Reading Without an Imagination

[@holyfreak8]

I literally cannot read any book without having a movie rolling in my head. That is how I integrate any reading into my conscience.

[@iankretschmer559]

Same for me. As she said Her dress was yellow I was seeing a Disney like princess twirling in her yellow dress. But having a really vivid imagination seems to be also an outlier, since my whole family gets bored on long drives while I am just watching my own movie. I once asked them why they do not just shut up and dream. And they all turned to me and asked what???

[@jo3_the_artbot791]

I’ve always wished for that but although I’m at the lower end of imagination I do get variations of faint images flashing through my mind. So many possibilities of how things could look like based on descriptions at least 😂

[@mitakeet]

When I write, I'm just documenting the imagery I see in my mind. As a biochemist, I could 'see' molecules in my mind and watch them interact. I honestly can't imagine not being able to imagine.

[@jo3_the_artbot791]

@@mitakeet it’s so funky, I literally mostly just see something like tv static but the tv is dark and the static is occasionally colourful

[@mitakeet]

@@jo3_the_artbot791 I use a similar analogy when I describe the 'meaning making machine' that our minds are. Stare at a TV with static on it and let your mind wander and what's likely to happen is you'll start to 'see' things in the static that just happen to match up with whatever wanders through your mind when your brain gets tired of trying to process the noise. I wonder now if that analogy is useful at all to people who lack the ability to visualize/imagine. It'll be an interesting experiment to attempt to imagine what it is to not be able to imagine...

[@MattieBeekeeper]

My wife is 42, we've been together 22 years... And only recently have we realised she also has aphantasia. It has explained quite a few misunderstandings we've had over the years lol

[@Buzpud]

I also have Aphantasia. I personally don’t think I lack imagination. I imagine without pictures. I can’t see it but I imagine things. I have a view of what characters look like but it’s not visual. It’s a kind of just knowing what I think they look like. I’m great at imagining scenarios. I’m great at remembering faces, my brain just stores that info differently as I don’t see them in my head. It does my blow my mind that people can see movies of the books as they read in their head. Lucky people.

[@CinziaDuBois]

I can't imagine how someone can have an imagination without seeing them in their head, that's wild. Your brain sounds like a much cooler place than mine because I can't relate at all

[@bluetears2]

Me too! Someone said it’s like the computer works perfectly, but the screen is black, it’s like I can see without actually seeing

[@kaylaboss8096]

This is how I am too! I also dream vividly and it's not nightmares. I just can't see anything in my head when I'm awake. I wish I could. Though strangely enough I can hear things? Like if I catch an earworm, I'm actually hearing the song. Also, if I have watched a movie or show with the same characters as the book, those voices come through when I'm reading. As a side, a vivid imagination isn't always a good thing: I know my husband can see things vividly with his imagination and it actually impairs his ability to read - he gets distracted and makes it harder for him to get to the next parts in books.

[@kaylaboss8096]

@@bluetears2 That is an amazing description.

[@azastudioart]

Oh yeah, I definitely have an imagination, but I can not see anything like others have said. Love the description of the blank computer.

[@IncandescentLightbulb00]

Wow, I didn’t even realize that some people didn’t see things in their heads all the time. Once I started reading as a kid I’ve been totally consumed especially by sci-fi books and their intricate world building and imagining what a world could be. I’d imagine a lot of people like that go into film and visual arts. Crazy how we’re all different!

[@jo3_the_artbot791]

Oh god yeah, although as a visual artist with aphantasia it’s definitely an uphill battle compared to those with higher phantasia lol. There are workarounds though like knowing how things are constructed or being able to see patterns where no patterns exist! (Which is how I come up with designs)

[@BeeWhistler]

I only seem to be able to do it with assistance, or when I don’t try. As soon as I try to picture something, it grows dimmer. If I see it and have time to absorb it, it stays longer. But it’s never too vivid. I wonder if some of us get more excited about film adaptations because we’re hoping that we’ll finally be able to see what we read about. That’s why I was sad that LotR left out or changed favorite scenes. I really wanted to watch Merry and Pippin try to convince an orc that they had the Ring by talking like Gollum…

[@puma7171]

@@BeeWhistler Same here. This aphantasia thing is a kind of revelation for me. Now I understand why I had so much more fun reading books after having seen the movie !! Specifically, the UK series War & Peace was what I saw when reading the book afterwards. Same thing with Harry Potter.

[@aaaaaaaaa26810]

I have the opposite: I have hyperphantasia, so I can imagine things so perfectly it seems like I am there, and, if I concentrate hard enough, I can imagine smells or tastes - I don’t actually smell things with my nose or taste them with my tongue, but I get the feelings of it. On one hand, it creates a very vivid experience when I read. On the other hand, I fear sometimes I can’t trust my memory, since I can imagine things so well.

[@arurora5474]

same -_- if my brain decides to randomly be like "do you remember that time you ate that rotten thing and felt sick? yeah, here is that flavour and texture again, enjoy 🤗" and I feel sick as if it was actually happening.

[@macsarcule]

Same. Blessing and a curse.

[@seiwarriors]

I understand that too

[@greeneyedmimibostian3013]

Yes

[@azastudioart]

I too have aphantasia and thought people were lying about seeing pictures too! I'm also dyslexic. My daughter has it too, but my other two kids can see pictures.

[@MissBliss818]

I have an amazing imagination. I am a builder of worlds, i create stories, and have vivid dreams. If i create something with my own mind or visualize something, i can actually physically see it projected and concrete. I used to think everyone was like this, but most people aren't. However, im on the autism spectrum disorder and i don't read fiction (aside from mythology) because im unable to imagine the story. I realize that if i am creating something from my own imagination, i have an advanced imagination, however, if im trying to imagine something from another person's creation, im not able to do it. When i read, i can't imagine at the same time. Its just words on a page and reading fantasy bores me, yet creating fantasy in my own imagination is my greatest strength.

[@CinziaDuBois]

your imagination sounds phenomenal

[@jamielondon6436]

Do you write?

[@simonvasvary4847]

Speaking as someone who also has Aphantasia (in my case a lifelong 100% inability to visualise images in my mind), I do think there is a danger of conflating "Aphantasia" with a lack of imagination (even though a lack of imagination is probably the most accurate literal translation of the word). Whilst I, like many other people with Aphantasia, have no ability to visualise pictures, images or even colours in my mind, I can easily "imagine" all sorts of non-visual things, such as conversations and relationships between people that may not exist (e.g. characters in myths and fantasy or sci-fi novels), scenarios in the future that may or may not come to pass, new ideas, new concepts, etc. I can make up music in my mind. Personally, I think of Aphantasia as being more akin to being blind in my mind than lacking an imagination. If my head was a house, it would be like there is no Television in my head, but the radio still works fine and I can imagine stories, and hear the voices of the characters in my mind, I just can't see them.

[@CinziaDuBois]

it evidently exists on a spectrum and I can’t speak for everyone. I can’t do any of the things you listed you can do, and I also have the same inabilities you do, but I wouldn’t describe myself as having aphantasia. I describe myself as having no imagination.

[@Natural_Don]

@@CinziaDuBois do you have an inner monologue?

