YouTubers Take an Aphantasia Test | Sci Guys Bitesize

Can you see with your mind’s eye? We did Aphantasia tests with some KZbinrs at Vidcon London!
#VidConLDN #Aphantasia
Not sure what Aphantasia is? We did a whole episode right here: • The Science of Aphanta...
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[@lena-aline]

i wish i had never found out that people can actually see things with their mind. i have never experienced it. all i see is black when i close my eyes. i can't imagine things, i can only recall memories but they are picture-less also. i am so jealous of everyone able to do this.

[@lisakent1778]

Cherries and Coconuts me too... It’s upsetting. I wish I could see things that sounds amazing!

[@vela-6]

Have you ever dreamed? Some aphants can still have visuals while they're unconscious. It's basically the same as dreams, but it doesn't emotionally pull you in as much.

[@emiliamunozroschen5210]

@A Evans Short explained I would say: You can't see your memorys, you just remember the facts about it.

[@AtLeastTryALittle]

I guess I have a very high degree of aphantasia. I can't visualize even when dreaming. I also have little to no inner monologue. I guess I always assumed that being able to visualize things clearly was the rare skill and that I was completely normal. I heard something recently suggesting that aphantasia is estimated to only effect 2% of people so if that's true then i was way off lol. I always did very well in school with 99th percentile test scores in standardized tests and i work as a psychologist currently so I have no trouble learning or remembering things. If I were to guess an analogy, to me it seems like visualizing things would feel more like a disk drive where as my brain feels more like a solid state drive. I don't need to a visual memory to remember something the information is just there immediately when it is relevant and i need it. I realized also that since I store my memories essentially as descriptions similar to a written paragraph in a novel that I often cannot retain fine details of visual objects but I make up for it with a huge vocabulary I guess. Essentially I always thought things like meditation and spirituality seemed a little silly to me but I guess people are actually experiencing things and the "minds eye" isn't just a metaphor. Lol I feel like I'm stuck in Plato's cave

[@thayne559]

me too :(

[@ogzombiebreakfast]

What's really weird is how, for the first 30ish years of my life, when people talked about "mind's eye," "visualize," and mind palaces, my brain just accepted these as non-literal terms and didn't question it.

[@Laufeycalled]

exactly 😂

[@cjdflkj]

I thought it was a metaphor! Haha

[@totokekedile]

It was a little disappointing to find out people weren't as skilled with metaphors as I had thought.

[@thesagaofblitz]

Me too

[@msnishaxo]

literally!!

[@tanyalxckwxxd]

i didn’t realise people could see that vividly in their minds woah

[@thatonetransguy2297]

For the longest time i couldn't understand that people COULD vividly see things in their minds. I thought everyone was exaggerating

[@emmrses]

Laylaaa when I close my eyes I see like.. just black. I can’t see colors. I can’t see shapes. I can see the lighting like a white but idk. I remember being in kindergarten and we were supposed to imagine a spider, I didn’t know we actually COULD imagine things in our mind

[@KristofskiKabuki]

I can create taste, smells and physical sensations in my mind too

[@ArtyMars]

I have aphantasia and I can imagine taste, sounds and smell just fine, but I can't for the life of me visualise an actual image in my mind, I see absolutely nothing, I mean I have vague distant memories of what I've seen before in real life but I can't just create an image in my head to /look/ at hahaha. However i can imagine the taste of custard or smell of lavendar or sound of fireworks just fine, I just can't play back a video of those objects in my head to look at. I suppose imagine experiences in my mind, like a blind person would experience things in first person on a daily basis, i thought we were all blind when we weren't actually looking at something, I've always been so mesmerised by videos and movies because i get to dive into a visual world for a moment, pictures and photos are so sentimental to me because I can't just imagine a memory or person in my head to see them without the actual person or photograph in front of me to look at.😂

[@caroline10081]

Are your dreams filled with pictures and action? Do you dream in color?

[@chamonix2602]

I imagined an invisible ball in a dark room on a small round invisible table.

[@fawn46n2]

Yes, this made me chuckle but I get this.

[@doedecahedron118]

Yes!!! Same

[@buhzs9663]

Same 💀

[@Dogwithoutaname]

My invisible table was long so it rolled off the edge lol

[@hellendoodles]

my invisible table was squareish but i think that’s because i was sitting at a squareish table

[@crazycatlover1885]

I have aphantasia, as a child I thought that "picture this" was a wierd turn of phrase.

[@fawn46n2]

I'm 38 and just found out this year that "picture this" is not a metaphor. I can still make up what I want to see and I can feel it or conceptualize it but I was never SEEING anything.

[@JulieWallis1963]

I’m almost 60 and only just found out I’m _weird_ because I don’t see things. I know exactly what I’m seeing, but without actually ‘seeing’ anything. If that makes sense.

