I have aphantasia, I was blown away by the fact that people could actually visualize things.

[@DelightfulDiscs]

At 29 years old, I am just now learning this is a thing. I've always been artistic, and I feel like visualizing things helps me out a lot with that. Especially when I'm preparing for something I expect to encounter in the future. I've skateboarded for many years, and I used to play professional paintball. The night before I know I'm going to go do some activity like that which requires some skills and focus to be executed at certain times, I will visualize like a real life movie in the future what I am going to do and how exactly it's going to happen. This helps me not only achieve this goal when the time comes, but it can also help me fall asleep. It's kind of hard to imagine what it would be like to not be able to do that. Thanks for helping me learn about something I hadn't heard of!

[@cassymae9468]

i don’t even have to close my eyes to imagine the scenario playing out in my head it just sort of exists.. like i saw a bright blue sky with clouds and a sun with two rainbows next to each other. the grass was also green and the bird was black and flying in front of the rainbows.. when i imagine things i can do it with my eyes open but it’s like my vision goes away and in the back of my head is the visualization.

[@onee]

I can imagine things. But I have to do it consciously. And many of my imaginations are for some reason quite blurry.

[@inkyscrolls5193]

I'm twenty years old and have just discovered that I have aphantasia. . . it's a really weird feeling, to know that other people can literally 'see' things just by thinking about them. When I think about things I don't see them at all as such, more just think _about_ them, if that makes sense. I can describe stuff really well, but only because I've made a mental list of notable features. I barely remember what happens in films and books, too. (As an example I recently restarted watching Star Wars Rebels - I'd had a few months off from watching season three. When I came back to it I couldn't remember where I'd got up to, so started at episode 8 - it wasn't until I reached episode 19 that I realised I'd actually watching them all before!). When I 'see' something in my mind, I'm describing it to myself, rather than actually 'seeing' it. How does that work for everyone else? What do you 'see' if, for instance, I ask you to visualise sheep jumping over a fence?

[@narisenbara5117]

I think for most people it's pretty fuzzy unless in a really relaxed or concentrated state. It's also kind of a MIXTURE of seeing and doing what you do. A lot of times I just flash the image by really quickly. But if concentrated, it's more movie like. Also we aren't seeing the images in front of us. They aren't really inside either. They just "are".

[@mathewwatters5877]

Bingo

[@UrFavSangheili]

With me it's completely clear even if I'm not concentrating. I can even copy different styles whether it be cartoons, anime, live action, cgi, claymation etc. I even copy "quirks" of the medium such as any frame skips or the "physics" of how cloth moves. I can also perfectly replicate voices and character mannerisms. Of course all of this depends on how well I remember something, if it's been a really long time I can forget how things move or talk.

[@thestrokes95]

For me it's not a fuzzy image, it's a vivid image, it can be in first or third person, in black and white or color. I don't struggle at all to create it. I can "see" the imagen with my eyes open, but don't see it with my eyes, but with my mind, it's all in my mind. I mean whatever I imagine doesn't get mixed with the real world at all, it's just in my mind. And if a concentrate on creating more (as if it were a movie) then a just start seeing blurry the real world and just get in my mind in the "movie" I created.

[@Luculencia]

If you ask me to visualize sheep jumping over a fence I see white cartoon sheep with black faces jumping over a wooden cartoon fence on a cartoon field of green with a blue sky and yellow sun (in my mind). I've never seen real sheep jump a fence (and I'm actually really doubtful that they can) so I use cartoon sheep as that seems more "realistic" for the situation xD But I could imagine it with real sheep, only the movement and mechanics of the jump would likely be wrong and probably borrowed from an animal I actually have seen jump a fence (like a deer or horse).

[@torihood6759]

this concept is so strange. i can place myself anywhere i want in my mind and its as vivid as actually being there

[@kween4331]

The problem is I can point to where this sky could be and the rainbow and the ground because this are everyday things we know but when I try to look there in my imagination I know it’s there I just can’t see it. I can say there’s a rainbow, there’s a sky, and maybe a bird, but I can’t show you I can only tell you.

[@briocheoleary5043]

I can’t imagine , or see things in my mind. But I can sort of sometimes remember seeing things. And try to be back in the moment they occurred. But I can’t imagine faces or voices in a fiction book. Only from going back to the memory occurring, as a time machine...