[@simonvasvary4847]

@@CinziaDuBois It's interesting that you describe yourself as having no imagination. I've watched (and enjoyed) a few of your KZbin videos and in those you seem to show what I would regard as imagination (maybe not a visual imagination, but still an imagination). The activity of constructing a historical narrative, whether it is as part of a KZbin video, an essay or a PhD thesis, is - in my opinion - an act of imagination. Deciding what elements - facts from the archives, quotes from books or newspapers, etc - to include, and in what order, and how to interpret them and determine their significance, are acts of the imagination (thus history is a craft, a blend of art and science, rather than a purely mechanical exercise). I suspect you do have a much stronger imagination than you think, albeit your imagination might be of a different - e.g. textual rather than visual - form to what many other people have.

[@Rianna93]

Same! I definitely don't see anything in my head, but I have a full on running commentary and a lot of concept thinking. Being biligual probably adds to that because i think in concepts anyway, not in words.

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@CinziaDuBoisI love your glasses ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@pallasathena2228]

Oh wow! I'd never heard of aphantasia before, this is like finding out that some people don't have internal monologues all over again

[@boredstudent9468]

For a long time i thought "minds eye" or "imagination" was just like a metaphor for thinking about something creative in a lot of detail, not actually having virtual sensations.

[@llamallama1509]

Not sure I completely agree here. There are people who form images in their heads and people who don't, but I think both have imaginations. Just their imaginations have different outlets, one has a visual imagination based around images, and the other has a knowing imagination based around facts and ideas.

[@hamsterfay]

totally agree with you here, i’m a visual artist with aphantasia and i would be insulted if anyone said i have no imagination 😭

[@GwynneM]

This. I have aphantasia, but also a very creative imagination. I think people are getting stuck in the root of the word being related to images, but it now has expanded to mean something more than just that.

[@marocat4749]

Agree, like any "disability"(through not really but like the brain adapts well as do people i mean in pretty grave thing even) there are other ways to express that and the brain pretty sure is creative and imaginative just different. Brain be good adaptingat doing through other means.

[@Natural_Don]

i usually hear it referred to as having no minds eye

[@CinziaDuBois]

I mean it sounds like you're all very awesome because I can't relate at all to anything you said. I have no imagination in any form or any creativity, so I could only speak from my experience.

[@MidnightBeastie1]

I also have aphantasia. I learned that I have inherited it from my mother quite recently, at 30+ years. It’s quite interesting, that we seldom discuss how we think. In my kind, there is a constant naration and that’s about it.

[@AlatheD]

Yes! This is how my mind works too! Sometimes I wish the narration would shut up, but I learned to tell myself stories to get me to sleep. LOL

[@arurora5474]

Yes! it is so peculiar that we never discuss this until someone on the internet started describing in details their's. When I was a kid I noticed that not everybody formed thoughts the same way I did in the sense of how they connected concepts to one another so I have been asking people how they think but most people felt as if I was queestioning their sanity or intelligence and became very defensive so I stopped asking. this turnut of events that we are publicly talking about it and understanding each others better is so interesting to me!

[@panikiczcock2891]

I don't see the pictures in my head while reading too, I only have a vague idea of the things in the back of my head. I've never had the ability. It's why I'm not a fan of long-wided descriptions of things in books, especially of things I've never seen (for example: original fantasy creatures, which opposed to popular ones like dragons, I can't simply look up and see in a movie/illustration). It feels alienating sometimes. Strangely enough I can very vaguely recall things I have seen already. But the ability to create original images from descriptions etc. is impossible for me. Strangely enough I'm creative with the way I dress and decorate my house etc. I've been told I can match colors and patterns well, so I wouldn't say the lack of ability to imagine things makes me uncreative. I just go by gut feeling instead of the (non-existent) visuals from my mind.

[@BeeWhistler]

Yeah, I’m also in the vague idea group. It’s like I’m seeing them through a very dirty window sometimes, but usually more like reverse blinking… like if I try very hard I’ll get a single flash of the shape which slowly dims and I can’t distinguish details.

[@sesame135]

I've always been a huge daydreamer but I'd say with me it's more the idea of an image or scenario and not a fully formed vivid picture 🤷‍♀

[@cruelaz]

as someone who maladaptive daydreams and keeps themselves up doing so in bed sometimes i think having no movie in my head could be beneficial 😂

[@iloveprivacy8167]

I see only the roughest impression/outline & have also maladaptive daydreamed, so: enjoy your gift of visualization without regret!

[@thereaddrawclub4706]

I have aphantasia and maladaptive daydream 😂

[@kannonniemi]

@@thereaddrawclub4706 I'm curious: how does that work? Like are you experiencing the daydreams in other senses rather than visually? Or like concepts and ideas?

[@ThePylon2]

@@kannonniemi for me it’s mostly like notes or general stage directions, or extremely rough sketches… that being said, I don’t think I have complete aphantasia, just a deeply limited ability to picture several things at once. I can imagine voices, though, so I can do pretty good audio dramas in my head

[@LordDustnDirt]

​@iloveprivacy8167 The idea of imaginative detail levels and quality varying on a spectrum or on multiple spectrums had not occurred to me before reading comments on this video. It is intriguing and explains some disagreements I've had with friends related to this topic.

[@nikoteardrop4904]

46 years old, with aphantasia. Didn’t learn it was a thing until age 40. Most of my reading is sci-fi, fantasy, horror. While I get no images in my head when reading or thinking, I do have dreams with imagery I occasionally remember (or I occasionally have dreams with imagery…). I’m also a published writer of speculative fiction, and an avid player of “theater of the mind” type tabletop role playing games. I’m honestly not sure I agree that aphantasia constitutes a “lack of imagination “.

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

Yeah. I wouldn’t say lack of mental imagery or other imaginary sensations was the same as lack of imagination either. The lady was able to write her presentation and ruminations on the topic after all.

[@CinziaDuBois]

that’s interesting to hear. evidently you have an imagination. I do not so I could only speak from my experience.

[@nikoteardrop4904]

@@CinziaDuBois Point is, aphantasia doesn’t prevent one from creative endeavors. As is evidenced by your creating engaging content, even if it’s nonfiction.

[@CinziaDuBois]

I never said it Aphantasia prevented someone from being creative, and I also never said I had Aphantasia. I was very careful never to say that because I don’t have Aphantasia. I have no imagination due to trauma, and I made it a point to distinguish the two. I think it’s incredible you can do what you do, I have no form of imagination (I don’t imagine conversations or hear characters either, I can’t conceptualise ideas without seeing them physically, etc.) I was just speaking from my understanding because that’s all I know and when reading it sounded the same. clearly I’m wrong and I’m the odd one out

[@Oona_Mae]

I'm so glad you made this video. It was devastating to learn that people actually see things and weren't just using figurative language. I wish I had a visual imagination, and sometimes it hurts to know I never will.

[@korsakow]

I was maybe 50 years old when I found out "I am Aphantasia". In retrospect I think it is a superpower (when you are aware of it). It allows a different kind of thinking and understanding. There are clear benefits. Don't be sad, embrace your talent!

[@blubbblubb6239]

@@korsakow which benefits do you experience?