[@mrmoosetachio]

I'm 32 and just found out about all of this two weeks ago. Spent my entire life thinking all the "picture this..." "imagine you're in a place" etc etc was all just a figure of speech. It still boggles me that people can essentially hallucinate at will.

[@cre-k8-ive]

@@fawn46n2 Exactly! I can conceptualize things, but I can't see them. Like I think about how it feels to draw a star and what pattern I'd need to follow but I can't see it. I didn't realize until recently that other people didn't just have a list of attributes like me but could actually see it.

[@soltheshinydrifblim7183]

This. Right here. I always thought it was a metaphor and it blew me away when I learned it wasn't.

[@fane_abyssal9175]

My teacher tried to teach me to remember the prime numbers by imagining walking down a street and hanging placards of the numbers on lampposts as I went, then collecting them as I went back down the series. It never made any sense to me and this is probably why.

[@stoverboo]

I remember reading about remembering things by tying them together in a sequence with a bit of wool. For example, if you need oranges, cheese, and bread from the store, you imagine a bag of oranges tied to a block of cheese tied to a loaf of bread, and then you'll remember all three. Since I could never see anything, it just seemed to me that this method required me to do MORE remembering, rather than less.

[@abj136]

@@stoverboo Maybe, but the connections between things can be held in my head even without seeing them.

[@madzombiebaby]

This is so mind blowing to me! I wasn't aware that people have such visual thinking, crazy to me

[@RetroDawn]

I really wonder how many do, though. I don't have aphantasia. I can imagine imagery. However, it's not visually vivid at all. It's much more abstract and doesn't come anywhere near as detailed as a photograph. Colors are especially non-vivid.

[@peterbelanger4094]

What confuses me, as a highly visual person, is what is going on in the brains of people of people who aren't? Do you hear sounds in your mind? Is it all words? Is it emotion based? If there are no pictures, that what is going on in there? Obviously there is just as much going on, just in a different data format. I'm here using .png and .obj files, are you using .txt & .doc ? or maybe .wav or .mp3? Maybe it's completely different operating systems?

[@greekmotivation589]

@@peterbelanger4094 We are using .txt :) I dont see images and have no inner monologue. Basically just thoughts and talking to myself but not outloud. Its quiet tho

[@musstta01]

@@greekmotivation589 wait what? Is talking to yourself not the inner monologue?? I found out just today that I have aphantasia

[@musstta01]

@@peterbelanger4094 in my case txt and mp3 mostly, I can remember songs almost perfectly (not just lyrically, musically), but try to make me visualize an apple and we're gonna be sitting there til Christmas comes

[@deovolente5867]

It's so weird to know that not everyone is experiencing the world as I do. There are movies and books in my head that my mind is creating without me even trying. Maybe that's why I'm more of an introvert. Am so happy being in my own presence and it's not boring. Also it would be great if all of these people were guests on the podcast.

[@PeterGuru]

I have whole idea of animation movie in my head and a style and character in my head. I haven’t had time to write down in notebook.

[@PeterGuru]

And last I brought a Drawing tablet and animation software to bring my idea to live.

[@louisa1514]

I imagine entire scenarios in my head too, but it's never visual. I also don't have an internal monologue. Any thoughts I have are concepts. But I'm very good at descriptive writing weirdly enough, possibly because that's the way I think (a description/idea).

[@deovolente5867]

@@louisa1514 we all experience things differently and that's amazing. As the ability to share our experiences with each other. And I appreciate that you shared yours with me.

[@PeterGuru]

@@louisa1514 one time I went African Americans museum. I saw civil right movement, where police brutality happened. Just looking at the picture. I get this video in head. Where police beating African Americans people.

[@BauhausBarbie]

My English teacher: Now write about the surroundings and what the character sees Me: huh.. 👁👄👁

[@AnnPatri]

My family member struggled in grade school because of that sort of thing & was told they were not a good student & shouldn’t expect to get into a college. Now: aerospace engineer - literally a rocket scientist.

[@Icewind007]

@@AnnPatri My teachers were idiots that underestimated me as well... Computer scientist now specializing in bioinformatics. It really annoyed them that I would think outside of the box and not stick to their rigid assignments.

[@jackiegrant410]

No wonder some of us struggled at school. The system only caters for one kind of human!

[@guerra_dos_bichos]

You know what is weird, I can totally do that without seeing anything. The concepts are there, It's just that the images don't show up

[@sundayrunday7586]

I’m turning 38 next month. I have always been a very creative person. I just discovered TODAY that I have had Aphantasia my ENTIRE LIFE! The funny thing, is that I dodged the idea of it for a very long time because I always thought I was a visual learner, but I literally only learn by doing and repetition. The fact that I used visual things to memorize in my life was about structure, and organization, not because I’d see it in my brain. WHAAAAATTTT????!!!!!