[@PurpIe.Potato]

Whenever I try to imagine scenes in my head I get headaches...

[@kyliek143]

Same

[@IM-fs4rx]

same

[@cassymae9468]

If i’m laying in bed and want to think of scenarios to help me sleep, i close my eyes and imagine them playing out, i get so lost in seeing these images that i forget i’m “behind my eye lids” and when i want to, i can switch between seeing the darkness of my eye lids to the scene playing out

[@jamesprendergast8810]

I found this out for myself when I got really interested in lucid dreaming. A decent few of the exercises ask you to visualize the area you want to show up in in your dream

[@idkwhattoputhere8575]

I get so mad when teachers are like: tRy To ImAgInE hArDeR, oR wElL wHaT dId YoU sEe? when I say I see nothing yell at me and demand an answer or yell at me

[@lornithorynquedelespace9385]

SAME!

[@HonkMP3]

“I see my eyelids 💕”

[@ricarleite]

I have a little bit of that. I can sort of form a vague image in my mind, but it's not clear. It's like me imagining the feeling of actually seeing that and being able to reproduce the feeling of seeing some of the details, but not a whole . I can imagine other feelings much easier such as sound and music, taste and touch - so those help forming the final image in my mind. memories come a tiny bit clearer, but not by much. NOW... when I go to sleep, sometimes, I sort of let my mind drift and I start to actually "see" in my mind things better. But the thing is, those are NOT things I remember seeing in the past. It's like I see a stream of consciousness of images, people, drawing, places, scenes, all stuff that seems to be from another dimension - and I have no control of that. When I was a child, I used to get very frustrated sometimes because I would imagine an object and try to imagine it moving around, and I could not move it and could not take it out of my head. It was like imagining a ball floating in mid air, and that ball was stuck there, and I could not move it one inch or take it out of my mind. I'm insane, I know.

[@darryenneal6579]

I found this video at 1:00 am on a whim and realized other people can actually see things when they closed there eyes and it BLEW MY MIND!!!!

[@indieg.4579]

I've been trying to explain this for years! I am so jealous of people who can see vivid images!

[@Craznar]

I never see anything except total blackness. Not ever. I thought it was part of my Alexithymia ... I have no sensory memory let alone sensory imagination. Can't believe that it took a youtube video and over 50 years to find out what was wrong :)

[@dieandgoaway]

I am on the same boat I always thought I have terrible memory and no imagination. I can't remember any senses, the only thing I can is hear the voice in my head.

[@dutchik5107]

no sorry i think it is that, rather than aphantasia. cause it is smaller and is logically also a part of that. its a bit more specific. like i have great sensory memory, i can "imagine" holding shapes turning(but maybe that's my ADHD, since it is common for dyslexics and the brain difference with dyslexia and ADHD is pretty similar) i know how it is supposed to look. i just cant see it. i have imagination, but with words. i daydream all the time.

[@Craznar]

I only have imagination with concepts, and memory with concepts. Words, images, sounds, smells - no ability to imagine or remember them. I'm one of those rare people that doesn't and can't think with language, I can only think conceptually. The translation to language at the keyboard etc is very inaccurate sadly.

[@flyingskyward2153]

Do you have visual dreams?

[@dutchik5107]

Lcra arcl i do

[@PinkPoodleCrafts]

I have aphantasia, and I make a living doing art.... its strange to me, now that ive figured out I have aphantasia, that I have never figured out that I had it prior to just weeks ago.

[@aislingwinchester624]

Mind blown. I didn't know I had this and that others could in fact congure actual images in their mind. I don't think I even visualize when I dream. Though I do sometimes see color in moments of high emotional intensity.

[@emmaneon7566]

I’m legit crying over this :( I’ve known I’ve had this for a bout a year and I’m still really sad about it. I can’t even dream. My dreams are more of me listening to a story but even then I barely dream. It’s not fairrrrrr

[@laurab1807]

I can’t tell if I do or not. I try to imagine things but I only can see darkness. I can’t see what it would look like, but I can see it very.... badly? What... is.. going on?!?!?!

[@LS-qt9bo]

Wow such a nice day. Turned out my crush was playing with my emotions, and I now learned that I have another disavantage in society... yay

[@larilaa]

What actual harm is the latter causing you?