[@korsakow]

@@blubbblubb6239 This is a great question and I don't have a definite answer - still thinking about it - from my perspective I would say the main benefit for me is that you don't tend to get so much distracted by the stories (the image worlds) that your mind produces when trying to make sense of the world that presents itself in front of your eyes. This might be a "superpower" in our age of media, where so many people seem to get highly confused with the (emotional) stories that they tell themselves, or that their fantasy tells them.

[@dudethouart]

as a aphantasic I do find that I'm not scared at all of what I call unconcieveables. I've no fear of hell for example, although I enjoy looking at artist conceptions of it.. I love sci fi fantasy and horror but it would definitely been harder for me if we didn't have so many good artists to put their images to page to be seen.

[@Oona_Mae]

@@blubbblubb6239 I think only in words, so I've wondered if that is what contributes to my ability to be extremely analytical. I can watch whatever horror movie I want and unless it's REALLY bad (like so, so, so bad -- only 1 movie has met that criteria in years), I won't have nightmares or flashes of the imagery I've seen on screen.

[@selmaarnaut-madrigal667]

im so jealous of people being able to see things in their head! it must be amazing. before i realized this even existed, i was so annoyed at long descriptions in books because i didnt understand the purpose of them at the time. i also thought everyone just saw the words like me.

[@AlatheD]

I have an imagination, but I also have aphantasia. I don't know how this works. I never considered before that aphantasia and having/not having an imagination were linked. I write fiction. I can absolutely build a world, even if I'll never "see" it. I've never been able to "see" in my "mind's eye". Everything I build is words. Words are descriptors. I know what an apple is, what it looks like, even if I can't "see" it. I always had trouble with meditation exercises because they focus on "seeing" and "feeling" and such within your mind. I can't do that. I learned that during a relaxation exercise in high school (about 30 years ago) and everyone thought I was lying, because I have a wild imagination. I learned about aphantasia about 5 years ago (maybe less) and that explained why I can't see. But I never concidered that they two are linked. Now I'm wondering if I really do have aphantasia, although that would explain SO many things in my life.

[@lexihopes]

Nah, I don't think they're linked, I think she's just experiencing something different even if there's a surface similarity of not being able visually imagine things. Well I also think it is also called aphantasia if you acquire it from a physical trauma (I was born with it as far as I know), but I also think that this usually includes memories? Now that I think of it I'm not sure if she was talking about a physical or mental trauma, it sounded mental.

[@CinziaDuBois]

I did specify in the video there's a distinction between people with Aphantasia and someone with trauma loss an I made it a point to emphasise that I had no imagination due to trauma, not Aphantasia as I believe they're different. Never once in this video did I say I had Aphantasia, but other people in the comments have said "I have Aphantsasia too" which has created a narrative that what I have is Aphantasia. I don't believe I have it

[@AlatheD]

@@CinziaDuBois I appreciate the clarification. I am also terribly prone to self-doubt, and the smallest things can trigger that. I apologize for misconstruing what you said, and if I caused confusion for anyone viewing this.

[@Rianna93]

I definitely have aphantasia, but mine is a bit weird. I can't see anything when I close my eyes, but if I 'glaze over' I can imagine things. So eyes open and not focusing helps me 'see' in my brain without actually seeing anything, it is more of a concept. I have noticed that I need reference material. As long as I've seen it before, I can have a concept in my brain. No clue if this makes any sense. I have had trauma and I have adhd, so my brain does some funny and unexpected things most of the time.

[@Hazy18]

I had a very similar experience to you but not with imagination. I discovered that I don’t have an inner monologue the same way as some other people do, specifically my family, when my mum told me that no matter what she does or what’s she’s doing there is always a running commentary in her head or her planning something or thinking about something I genuinely believed that she was lying to me. It honestly amazed me that people have that in their head all the time, I genuinely believe that it would drive me insane - the closest possible way I can compare it to is anxiety - to me having thoughts running in my head *all* the time just reminds me of how it feels to be anxious and constantly doubting yourself (I know that’s a strange comparison but it’s the only way I can imagine what it must feel like) I remember asking everyone if they could just not think and I was told no. My mum said even with things like relaxation exercises where you’re told to clear your mind and just imagine white or nothing she couldn’t do because the image in her head would change subtly or she’d be thinking about things or planing something like what she was going to do or go etc I can obviously think into myself etc but the only time that actually happens for me is when I’m intentionally thinking about something or planning something in the minute, I can quite easily sit with complete silence in my head or I can listen to a conversation without actually taking in any information (which can actually be kind of annoying when I’m tired because I tend to zone out and then feel quite ignorant that someone’s told me something and I can’t remember what they said) and to be quite honest with you I still don’t fully believe that other people can’t do that. Sorry for the long ass random comment it was just your story of discovering something about other people that shook you just felt really familiar to me lol

[@VexVerity]

I think I don’t have an involuntary inner monologue because I need some sort of physical movement, like I at least have to be thinking about the act of moving my tongue and throat to speak even if I’m not actually doing it. It’s not that I’m actually incapable of thinking verbally without that, but it feels kinda bad and flimsy to try to use for everyday life narration. It takes too much concentration to maintain. It’s hard for me to imagine an inner monologue that doesn’t require my initiative, because there’s at least some active participation in the act of speech, even if it’s under my breath or just a thought about a physical movement. I don’t think I’d like it either, also because I think it sounds a lot like anxiety.

[@pickthestickup]

Does aphantasia affect visualizing places you've been? Like, your house. If someone told you to imagine standing in your bedroom, would you be able to? What about remembering events from your past, like a particularly memorable birthday party? Is the mechanism for remembering the party different from the one that lets you recognize your bedroom and also different from the one that visualizes what you read? How do you remember things? Can you hear your friend's voice? Have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head? What do you see when you dream?

[@Oona_Mae]

I can't picture anything, even my mom's face. I can describe things I've seen, but I can't see them. The only thing I can visually see is a specific PTSD moment, but that clarity is lessening with time.

[@pickthestickup]

@@Oona_Mae Thank you for sharing. This is so mind-blowing to me. How would you describe a face you've seen yesterday to someone else today? Would you have put together the similes and adjectives and descriptors while you're looking at the face, and while describing them the next day, remember the words used to describe the facial features?

[@Natural_Don]

i know the layout and what's in my bedroom but i wouldn't be able to imagine myself there, the idea itself sounds strange to me i cant imagine a smell or hear somebodies voice, if a song is in my head i'm singing it and doing the music, badly like a mix of humming and beatbox i only dream a few times a year and i'm pretty sure its just pitch black feeding myself descriptors of what is happening but i never really thought about it much may be of interest a while ago i did some memory tests, i scored bottom 15% in general and top 15% in word related memory

[@lexihopes]