[@tlbccc]

Same here!

[@filthyclown8033]

I’m convinced you simply don’t understand what “seeing” it means

[@TMcB23]

I really identify with the song thing - I constantly have songs on loop in my head all the time!

[@cloudthief8918]

Same!!

[@edenl2588]

Yesssss same!!!

[@Jauhgn]

Same dude I’m constantly singing the songs stuck inside my head

[@lydiacochrane706]

SAME

[@Starlitwarrior]

Me too. I have to literally mentally sing a different song if it turns to a really annoying song. Really annoying.

[@charleytaylor9350]

I never realised that I couldn't see things in my mind until I learned about aphantasia, I assumed everyone could just see black! I can recall memories but the details aren't always perfect, and when you said to imagine the 5 point star I literally couldn't see a thing! I also don't know if I have an internal monologue, I think things to myself but it's not like they're independent thoughts, I have to say things to myself like 'I wonder what you would say in this scenario'... the mind is wild

[@socksamazingchannel]

People have constantly occuring internal monologues? Like a second voice in their head?

[@brainzpvz2592]

​@@socksamazingchannel I am always talking to myself in my head. It's crazy to me that other people don't, like it's just peace and quiet? Sounds like it could be quite nice actually, lol.

[@harrietokeefe9658]

Wow I just realised how constant my internal monologue is when my mind was full on playing a song whilst also reading your comment. No wonder I never get any peace lol

[@asdanahohi749]

@@socksamazingchannel not a voice but a hole conversation we understand not hear

[@RandallJamesPeterson]

It felt like he was going to say more about internal monologue, but didn't. For me, my internal monologue is what I would be saying if I was speaking.

[@LinniC93]

Same, except my inner monologue often becomes external as well, because speaking the words out loud makes it easier to process my thoughts sometimes.

[@Jauhgn]

Yep like that girl with the blue hair said her inner voice was pointing at different things... my brain can’t focus on that much at once

[@melododie]

Same, when I watch KZbin too I comment on the video out loud. It's weird.

[@anabhousen7159]

@@melododie so then y'all have to read everything out loud? Wuuutt

[@melododie]

@@anabhousen7159 yeah, but only sometimes, I hear it in my head like I'm speaking most of the time though

[@maeganrose9591]

The way the guy jumped up and down and said ‘am I going to die?’ So gentle but high key concerned Lmao love him

[@Mackaygolf]

Can't stand being around people like him. Overt displays of irrational behavior are NOT an endearing character trait for me. Unpredictable behavior from people is NOT something I actively seek out.

[@AceMusicFreak]

When I just casually imagine things it's all abstract concepts but since finding out about aphantasia I found out that if I really focus on it I can get quite the clear picture, gives me quite the headache though I also don't have an inner monologue in the sense of words, I have concepts of the things going though my mind but it only takes the form of words when I'm actively storytelling or writing something down or thinking how I want to say something. Let me tell you it's really hard sometimes to put these abstract concepts into words that other people can understand

[@lilierdmann]

Oh yeeeees! I just talked about this to my friend yesterday, it is so frustrating. In my head its mostly shapes and movements and I think my mind can visually think, but when its possible it tunes it down to only the necessary structures. Nice to know I am not alone!

[@parrotreble8355]

Same!!! I have to really concentrate to hold a clear image in my mind, and I only ever think in words when hearing a quote or figuring out wording. I often end up gesturing or making sounds that make sense to me but not to anyone else really. Sometimes to find a word I have to gesture the concept/vibe of the word until I remember it or find a close enough word to use a thesaurus.

[@CaffeinatedTigress]

I still can't visualize things - at least, not when I'm awake. I swear I see things when I'm asleep and dreaming, but the moment I wake up - nope. Back to black. Inner monolog is similar. I've always explained my inner "dialogue" more as just an inner concept cloud. (and that phrase doesn't even do it justice.) For me, words and ideas have a 'feeling' to them. I don't have to have the words actually go through my mind to understand the idea or concept of what I'm thinking. It's all jumbled up. But if I need to convey what I'm truly thinking? It's like trying to reach into that cloud and grab at words that are dancing around like fish in a pool, darting away from shadows, and hoping the words you do get a hold of will actually make the same sense to others as it does to you. And then constantly apologizing that "no, I wasn't meaning this word in that sense. You're putting too much emotion onto it and I'm strictly talking about it in an unemotional context..."

[@danic9304]

I have a very weak mind's eye. If you tell me to visualise a particular thing I can only bring up the vaguest sense of it - but if I am daydreaming I can recall a tv scene vividly, or remember my Dad's face and the subtleties of his expression just for a moment before it loses definition.