[@timothystabler5357]

Aphantasia is not a disadvantage. It's just a different way of thinking.

[@LS-qt9bo]

This is when I went through my victim phase. Now I realise how lucky I am

[@Chris-nt9lk]

I went to a Brain dr for this in 2003-2004. They kept asking me about traumatic events in my past or head injury. I had none. I just learned I couldn’t see things in my head like others when I was in an art class trying to work on my creative side. With real samples I could draw and sketch... no sample.. couldn’t at least not with any detail. My memories work in what I describe as lists and words and understanding the mechanics of items.

[@juicer6291]

i can see everything so vividly and colourful damn

[@vakusdrake3224]

One of the best tests of aphantasia I've heard of is to ask people whether they can count the number of windows in their house just using their imagination. This would be trivial for most people but absurdly difficult without the ability to directly simulate visual experiences.

[@theveganflower5135]

Couldn't that be memory recollection though? When bright light mixes with the image it creates the picture in your brain for reference.

[@1manApocalypse_CP]

It took me a bit of effort, but it was more just thinking about each room and counting the windows they had in them.

[@jessicasaiymeh6656]

A memory is different from imagining something or creating an image in thought.

[@Rolla_st]

I can't imagine that some people can't imagining/visualize things. It blowns me away

[@xxfloppypillowxx]

Wow, hearing Andy speak it's almost as if he's taking my thoughts word for word. I was around 26 before I even realized that when people said "picture in your mind" they meant that they could actually generate an image in their head. Because it was so long into my life before I even knew that this was a thing that people could do I don't really feel like I'm missing out but I do wonder what it would be like to be able to have a dream or a thought that is represented in pictures. I've tried to explain to people how I dream and the best explanation I can come up with is that It's almost as if I were blind folded, I don't see anything but I can hear, smell, taste, and touch things but unlike if I were to be blindfolded in real life I am able to navigate my surroundings just fine without any disorientation or stumbling. I dream and think in concepts rather than imagery and for people who ARE used to being able to imagine things it's something that I've found they have a really hard time grasping.

[@-berberry]

😮😢

[@xxfloppypillowxx]

@@-berberry Don't be sad, be happy :)

[@albertocuadrado2893]

5:16 that was the best Magic 8-Ball imitation I ever saw

[@nayeon1ine]

Wait, can people literally see colours in their mind? Like bright, vibrant colours? I’m so confused

[@pockypu]

YES! I can see everything, immense detail. You can't? How do you dream then?

[@pockypu]

@@milkshake-ci5uq what?? How can you think about things without seeing them xD

[@pockypu]

@@milkshake-ci5uq weird. For me seeing in my mind is just the same as seeing in real life. But it's easier when my eyes are open- as in i can see things im not looking at if that makes sense

[@starrysamantha3615]

Here after that AmyRightMeow video lol

[@yellowdasher2582]

Me too lol!

[@comment3711]

Oh my goodness it all makes sense now! I have trouble remembering a lot too.

[@nephi1174]

I don't have an inner monologue or a mind's eye, my friend says it is quite fascinating and it makes sense of a lot of things I do!

[@rileybeemusic]

So I just discovered this was a thing. I can’t recall ever being able to “see” anything in my mind. I do, however, have dreams. But as I sit here and watch multiple videos on aphantasia, I can not pass a single test. I can’t imagine an Apple, or a rainbow, or a mountain. All I see is darkness, or the color of the back of my eyelids as light hits the front. When I think about my mom’s 80’s haircut, I can pull it from a photo in memory, but that’s it. The memory of that photo. I can’t see it, i just know what it looked like. I’m confused. :/

[@aiden3373]

This is one of the weirdest things I've ever discovered, seems like a completely different world view. I dream vividly every night, see fantasy universes when listening to film music, people dancing to EDM, visualize plans and places, characters in still pictures moving, see music in shapes and colors, graphical variations in photoshop projects before they're made. I thought this was part of all humans in varying degrees..

[@meinkek7896]

No. Some have souls. Some not.

[@popsitck6083]

Im gonna cry. I wish I didn't know about this so I could go about my day and not think about how I can't visualise things :(

[@jeetpradhan2906]

I visualize of being in space to fall asleep and it makes me feels like i really am there !!