I can imagine it, and I can imagine fictional things, but there's no visual. It depends a bit on the thing, but it's intellectual not sensory. I said elsewhere, if I'm imagining a movement I may trace the trajectory with my eyes, but I can't actually see it it's just a spatial thing, I know where it would go if I could see it. Some of it, maybe a lot of it, is verbal, like thinking "he had blond hair," but some of it's not even really that and that bit is really hard to describe it's like the concept of a thing, maybe the closest I can explain is an abstract concept. Even though it itself isn't abstract my imagination or memory of it is, like a feeling. It may actually take an effort for me to put something like this into words, since the initial imagination wasn't verbal, but it wasn't even visual so I can't observe it and describe it from the visual. Personally I have no sensory imagination or memories, but I think some people with aphantasia will have others like smell or sound. I can get a song stuck in my head but the music isn't really there, just lyrics and rhythm. Well now that I try maybe there's sound to some extent. I can recite a scale in my head. It's a bit difficult though. I rarely remember my dreams. I *feel* like the ones I do remember were visual and I believe I've heard that it doesn't necessarily affect dreams, but I don't remember them visually so who knows. I hallucinated sound vividly once, so I think hallucination might be separate again. Recognition is different than memory is different than visualization. You could have various combinations. Some people who can't visualize can recognize faces, this in particular has been researched, and facial recognition takes place in a different part of the brain and is done on the level of face as a whole unit, not related to individual features like someone would pay attention to when describing a face, although lack of ability to recognize faces may be more common in people with aphantasia, because brains are complicated. I can't recognize them (or my ability is very limited; some people describe much more extreme experiences than mine) and I can't visualize them, but I can remember them. Well I don't think the memory is very good either I'll just remember particularly distinctive features and rarely remember even something like eye color, and I don't think I pay that much attention because I might not have noticed even distinctive features in the first place. But like there have been times when I don't recognize people that I see every day if they change up something that I was using as a marker, so it's not just that I don't pay attention. I suspect even someone who couldn't remember much about a face might be able to recognize it fine since it's something that's done automatically on the whole face level. What she's describing that's related to trauma actually sounds very different to me.

[@pickthestickup]

@@lexihopes This is SUPER helpful in helping me understand how certain functions like recall and how sensory memory works differently for you. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@justonemorestitch]

Omgoodness when I tell people I don't see the pictures when I read books they look at me like I'm nuts... thank you for sharing this ❤

[@IanMcKellar]

I've been going through some real sense of loss after realizing in my 40s that I have aphantasia. I know that I have some other highly developed skills to compensate, but there are some areas where I'm just completely useless. And the whole "where do you see yourself in five years time" question never helping choose a path me finally makes sense.

[@kariannecrysler640]

This reminds me of studies on dreaming. It must serve an important function for us. It’s one of the first automatic brain functions that we perceive (things like heartbeat, we don’t perceive the brain’s function to enact). Imagination is dreaming awake imo. Excellent food for thought dear Lady!

[@shmidles7450]

I'm really grateful that you posted this video. I have been so frustrated wishing I could get completely lost in the worlds I've read but like yourself because of traumas I feel like mine has practically disappeared but definitely feel comforted knowing I'm not alone 😅

[@poz26]

Imagination is not limited to a single sensory channel, sight. It's also possible to imagine the shape of a thing, a tactile form of imagination, as for example the shape of a story, or the feel of a sculptural representation of a setting. While reading aloud, for example, I'm more likely to have a non-visual 'sense' of what's happening, because I've dedicated my vision to focus on the words in front of me. Others might hear things with their imagination, and so engaging with a written situation in a more immersive form more akin to Atmos in the cinema. Coaching a person to engage with their imagination should not be a limiting experience.

[@Ohioboiquan]

I can actually sit here and listen to you talk all day keep going please!

[@lesliemoiseauthor]

The variations on human minds is fascinating.

[@candace3493]

This is very relatable. I very rarely am able to generate images in my head. I try to read a book as if it's a conversation I'm listening to. If there's a scene I don't understand, I try to look up references based on the words I'm not familiar with and build around it. Sometimes it's meant working too hard to generate images in settings I'm familiar with. I imagined some parts of A Wizard of Earthsea as if it took place in the Middle Earth, after rewatching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I mostly just heard the book through the storytelling.

[@jo3_the_artbot791]

Haha same!! As an artist it’s a crazy uphill battle lol. I didn’t realize how much people could imagine until just recently. I have been really good at seeing things within patterns though like scribbling and seeing interesting objects, people or faces in the noise. So there’s totally ways of working around things like this depending on what works for you!

[@BeeWhistler]

Yeah, it’s super frustrating in art classes watching other people seemingly work from memory. I have to look at the model almost as much as the paper, sometimes more. The image just won’t stay in detail. I think that’s why sculpting came more naturally. Feeling shapes is intinctive.

[@jo3_the_artbot791]

@@BeeWhistler I totally feel that, it works similarly for me when figure drawing I’ve been heavily leaning on shapes and their relation to each other in an almost hierarchical structure. The main shape the body makes, then breaking down the torso and limbs and head into smaller shapes and then shadow and light shapes! It’s ridiculously tough but there’s always a way! I’ve also always loved sculpting, definitely more intuitive somehow?

[@jo3_the_artbot791]

@@AvaAdore-wx5gg that doesn’t sound too far off! I definitely feel that at least. I just wish I could visualize like some of these peeps! Would be pretty neat to imagine a mind palace like some of my friends. I did hear somewhere that it could also have to do with how your brain interpret and stores information, I apparently fall under the mind map section while others might fall under more visual or more word based mental organization. I definitely need to read up more on this lol

[@nicholasjones3207]

I used to imagine a movie as I read but since being put on psychiatric meds I can only imagine a rough cartoonish sketch like the funnies in the newspaper. It vexes me if I’m honest

[@emilyonizuka4698]

Same. Like I get at most a blurry outline in my head. Kinda like an impressionist painting (maybe why it's my favourite art movement).

[@nataliatheweirdo]

Yes!!! Its not like i see nothing, its kinda like i get a vauge jist of a woman thats in a field and does a b c instead of like a woman with brown hair blue eyes and a dashing red dress came running through the field to seek her LoVER

[@rayb4faybrown975]

I have “seen” both sides and as someone taking therapy when things are relieved often have difficulty with imagination. I don’t have vivid dreams, memories are difficult to recall, very difficult to imagine/visualize, and I often feel more brain fog after stress or strong emotions

[@havootu]

The 1st time I heard about this was last year I didn't even think it was possible to not imagine like ANYTHING! Even in moments where I can't imagine something like what I want my art to look like or what my life would look like lol I feel INSTANTLY depressed and helpless. But to imagine nothing at all. No seems no people textures nothing. OMG 😩 I am 100% when I say if I couldn't imagine anything I would have died years ago. Because making up stories and my own little world and being generally delusional lmao has saved me from myself I'm not even slightly joking. But I'm super curious like how do you dream? Or do you dream? And if so do you just not see anything is it implied actions that you just understand but don't see? People who do art if you don't see the art in your head how do you paint or create. All of my art is based on what I see in my head and if I can't see it clearly I generally don't create cause I wouldn't know how to create anything without seeing it. Super suuuuper curious!!

[@EmL-kg5gn]

My dreams are just as vivid as reality and always have been even back when I couldn’t visualise at all, but that’s not true for everyone. Now that I can visualise while awake (sometimes vivid, not usually though) it’s of no use to my art. Occasionally I imagine a whole new artwork in my mind but if I do I can never take it out. Music is the same for me, I think I’ve always been able to imagine sound even though it’s not always how I think. I rarely listen to music because I can play any song I know in my mind but half the time I’m making up my own background as I go instead. Usually music is just background noise in my brain but sometimes I do actually think in music, like I think through concepts/ideas/feelings with music. But I can’t take it out of my mind! I can easily improvise a whole new piece of classical music in my imagination, the sound of every single part of the orchestra is playing together in my mind while I’m doing and thinking of other things but I can’t actually play more than a few bars of a melody I’ve imagined. There’s a disconnect. So both art and improvising music are entirely present activities for me, I interact with them in the moment. I take out my art supplies and think of ideas and look at the colours and draw shapes, all of the creativity and planning has to happen in reality rather than in my imagination! So I can’t just reimagine something until it’s how I want it and then paint it. I have to do the thinking as I go, while I interact with whatever medium I’m using

[@MissVindicat]

I still make up stories and my own little world. It’s just not visual. It’s thoughts and ideas.