[@socksamazingchannel]

Mines very very weak . After learning about this I spent 1 hour trying to visualize anything and I was able to clearly see a person riding a carosel with colors in a tiny "window" for about 5 seconds. It was weird because I didn't choose to think of that. But it makes me sad to realize I'm unable to see these images

[@DrCottes]

You can work on improving it! Look up image streaming for tips on how to improve it :)

[@danic9304]

@@DrCottes did not know that!Thanks:)

[@Money_Fox]

I'm similar

[@TiaTruly]

Brains are so strange and fun! When I can't sleep, I picture the floorplan of a friend's house/flat in my head and then proceed to fill it with my own furniture and decorations. It's very relaxing! My inner monologue is quite loud and can get a bit distracting.

[@kimberlybacco2247]

That’s so crazy. I have neither abilities. That sounds exhausting to always hear and or see things in your mind. I have thoughts but there is nothing there, just blankness and silence.

[@KaitLynnHt]

I just found out about aphantasia a few years ago. Before then I thought visualization was a metaphor. I couldn't memorize my music in marching band, mental math was futile, and I had given up on art, one of the only things I felt I was good at. I had so many ideas but I couldn't put them on paper. Later I found other artists could actually see their ideas and literally copy them from their minds picture. I felt cheated. Now I do geometric designs that I always enjoyed in school because I don't have to plan them. It's all spontaneous, I have no idea what it's going to look like until it's done. Now I have a coloring book out and a second one coming out soon. Knowing definitely makes a difference between being a failure and finding a way of thinking that works for you.

[@CaffeinatedTigress]

Another aphantasia here - I feel you on the marching band music. My only saving grace for that was I have an incredible pattern recollection. Legit - songs became the pattern of the order of which key presses I had to do and the length of each note and when to play was strictly linked with hearing the rest of the band. In the same vein, if you ask me to spell a word - I can't see it in my mind so instead I ghost type it as if I have a keyboard in front of me because ever since I had learned how to type properly, every word became a key stroke pattern. Ask me a word - I air type it. I also have to air write numbers to comprehend them. I definitely echo the sentiment of just needing to find a way of thinking that works for you. Grats on the coloring books!

[@alicedodobirb2808]

I think I have hyperphantasia and I do art and it is def not a cheat for me! My mind is so active it changes design like those videos of ai art but in my head lol. I love art but its so hard to get my ideas on something since the idea runs away lmao!

[@ericramos3589]

My inner monologue is too strong. Its like another me inside me. Most of the time its my voice, but sometime its other people's voice. Of course I can change the voice whenever I want.

[@phosphenevision]

Sometimes it's me but like me several times and they're having a conversation lol usually it's just 2 and one is meaner and the other is like stop it that's dumb. As a kid I pictured whole audiences reacting but they were also kind of...me?

[@talonarayan]

The way I describe mine is this. "It's your own voice played back at you like a recording."

[@destinyrickman4539]

i definitely have this, i thought i was totally normal until about 2 months ago. now i understand why i could never grasp the visual side of lessons when i was a kid when they use to tell you “okay now close your eyes and imagine ...”

[@lorraine-y3l]

I found out today that I have aphantasia. Knowing others actually can visualise images in their minds eye is like peeking in on an alien world 😮

[@Cyqnide]

I have aphantasia, but I have a strong inner monologue. I could talk to myself for hours about situations and be like "I wonder if I do this, do that, I wonder what goes on in their life, etc". I'm trying to learn how to lucid dream and I'm upset because I don't think I'd be able to do it.

[@Cyqnide]

I had a Lucid Dream on the 20th of March, but in the past week and a half I haven't been able to recall any dreams.

[@777Contradi]

@@Cyqnide how's it going now?

[@julesxjoules]

When i try to visualize something like an apple , it flashes in my mind and then it fades away ,can’t keep the image constantly in sight ,thought it was how everyone pictured things lol

[@peterbelanger4094]

What I get is a constantly morphing 3D scene of all the possible variations of the concept of 'apple'. Not just all the types of apples (red, gree, yellow, big, small), but apple computers and images of Steve Jobs. And then an extensive mesh of connections to everything else, like a giant map. The main point is that the 'image' is usually in perpetual flux, the more that is unknown about the 'apple'. Now if you say 'golden delicious', I get a stable image is a nice, juicy yellow apple that I can rotate around, smell, taste, & feel. Not only can I imagine that golden delicious apple, I can bite into it and taste it, because I have a memory of the experience. Mention a fruit I have never eaten or touched and it won't be like that. Others have described me as having a 'photographic memory'. But it's not just a 'photo', it's a full sensory scan in more than 2 dimensions. I don't really 'picture' things in my mind, I ''sculpt' and 'model' them.

[@Starlitwarrior]

Mine tends to flat, I can’t really imagine an apple with like three curves. Couldn’t tell you a thing about the skin of it. It’s automatically red, but I don’t necessarily see the red. Red just goes with apple. Weird.

[@JamesLikesIcedCream]

I cant imagine multiple colours on things, like the ball was slightly red but the table and background are black and white.

[@kaushalsuvarna5156]

Same the Apple flashes by almost instantly, no time for colours, textures, tables etc

[@aurora7934]

@@peterbelanger4094 Has your mind always worked like this? or have you trained your brain to achieve this level of immersion in visualization?

[@ivy7036]

My internal monologue is so loud and distinct that she can really piss me off sometimes. It’s basically everything I would be saying out loud if I was narrating my life, and when I’m alone I sometimes whisper it subconsciously. I did that typing this out to plan what I was going to say. Idk if any of that makes me weird but there you go

[@ritz7620]

I have aphantasia and I thought that when someone was saying to imagine something I believed it was a metaphor. And the only time I can visualize something is when I have lucid dreams which only happens about 2 times a year then when I wake up I can’t visualize it and I get super frustrated. And I have a vague inner monologue.

[@gaypotato17yearsago5]

I can imagine it if my eyes are open, I can’t see it but I can imagine it

[@alecpijloo9054]

Exactly this

[@asdanahohi749]

These people are in hyperphantasia, I am just like you and they confused me for once

[@Mokkari77]

John Green recently tweeted that he can't visualize things in his head. So only one of the Greeb brothers has aphantasia!

[@russella7263]

What I find interesting is that while I can’t picture anything when I’m awake, I can when I’m asleep and dreaming.

[@samdelacruz4319]

I love this, I get terrible anxiety because I am constantly thinking about thinking and feeling like I am visualizing things wrong? Its hard to explain but this was really comforting to watch.

[@ArtyMars]

Sam Delacruz same it's like I'm trying to think the thoughts or ideas into existence whereas others can just effortlessly see things in their minds without having to think about it or narrate the concept to themselves 😂

[@ccx7004]

Like Rowan, I constantly have songs running through my head. And they’re like the full recording, too, with instruments and background tracks and everything. I don’t know if I have an internal monologue - I sometimes do, and sometimes don’t. I also talk a lot in my head as though I’m explaining something to an imaginary person or I’ll make up conversations that haven’t happened yet. It’s a really interesting topic - how everyone thinks differently.

[@LinniC93]

I'm the same with the inner monologue! I talk to myself all the time inside my brain, as if I'm explaining or telling things to myself, and often the inner monologue becomes external cause it's easier (if no one is around to hear me talking to myself). I can also imagine conversations and scenarios that have never happened, even with people I have never met.

[@O_Gomestein]

Dude i do that too! But sometimes when a song is in my head and i forget part of it, it just starts looping up intil the part i cant remember and i can't make it stop

[@david2869]

Not only do I have an inner monolog in my own voice, I can accurately replicate voices of other people I can remember how their voice goes. Have you ever been woken up by the voice of someone calling your name out and you know that person can't have done that?

[@O_Gomestein]

@@david2869 that replicate voices part also happens to me, also the monolog in my own voice, but i dont get woken up by voices of someone

[@akiraraiku]

I m jealous

[@Kaiexists966]

Yeah my inner monologue is pretty much always on My mind can never be blank, if I’m not talking there’s a part of a song I like playing in repeat over and over 😭

[@lydiacochrane706]

SAME

[@dwaneanderson8039]

Ditto

[@stacker63]

this is FASCINATING well done guys! brilliant!

[@SciGuys]

thank you so much!

[@ghrbaa6727]

My ability to visualize my thoughts helped me pass medical school. I boosted my memorization efficiency by creating crazy mind map and mind visualization, tried to make the thoughts as funny and quirky as possible so I could memorize faster and absorbed more.

[@AtLeastTryALittle]

I am pretty sure I have somewhere along the lines of the highest degree of aphantasia and I also did really well in school all the way through a master's in behavioral psychology. School always seemed easy to me so I don't know if visualizing things necessarily would make it easier for me. Not that yours didn't help you. I'm sure it did a lot. Just interesting to point out that it can be done equally well just with a different method with aphantasia

[@thatonerandombooknerd1632]

i have aphantasia and every single english teacher i ever had told me that i didn't describe things enough and i was just like "why should i describe things if we can't visualise?" and years later (only from sci guys) i realised i have aphantasia and i understand

[@thisisme2681]

Yes, I agreed with Hank when he was asked about internal monologue. Everytime he asked someone, I was like how can they have an inner monologue when they are having an external one at the same time. Unless there are long pauses in conversation, I'd only be focused on what we're talking about.

[@NorahTheWiener]

The only thing that bothers me about having it is the fact that I can't visualize the faces of family members that have died.

[@Starlitwarrior]

Yesss! I can only get a vague image of my Grandma. I miss her so much, but I don’t unless I’m thinking about her.