[@staceycakes71]

I don't really see much in my head, I've tried to make myself see things since hearing about this, but it feels like hard work. I have a very vague picture, but hardly a 'movie in my head'. I love reading and don't think I'm missing out.

[@kolmkilpkonna]

I never really realized this. But I used to read a lot as a child / young teen. But I almost stopped for many years and looking back to it it coincided with a SA that left me with PTSD. And looking back, yes this is when I lost my rather vivid imagination. Enjoyment of reading has never been the same. I had thought it was the depression and PTSD but looking more closely it seems to be aphantasia. I have found my way back to books. But it is not the same. Thank you for this very thoughtful video on this.

[@ezekielmcgee825]

This actually reminded me of someone I know that doesn’t have a mental script-i.e., they think solely in images.

[@rosamundraven]

I've never thought about these types of things until one day, when I was 18(?) and was waiting for my mom to finish her dentist appointment and an old man, quite gentle, to be honest, asked me what I was doing in life, and I told him that I had just entered university for vernacular language, which in my case is Portuguese, since I'm Brazilian. And he started to talk all about how when we talk or read, we create pictures in our heads of such thing, if we don't, is because we don't know what that looks like. The conversation went on with him talking and me just awkwardly smiling, wishing it to end 😅 But the only thing I thought was: sooo, I'm really dumb, I don't actually create pictures in my head of things I read or talk about. After that, I didn't care anymore about this and moved on with my life. I've read more and pursued Truth more. Now, when I read, sometimes there's mental images. Sometimes, it doesn't. Sometimes, I'm reading, and my mind starts to create images of something that has nothing to do with, well, anything. The only thing for me that matters is that when I compare my read now to my read from a year ago, for example, I see how much I've improved. I now have more tools to better interact with what I'm reading. If I disagree, I can articulate it better. If I agree, I can see why I agree with it in a more detailed form. If it is something in the middle, I can now refine what is being said. That's really what matters to me. 😊❤

[@RocketKirchner]

Since as long as I can remember my imagination has driven me as a professional musician , dreams , songwriter , reader , etc . Plot is enhanced by vivid setting . It can ignite those with low imagination fuel . Images images images .

[@Fredurix]

Thanks for sharing. I myself don't quite have aphantasia; I can visualise things I read about, but usually only in general outlines, and even that takes effort. And I almost never visualise people and faces in any detail or specifics, so that's something we definitely have in common On the other hand, I have little difficulty making music play inside my head. Even some times when I want it to stop... -_-

[@lethalchicken1173]

"Though ironically the left handed person will have the ability to imagine an alternative righthanded lifestyle" gave me a hearty chuckle.

[@alicias.8482]

I would propose that being a reader with aphantasia is a much more impressive feat. I can't even imagine how I'd understand something I couldn't visualize. It's amazing to me that people can learn without visualizing. It seems like much harder work, so I'm very impressed by that.

[@korsakow]

I think it might be actually less energy intensive to not use the brain as a render-engine to draw all kinds of "imaginations". Not spending energy on visualizing gives you extra energy to spend on other kinds of brain activity. I am one of these people and when I look at people with very vivid imagination I don't think that they look relaxed. Quite the opposite. But of course, I don't know. I only "imagine" this other way of thinking, that I can not "imagine" as a image, but as the beautiful logic of words.

[@EmL-kg5gn]

Back when I couldn’t visualise at all reading was still an extremely immersive experience, I related very strongly to the idea of being lost in another world even if I never saw any of it in my mind. I can’t explain how, it’s nothing like watching a movie let alone like my dreams. But I often preferred books over movies because of the greater detail even though I never saw/heard it. I never imagined it like people who see it as a movie do but they affected my my mind and emotions very intensely, the words gave strong impressions even though I’d never imagine a place or the feel of the weather or give a character a voice. There was no sensory aspect at all but I felt just as much in another world while reading as I did in dreams when all my senses were fully present! Once I’m in the zone I take in the words as if they’re a sense and a reality of their own, I’m not even really conscious of the activity of reading. Now that I can visualise and I’m aware of how others read sometimes I do imagine a scene or a detail instead of or as well as experiencing the words but I don’t feel like it enriches my reading experience, it’s just a different kind of experience. Maybe I’d feel differently if I had that ability and then lost it? I’d definitely feel like I was missing out by not imagining if the words themselves didn’t affect me so much! Thank you for making this video! I really love hearing how other people’s minds work!!!! I feel like I’ve experienced a wide range of ways of thinking/imagining over my lifetime, I could write a whole essay about it. It’s so interesting to hear how you explain your own experiences and I’ve loved reading the comments too

[@goma3088]

This is a good description to explain some of how I feel like my mind works, too. Reading being immersive, feeling more than seeing things. I don't know how one goes from not being able to visualize to being able to visualize to some degree but good on you for that.

[@EmL-kg5gn]

@@goma3088 Honestly I’m not sure!! I guess being a kid helped, more brain plasticity. I remember trying really hard to look at something and then picture it in my mind. At first I couldn’t see anything, then eventually I could see an individual colour and over the course of years I kind of worked my way up from there. But that doesn’t explain why it was possible! I don’t know if people can drastically alter how their mind fundamentally works, for example I know people who routinely use images to remember numbers and other concepts which is something I can never do even though I can (unreliably) visualise now. I’m shocked I managed it at all

[@EmL-kg5gn]

@@goma3088 Also feeling more than seeing is a really good summary!!!

[@jeng3805]

Yup, also thought that not being able to visualise everything in my head, not remembering faces or directions unless I connect it to a landmark, event or seeing it everyday. I know what my parents look like, but ask me to visualise their faces and I’m lost entirely. My housemate has a fantastic imagination and lucid dreams, the exact opposite of me. Never knew that there was a difference until I started living with her. As an artist, references are an essential tool for me, otherwise it looks like a child drew it because I cannot imagine it, thinking up patterns for crochet or knitting is hard as well, it takes a lot of time for me to formulate something useable

[@superblomper]

I have aphantasia and no internal monologue and I also thought people with imaginations or internal monologues were purely fictional until just a couple years ago!! I very much agree that books with detailed descriptions and extensive world building are so lost on me. I could literally be reading a grocery receipt and it would elicit the same experience for me ಥᴗಥ I've also found that I can't stand romance novels, but romance manga/manhwa I really enjoy because I can actually see the characters. But, I also agree that I don't think my reading experience is poorer. I just process information differently, but reading is still one of my most fulfilling hobbies. ( •ᴗ•)♡

[@david-pb4bi]

Work colleague ( highly intelligent) once told me, he did know his way home probably 100 miles at the time, but he couldn’t picture it in his head, and loved music but couldn’t understand how I remembered songs (sing at work), even though he appreciated good music but couldn’t picture any of it.