[@fawn46n2]

I feel at a disadvantage in some ways as it relates to recall of information for academics and I don't like that BUT I agree that this is what I would say truly bothers me. I really love photos, always have, and I wonder how much this has played apart in that. When you think about a fire and the first things you'd want to retrieve (other than living people first, of course) my photo albums are one of the primary items. However, I can recall their voices and other sensations/feelings about them so I don't know if I should feel so bothered by the image part. However, since I've realized others can, it does bother me.

[@lyssvanessen7273]

For me it helps if you try to remember looking at a picture of the person or a single snap shot. Not just what the look like in general but, what did they look like in that moment where you were sitting together talking about how much you love each other. Where were you? What was the sun like? I can't always picture everything but if I consciously think about the details I can get a pretty complete picture.

[@akiraraiku]

I'm feeling so robbed by life since i dont have neither visualisation or an internal monologue. I miss so much. When i don t have external inputs, my mind is a dark void. I can think and *feel* the words but can't hear them nor hear songs.

[@bikeshop2002]

I understand if it's a struggle for you, but maybe you are actually more in touch with real life than other people because you don't have visualization and internal monologue in the way. people are constantly struggling to be "present" and you get to do that without years of training yourself not to get caught up in your imagination. I'd argue that you haven't been robbed of your life - maybe you've even lived your life more fully than most people because you're not lost in daydreams all the time.

[@ssskids123]

I discovered this a few years ago when describing a dream to my wife. ‘It was so vivid b/c it was narrated by more than one voice.” I knew something was up when she said “narrated?”. Thanks for doing this video…it’s so hard to imagine people visualizing things without their eyes open. :)

[@DoKuShOsTaR]

6:50 As a writer with aphantasia, this is 100% the truth. My focus on writing is heavy on dialogue, internal thoughts and reflection, and movement. Very little is spared for descriptive language outside of establishing the basics and describing movement in a scene. For example, I won’t heavily describe the beauty of a location, but I will say what is in that location as necessary or when a character is taking it all in. If something serves a purpose I'll mention it, like a sewing machine in the room to show a character's skill set. And if characters move places and positions I’ll say so, or I’ll describe their facial expression or similar type of things. When it comes to reading, anything with a lot of descriptive writing is so boring to me. I can appreciate that it sounds nice, but my inability to picture anything means that past a sentence or two of it, I'll start skipping to when characters are thinking, doing, or speaking again lol.

[@ninjaofinvisibility1482]

When I watch videos with talking or especially questions in them (like this one), my internal monologue usually participates in the conversation. I almost always have an internal monologue unless I'm speaking. I have a song in my head more than half of the time lol

[@fawn46n2]

Same - this describes my inner monologue experience very closely.

[@Envy_May]

"more than half of the time" ? i can't even really think of a single time in my entire life there's been NO music in my head

[@redacted6813]

I don't get the 'picture a red 5 point star' example. Like, I can _picture it,_ but there's no light behind my eyes.

[@bikeshop2002]

some people can't picture it at all. like their imagination is just visually blank. no one who pictures things actually SEES things (unless they are hallucinating, or maybe hyperphantasic), but some people do not have the ability to visually imagine things, or they can only imagine things in shades of grey, etc. I think it's a spectrum. So for the people who picture something like 1 or 2 on that star grid when they are told to picture a red, 5 point star, what they do is think of the concept of a red star but not a visual representation in their mind. They conceptualize without a visual component, and for each person that's different. For example, some might simply imagine the words (with no visual component) "red, 5 pointed star." People with this type of brain would probably function really well if they had to adjust to being blind - because they don't think visually anyway.

[@asdanahohi749]

If you can imagine you’re fine, if you can see you’re abnormal

[@Spooffasa]

I have Aphantasia and till I knew about it and inner monologue, my closest to inner monologue was literal just saying words very very quietly. If someone were to xray me see how my mouth was moving and happened to know what words look like in that sense. That person would be able to see all of my inner monologue.

[@mckaymch]

The words in my head are absolutely non-stop. I have a constant running monologue. I envy people who can “shut” their brains off. WTF?!

[@bevgordon7619]

I don’t have a mind’s eye. But, I often have great non-visual musings, imaginings which I turn into my drawings. These become my external worlds of imaginative, whimsical or dramatic imagery. It is while i am drawing out my preliminary pencil-lines, there is where ‘images’ evolve, on paper. Maybe ‘cuz I don’t see internally, that is why external stimuli are part of my process. Waiting for inspiration takes on a new meaning, now I think about it. Thanks, Sci Guys for this episode! P.S. Aphantasia, as I understand it, as a ‘title’ for the lack of a mind’s eye, was coined pretty recently. Well, I recommend everyone read Oliver Sack’s ‘Mind’s Eye’. Another fascinating book of his. He wrote it before aphantasia became what it is now.

[@shad0wdream]

It has been SO strange to me, learning about this. I have never actually SEEN an image in my head, but I KNOW precisely what something looks like. And it becomes more specific the more I think about it. So if you say, picture an apple, it might be a red apple, but it also is a green apple, and then when I think about it more closely, I fill in the details, like the type of apple, the blotches on the skin, what it might smell like and taste like. I know where those blotches are, but I don't actually see them. As far as inner monologue goes... I am more like Rowan. It's rare I don't have something running through my head, either a monologue or music. Sometimes I think in concepts, but more often it's words, even if they're not full sentences. It's so interesting how everyone's mind works a little differently!

[@elinehegrand5487]

hi! i have Aphantasia and i dont have a inner monolog either. so when the teacher have that test that they say a word and you have to write down what you think of first, or like "imagine sheeps hopping over a fence to sleep" wasnt making sense to me. i only see black void. im jealous that people can imagine their loved ones, their memories, their future, etc.

[@glitterginger]

I can see things. Touch things. Taste things. Things are so vivid. Since a young child I have had dreams that were like reality. I could also lucid dream, changing my dreams as they were happening. I never knew other people could NOT do these things.

[@evad520]

What makes this even more amazing, is that there are some pretty prominent theoretical physicists and mathematicians that are theorizing that when we dream at night we're actually traveling consciously into other dimensions. And if that is true, that would suggest that people who have better visualization skills actually have an ability to see into other dimensions. I have hyperfeditasia to the point that I can imagine things happening while I'm looking at reality. Which isn't all that rare.

[@MikuMiku399]

It’s so strange because I can visualize things, but I also can’t! Like, I can’t actually SEE them, but I can keep track of where and what things are supposed to be in different places on my “screen” that is completely black. It’s almost like everything has it’s own little symbol and I can like… place them in different areas, but they are in no way visible. I can just keep track of their existence and their presence in my brain. So like, I could design a room in my head, and I could keep track of where everything is in the room and what color everything is supposed to be, but I could never actually SEE it. It would all just be black.

[@nickjunes]

I have a hyper realistic imagination. That's probably why I can spend so much time laying in an empty room doing nothing. In my mind I'm doing all kinds of things, solving the worlds problems, inventing things, writing things etc..

[@sharvo6]

Could never do that "Memory palace" type of exercise for remembering facts. You have to be able to visualize a room before being able to visualize facts placed in a room. I knew I wasn't normal but just kept it to myself for most of a lifetime. Knowing there's now a name for it doesn't really change anything.

[@bariumselenided5152]

Bro, I’m exactly with that lady who said a mix of 1 and 6 . I know what it _feels like_ to look at a red five point star, I guess. And I can define it, could give you the wavelength of light it gives off and the angles that make it up. But I don’t think I really _see_ it. It’s not even like it’s a fuzzy image or a silhouette, it’s just like I can feel its presence in my mind but not detect it any other way.

[@missbeaussie]

To not have an internal monologue is wild to me. Both my subconscious and conscioud mind won't shut up. Having none sounds like a beautiful holiday.

[@laurenh6668]

The 'am I going to die' panic was so funny. I have aphantasia and have no idea how I got a B in my art GCSE without being able to visualise things!

[@PBMS123]

Like tom, my internal monologue gets anxious? thats the best way I can describe it, and it talks so quickly, and I find I almost can't control it.

[@ogyanabear]

Roly literally has me in tears from laughing . he is so cute . * am i going to die ?? * in his accent 😭 why was he confused lmao

[@80SivaD80]

SAME! It was so cute and funny 😆

[@mcchilde2903]

Ikr i dont even know who that is, but it was so cute the way he spoke

[@ryandthatsit6323]

I don't think it's to do with visualising actual things, but when I was younger I used to "see" a different face for each day of the week. Never really acknowledged it, it just happened every time I heard the days. One time I thought "Hang on.. why does Sunday have more freckles?" which was such a weird question that I finally noticed the faces and after acknowledging it, they went away and I can't picture them since. That's why I refuse to consciously think about what my bar looks like in the "A guy walks into the bar" joke, I probably like my bar and don't want to lose it forever.

[@jumokeogunsola9549]

wait so you used to associate faces with particular days? like how those with synestesia associate colors with different concepts? or am i misunderstanding? as a total aphansatiac this is so fascinating to me

[@harrietokeefe9658]

What I find interesting is that I can't picture a single thing if I try to but I have really vivid dreams so clearly my mind must be capable of doing it. I could be right in the middle a scene in my dreams surrounded by buildings and looking at people etc but then as soon as I wake up it all completely disappears.