[@magplop11]

I can imagine colours vividly, and if concentrate I can imagine an image pretty clearly but it doesn't come easily, but for the most part feeling and motion is very vivid. Like when reading I don't really visualize it but I can feel the motion of walking or a breeze on my face etc. When I do math I feel my way through it in a sense which is weird I know.

[@danielaayers3449]

I didn’t know there was a word for this!! When I read fiction I remember how I feel, I cannot imagine how things, places or people look but rather how warm or cold or wet a place is, how a character feels when speaking or is being spoken to. Whenever I’d play pretend with my children I’d be at a loss and would just follow whatever story they were dictating, I could never think of anything unless it was a pretend conversation we were holding. This probably explains why I tend to not be bothered by book adaptions unless the plot or characters are heavily changed, I’m always excited to finally SEE them and their locations! Thank you for making this video, and help me realise I am not “weird”, simply different. ❤

[@marocat4749]

Honestly, that might the video even more valuable as if its not the most common place you come from with that, maybe, it adds way way more .

[@moshecallen]

Until recently, I never considered that my imagination might be different from anyone else's. I seem to me to be picturing things in my mind but the images are always vague and fleeting. Of course I'm visually impaired and so thought that other senses are less fleeting in my mind. I draw things and yet they take shape on the page as I draw them.

[@juha-petrityrkko3771]

I write science fiction and fantasy, and I rely heavily on my imagination when writing them. However, I wonder if there are different ways to "see" the things in one's imagination. In my case, I am somewhat hesitant to use the word "see", as there are no hallucination-like visual experiences going on in my brain, yet my imagination leaves me with the same impression as if I had actually seen the sceneries and people with my eyes. Lacking artistic skills, I am completely unable to draw a portrait of any person, but if I am given a large number of photographs, I can without hesitation point out the two or three people who are closest to the person I "saw" in my mind. I do not draw maps but I have a flood of geographical information running through my mind when I think about my fairy-tale lands. When I imagine a group of people, I can "hear" them talking in an unknown language, and find myself soon sorting out the grammatical rules of their language. The imaginary worlds in which I live will soon become very dear to me when I spend time writing stories about them, and I have a burning desire to share my experience with others in as vivid details and depth as I can manage.

[@paulinemoira8442]

I've experienced it the other way around. Only in my late teens I learned that people have an internal monologue. Up until then I always thought having an "internal voice" is just a figure of speech.

[@zaniq23]

Thank you. I've experienced similar all my life. I've always said - the words are their own reality whether it is audio or on the page. Telling people that I don't have a visual imagination (or much of one at least) has puzzled a number of friends who are wired differently. Especially since I do very well at photography. There have been moments when I say "I saw the shot" before taking it. This is only partially true. It would be better to say I "recognized" the shot when I took it.

[@GaasubaMeskhenet]

My hyperphantasia is so strong. I'm so fascinated that other people don't think the same!

[@SombreroPharoah]

This is so interesting coming from a place where mental imagery is so potent. Mostly so, is that you still have such a love for reading. I've heard of this way of being, but same. Never believed it was real. Then began to wonder how it effects life overall, but reading especially so.

[@Heothbremel]

I hadn't really thought about it before, because I have hyperfantasia, but it makes sense that this would be the case for some people! It feels like how synaesthesia impacts my reading and experiences, but that's not the most common experience, apparently, and it's something that just happens, not something I can turn on or off. I think the way we all translate and experience the written word is fascinating and I'm so glad when everyone is able to access it in whatever ways they are able to and still enjoy it.

[@talideon]

Funnily enough, there seems to be no shortage of artists with aphantasia. The word "imagine" is a bit of a funny one, as it seems to imply thinking of hypotheticals requires mental imagery, but I don't think that's the case: it's just as possible to hold concepts, relationships, and structures in ones mind and imagine that way as it is to do so using mental imagery. I don't quite have aphantasia, but I'd might as well: my mental imagery is fleeting and vague enough that I'd almost describe it as a form of mental cataracts, so it's not exactly useful. I can still imagine, but it ends up taking a more abstract form than imagery because of that. Apologies for the ramble!

[@liska_dae]

I don't see images of things I read about. I only see things I've actually seen, and this has become more difficult as I've aged. Now, I only see images in dreams or random flashes. I did not know this was related to trauma, something I should look into.

[@noizeemama3697]

When I read I normally don't see what I'm reading in my head. But when I later lay in bed my imagination may go wild with what I read. As I've gotten older my imagination has pretty much disappeared.

[@butterflycucumbers6279]

When I read I can see the images very briefly and it’s not very strong but I can remember them years after reading the book. I think I have a low level imagination. I used to read tea leaves and coffee cup grounds and you just make associations with the random shapes, some days I get every interesting images other days it doesn’t add up to any kind of shape. I also used to do visual meditation on cd that’s kinda spiritual and I found it a little bit taxing to close my eyes for that long but what I saw as suggested by the cd was beautiful and after a little while of what felt like sensory deprivation with my eyes closed for like 20 minutes or so, my imagination was not entirely in my control and I liked that, because I saw really beautiful things, like angels and mermaids swimming in sunken cities under water and but although it was beautiful, I still felt really annoyed about meditation and the patience required to do it, so I don’t do that much.

[@nobbynoris]

I love your videos. Your enthusiasm is enthralling to watch. Please keep doing these videos, always.

[@Langwidere903]

This is me!!!! I've only realized it the last few years. I've always loved reading, and I think I did have an inner eye as a kid, because I had imaginary friends and made up stories with dolls. I think I lost most of that because of brain injuries and trauma. I don't have any vision of what a character or location looks like now, beyond what the author tells us. I've aways loved reading, but it's changed for me.

[@grrt722]

Having aphantasia as an artist, i heard someone say that drawing sometimes helps the artist really "see." Their words rang so true. Still not over not having a visual imagination lol

[@nicky_bee]

This is such an interesting topic... After my mother died I couldn't concentrate on language learning or academic texts. Only recently, after about 3 years, I notice I am getting certain memories back from my childhood for example.

[@ashleymcgee3536]

Fun fact: I have a high level of imagination but have a tendency to get details backwards. I have a bit of a problem with left and right so I have mapped whole worlds in Fantasy books backwards. Imagine my surprise when I find editions with the maps in them.

[@Brion57042]

Just a few random thoughts - In junior high, the social studies teacher (of all people) walked us through a mental scene with out eyes closed, then asked us if anyone saw green grass or grey. Supposedly, some people's imagination only works in black and white. For myself, I imagine in color, but have a very difficult time imagining motion. Most often, I have two separate images, with the knowledge that the ball flew through the air, for example. I can imagine sounds over time easily, and regularly have songs going in my head, or conversations with other people. This may or may not be entirely healthy, given my shy, non-assertive nature...

[@winternight8813]

Thank you Cinzia for sharing your unique experience with us. I have a great deal of imagination and I appreciate that you remind us to value that ability to dream visually. 🖤🖤🖤

[@H.J.Fleischmann]

As a general thing, having rolling images of what I am reading helps me be a lot more critical of works than one might expect. If an author describes a character picking something up and then doing some actions, i am keeping in my mind that object in frame. This has led to some annoyances with authors who tend to forget about things like people having only two arms or so much capacity to carry things, but it is minor. Another useful example has to do with scene setting, as I tend to notice nonsensical escapes regarding environmental factors more as well as rapid shifts in weather or time of day. Still, it is great fun, especially well written mystery, as you can work through the problems logically and build entire elaborate scenarios as to how something happened and played out.

[@ricdee6542]

That's so interesting...Don't be too concerned though. .. When I read something I sometimes have moments when I see noting, with my eyes, but in my head I feel that I'm soaring above the universe and all the information I have learned or am reading is spread out below me like a crazy map eminating from my head , my body and my finger tips....How mad is that! We're all different. Embrase who you are. Not what you think others think you should be.

[@lampjerulez]

Just wanted to say iam so happy i found you on youtube! came her from your other channel, but its such a breath of fresh air to see a youtuber thats not following the main stream nichs and just be herself :D (and btw your lipstick looks always phenomenal)

[@MissyS1614]

I have a vivid imagination, but as someone with PTSD, I find it odd to think about using it outside of fiction. I guess kind of like what you said about not believing it when it was depicted in cartoon, I suppose I always thought it metaphorical when people said “imagine your future.” Not to say I don’t think about it, but picturing it seems silly and unhelpful? I think thru it more logically. If I want to think of a future where I’m less stressed, I think about the level of effort my job needs, I think about how much I socialize, and how implementing rituals like afternoon tea can be grounding and helpful. So I don’t imagine teatime, I just set an alarm on my phone after work as a reminder suggestion. What an interesting subject of discussion!

[@otherworldlyfiction]

I have a pretty good imagination when it comes to reading, but if there's one thing I struggle with, it's faces. I have a hard time seeing a character's physical features, even though I have no problem picturing a photo-realistic leaf. If an author goes in depth on what a character's features are, then I can picture them, but a lot of writing advice tells writers not to go in depth, with the result being a lot of bare minimum descriptions that make it really hard for me to see the character's face. With some writers, like Anne Rice, I don't have this problem, because she'll describe every inch of her characters down to the shape of their lips and the expressions they make. I also appreciate covers that have the characters on the front because, again, it gives me something to work with. I'm coming to realize I'm bad with faces, as I need to see a person a few times before I can memorize their face (something, similar to imagination, which also exists on a spectrum, with some people not being able to memorize faces at all). In this one area, I can relate. As for reading without an imagination, I can relate on some level, at least as far as nonfiction goes. On the rare occasion I do read nonfiction, my imagination switches off, focusing on the information instead of the imagery, and it's a VERY different experience. I'm still reading, but it almost feels as different from reading a fiction book as it would be to watch TV. It just feels like a different activity altogether - not bad, but different. Sorry for the rant. Love your content. ☺

[@Zugzug386]

Hello Cinzia I appreciate you making this video, I am in my early 40's and only recently learned of the term of aphantasia. It is good to hear it described and discussed more. I am slowly learning from content creators out there who create art or write with aphantasia. They can in some cases perform the art they love by using reference visuals or extensive outlining and building reference image collections to inspire their writing. It is interesting to see people develop techniques to work around such things and hope to do so in the future.

[@chrisheartman9263]

I want to remember to all that there is "too much imagination" (as all things go, too much of anything is still bad). These are both called "Overactive imagination" and "Maladaptive daydreaming". Both are disorders taking to the imagination of the person, but one (overactive imagination) just needs to be vivid daydreams and your intense need to live in that daydream, while maladaptive daydreaming is explicitally a coping mechanism for the place you're in and it actually disrupts your life (while overactive imagination doesn't have to).

[@riverAmazonNZ]

Ever since I found out about aphantasia I have wondered what it’s like reading novels. I am on the hyper end of this continuum, and I am a writer and artist. It makes me wonder if I am describing things in my writing in a way that’s understandable and vivd. Thanks for this! I like the idea of narrative voice being important. I have face blindness so I can understand how impossible it is to see something your brain cannot see.

[@Larry_Darrell]

I'm so glad you've recorded this video. The lack of imagination (or even it's absence) is something that worries me also. I like to think that I had imagination when I was a child, but lost it or weakened it dramatically due to at least one significant factor. You see, I had very big expectations from myself when I only started my reading journey. Mostly it was because, when people around me talked about books, they were so enthusiastic about it, so passionate, and I wanted to be just like them. I have to mention that I'm not talking only about imagining stuff but also about understanding different references, archaic words, irony, etc. I would even say that understanding was more important for me than imagining, even though I remember quite distinctively that I envied people for whom reading a book was like watching a move. But I think it is this focus on understanding that caused my imagination to fade away. How? When I was reading a book, and there was an unknown word or some reference or just anything I didn't understand, I used to pause and try to understand it. You might say, well, that's a wonderful habit. Hmmm..., yeah... but the thing is... I made it absurd. The problem was I couldn't alow myself not to understand something. I could spend a few hours on just a few pages, no matter what gerne or how difficult the book was. So even if I had imagination, I made it redundant due to my interminable pauses. It even led to the point where I started to search for some 'hidden' pieces of information where there were none. I didn't alow a book talk to me, to flow peacefully , to present its images to me. I always interrupted a book and my lose of imagination was the price for it. P.s. I've been trying to make this habit less absurd, to actually turn it into my advantage rather than impoverish me, and I am still on the path. But I really hope, I'll be there. Cheers)

[@marocat4749]

I dont think its lack of imagination, and you definitly used you suriosity and creativity there to understand and want to know more. Maybe it juszt changed and not nessesary in a bad way, just different?! If i know a thing from the neurodiversity stiff differnt isnt bad and can even be pretty beneficisal.

[@EmL-kg5gn]

Something I do that you might find makes it less disruptive is to just keep reading! I know that sounds like I’m saying okay but what if you magically erased a lifelong priority, but that’s not what I mean. If I keep reading and not understanding something is affecting my ability to continue then it’s absolutely worth looking a word up or reading the wikipedia page on some historical thing I don’t understand. But it’s worth waiting to see if what’s written next gives me enough context to understand what was said before! Maybe thinking in this way will minimise interruptions a bit? Another thing that might help is setting your intention before you start! If you decide to read for fun then analysing is only good insofar as it makes the reading experience more enjoyable for you. But if you want to analyse a book then your habits would be very useful! You can also quickly note something down if you do want to keep reading, sometimes I look things up after I’ve finished a book and it allows me to go back and appreciate it in a new light. Depending on time constraints and your tolerance for repetition you can always read things again! You could even plan to read through once to get the big picture and a second time to analyse in detail, or maybe once to analyse and a second time for fun. And sometimes you really can’t understand a book better until you give yourself a few years anyway! I tried to read pride and prejudice as a young teen and I thought it was so boring 😂 But now that I’m older I love it! It used to be a needlessly long, boring book about silly, archaic social norms and people making a big fuss over marrying men who were usually dreadful. Now I really appreciate the main themes and seeing how people with different mindsets and circumstances interact with each other and with their social context. And the difficulties of making big decisions that affect the rest of your life with a limited amount of info and of figuring out how to live with any poor choices are much more relatable to me now!

[@emmeviene]

Reading without imagination can sometimes be useful when reading horror. My vivid imagination has caused me to throw a horror book I was reading across the room because my imagination ran wild and I got scared 😂😂😂 My siblings laughed at me when they saw that. They thought the book had a literal insect that’s why I threw it 😂😂😂

[@emilysigmund1255]

.... I had horrifying nightmares as a kid and do have CPTSD, and my ability to imagine anything visually while awake is vague, though my ability to imagine other senses like smell, touch and hearing is actually quite vivid, and my good dreams usually use these senses more heavily than vision.

[@hisvin]

Same here and I don't remember my dreams if that can explain something...I can't think of my future...Day on day life...no nostalgia.

[@ashwinnmyburgh9364]

I only recently found out that there are people who lack imaginations, and the very concept is extremely alien and yet fascinating to me, as someone whose imagination is constantly working.

[@Lillyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

You are so lovely. Thank you for what you do 💖

[@myanimationchannel]

It's fun hearing more about you, I've realized we have so much in common! This seems a common thread with my favourite literary YT'ers... I found another with aphantasia just last week!

[@majikalmcmuffin6258]

Reading takes AGES for me since i cant imagine while reading so i end up stopping to imagine the setting and getting lost in it, at least you will read a lot more books in your life than me! Imagination for me is like breathing, when i think about it i panic and go, oh no! i cant imagine anything! help help i cant see anything! then i forget about it then find myself in some hyper realistic rendition of whatever fantasy I'm thinking about, hearing the sounds and sensations of somewhere incomprehensible, then i snap out of it and go, OH! yeah i guess i can imagine huh? still cant imagine a coloured apple on call though :/

[@samantha7549]

Why am I learning this right now? I'm just like you. I thought this was just the norm. Thanks for making this video.

[@tetsubo57]

I absolutely love my imagination. In many ways it's kept me alive. Now if I could get rid of my GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) as one of the editors...

[@CinziaDuBois]

that's awesome!

[@stillcantbesilencedevennow]

I flit between both ways if doing it. Boring part? Just read and understand. Exciting duel or battle or love scene? I picture every part they describe.

[@mezmarionybarra]

My goodness, Everyone's Fascinating Story'S❣️ I Love the Comradery here 💕

[@mikemahaffey9121]

I don't think I can remember a time , unless when I was very young , that I didn't have some level of imagination. At times though it got me into trouble.

[@mrcjc9298]

I guess I must have hyper fantasia. I was always the kid who picked up a teddy bear and gave it an entire personality within minutes.

[@TheMacJew]

I have memories of being able to see what the author described. But then I developed PTSD at a young age and it went untreated. Now, I can still read and enjoy a book for all the reasons you mentioned, but I can't see the images in my mind. 😢

[@luizalbuquerque5099]

I like this video very much and consider it extremely useful in my teaching career.

[@itsanit123]

When I read fast I don't use imagination or when I read oddly enough most poetry, I'm focused on the words. Being able to do both I'll say I think academically if you're doing philogy, maybe some types of linguistics I can see the benefit as well as history, maybe some subjects where imagination might not add understanding or could give false understanding. When I read fiction I read slower on purpose so I can enjoy it an use my imagination but it takes a while for it to kick in. I'm someone with a vivid imagination by nature, hyperfantasia but forewhatever reason I can do both. I enjoy both and honestly I think neither is better. You take different things away from a text.

[@superblomper]

I'm the same, I have aphantasia, but I'm still able to remember faces pretty well and my brain also stores it differently or I guess just processes it in a more abstract way I can't quite describe. My brain just does it...

[@RevertYahya]

As someone that has what has always been described as an "overactive imagination" (I radically refuse the notion that such a thing exists), I have the following to share. It is very personal and sensitive so I hope that people remain respectful. I experienced an episode of medication-induced psychosis from something a doctor prescribed me (it is random and unpredictable. The doctor did nothing wrong, to be clear). I went from being able to visit vivid worlds inside my head created by myself or with the assistance of others, to being able to "see" nothing that was in front of me. While I was in the depths of the issue I didn't realize there was a problem or that I'd lost anything (that's how such episodes work). It was while I was coming out of the episode that it became apparent that I was lacking something. These episodes don't resolve right away. It takes a couple of weeks for all of the acute symptoms to resolve and can take many months for the chronic symptoms to resolve. As I was coming out of it I could not enjoy basically any fiction, even TV shows that I liked in the past, or would have liked as a new experience, because I couldn't "see" any of it. Video games I'd played for years were unenjoyable because I could no longer connect to the imagery I'd loved so much. It's taken nearly a year, but I am finally reconnecting to what existed prior to the episode and I can confidently say this: a sudden shift into aphantasia is terrifying. I assume only those born with it or that slid into it at a young age and were therefore able to adapt to it quicker than an adult can manage a healthier life with it.

[@JamesAckermann-zt7qz]

I can't say that I VISULIZED the fiction I've read... BUT, I always did get lost in those worlds!

[@CinziaDuBois]

that’s interesting to hear. I have never gotten lost in a world at all, so that sounds cool.

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

Aphantasia, eh? I'm glad I don't have that problem--being able to visualize the stories I read as a kid helped me escape my day to day life, and also, visualizing is important in problem solving. It's what I'm talking about, when I say I'm a visual person--I don't have eidetic memory, but I can sometimes picture something in my head clearly enough to answer questions about it.

[@LinguarumFautor]

I generally don’t see things while I’m reading but if the prose is good enough, I can hear it. And I’ve never had a problem understanding how characters would interact. But I’ve never understood why some people get so upset that you don’t visualize a character exactly as they do and when I say, I didn’t imagine that science fiction character as any particular race, I actually mean it. I know this isn’t the way you described it, but I notice a lot of people think of imagination is a purely visual phenomenon when there are other senses that can be triggered. I get frustrated with visual descriptions that may be visually good, but the phrasing is clunky. I definitely have an imagination because I design my own worlds and languages. I can trigger visual mode when I want to. It’s just not automatic. I read a lot of science fiction but a lot of my favorite says are far heavier on the Info dumping and the political philosophy. Perhaps one of the reasons I was not as much into fantasy when I was younger, was the dependent on visual stimuli without the superior language skills of someone like JRR Tolkien. I realize it’s unfair to compare anybody to him. Perhaps Stephen R Donaldson in the Cchronicles of Thomas Covenant? Does it count as imagination if you know your characters garment must be bright red, but not quite scarlet, but it doesn’t come with a hallucination before your eyes?

[@ahouseofpomegranates4338]

i can imagine things i have seen before, but not new things. for example if i read details about a dress in a book i can imagine a dress i have seen before that looks similar to the description, but i cannot make up a new dress that i have never seen before. this happens with people also, for example when i was reading jane eyre i was picturing colin firth as mr darcy in pride and prejudice 1995 as the face of mr rochester

[@TheXdarkfairy]

When you started talking, I was thinking I wonder if a lack of imagination could be associated with trauma. The fact that it is true, is really validating. I cannot recall a time in which I have had an imagination or a long term memory. I know it comes down to my past, so I really appreciate you covering this topic. I still enjoy reading, but I enjoy the story, I could describe much.. I'm a horrific story teller, perhaps this feeds into it 😂

[@CinziaDuBois]

I relate to this so much haha, I'm also a horrific storyteller. I wish I could write fiction so badly!