[@em_pen]

I find that quite interesting! I have aphantasia and can't picture anything in my head, not even if I stare at it for a minute first to 'save' the information. In dreams I have an idea of what things look like but I don't know if I'm building the image description or actually seeing it - the same way I build an image in my head if someone asks me to picture a beach... I build it with words, not images, and I can only hold on to a few things (so if I'm asked to imagine a person walking on the beach, the whole beach is gone because I have to build the idea of the person). So weird finding out a while back that other people actually do picture things. I'm trying to teach myself to do it now! No idea if that's possible, but I'm working on it and wondering if I can build up that brain power to make it happen... I guess I'll find out some day.

[@_miichu_]

If only I didn't have it... I wonder what's it like to see colors when you close your eyes, sounds interesting

[@Nerdfighter958]

Lol when I was younger I used to watch movies in my head during church because I was so bored. I could picture everything just like I was watching it. I can usually do it with my eyes open too

[@connorunderwood3224]

I always thought it was just me who couldn't visualise images until literally last night, and it was like a slap in the face to realise people could actually close their eyes and see something, because I've never been able to do that. My dreams are the same, i am a voice in a black void, no images just my voice. I've always had a good minds ear, nose etc but a blank minds eye

[@fawn46n2]

I'm interested as they study this more, just how frequent those with aphantasia do not dream in pictures or as some report, they say they don't dream at all, or cannot remember them so they assume they aren't dreaming. I have aphantasia in waking life but not when I dream. My dreams are like my real life or a movie in their clarity and vividness and I lucid dream quite often.

[@bikeshop2002]

most people don't close their eyes and "See" anything other than the back of their eyelids, but they can vividly imagine images. Just like imagining a song/getting a song stuck in your head but not actually "hearing" it out loud

[@asdanahohi749]

@@bikeshop2002 fax, they are in hyperphantasia ( I was confused at the beginning ngl)

[@Envy_May]

this makes me wonder if there are people who have no mind's ear, nose etc

[@stephss]

Half a century into my life, and now this is being spoken about everywhere. Hopefully, less people feel alienated.💌

[@daniel_rossy_explica]

I do this test of "visualize an apple" every time I get the oportunity to talk about aphantasia. People usualy get intrigued when I tell them I cannnot, and freak out when they realize nor can they.

[@c4k3yyz]

my brain is so strange. no mental imagery, barely a internal dialogue ( how loud are those supposed to be anyway? i don't hear a clear voice in my head at all, but i can still read without doing it out loud ), and i can't replay other people's voices in my head. there's no visual or auditory stuff going on. it's a hassle now that i know the majority of this world has it better than me. i really hope doctors look into this more

[@c4k3yyz]

another thing about internal dialogue, I always have control over it. Like for example, as I'm writing this I'm just repeating the words I'm typing in my head. my internal dialogue never says anything by itself.. hm wait, now that i think about it, i has done it sometimes, and it's usually disturbing thoughts like "what if you stabbed yourself with that knife over there" or just saying mean things about myself. it's seriously odd.

[@echannel6162]

Been looking forward to this

[@AuDHDVee]

So strange thing I'm only JUST realizing today, at the age of 37 years 4 months and 12 days of life... I don't see anything when I try to visualize with my eyes closed, I have a conceptualized idea that's usually more feeling and words, but when I imagine or visualize mentally with my eyes OPENED, I can see a nearly clear picture that's a bit fuzzy around the edges. I was talking to my partner about it and he was talking about bars that he's got a vague idea of because he'd seen them so much, but he's entirely dark mentally and I could see both the bar from Cheers and the bar from How I Met Your Mother in my head with my eyes still open. Human brains are so fascinating 0_0

[@alphadog3384]

I think their is a continuum of process here, not just one factor. Age, Emotional Health, Past Experiences, Learning Abilities, Language Skills.

[@spiritnarrative6317]

great, now i cant stop seeing this bigass red star before my eyes. thanks

[@Envy_May]

i'm not surprised to learn tom scott's internal monologue speaks really really fast

[@alex_skates6115]

I could picture things with my eyes opened but it’s hard to picture things with my eyes closed.

[@AdityaPrasad007]

Like augmented reality?

[@alanonline4303]

I don't feel I have trouble imagining things, but I did NOT "see" that red star. I felt it. I don't know how else to say it. For the ball on the table, I did have colors, but I didn't see them. I just conceptialized them. The weird thing though is I HAVE used the mind palace technique to remember things, and it DID work for me. I also used to do that thing as a kid where you picture something running alongside the car. I didn't "SEE" it visually, but I felt it was in my "imagination." I'm so confused, and having a minor identity crisis right now.

[@meegull]

I’ve read through the hundreds of comments in this thread and this one is the closest to my experience, the one that has almost hit the nail on the head.

[@kimberlybacco2247]

I can’t see in my mind and no internal monologue. Its mind blowing to me that people have those things. Sounds stressful and loud internally.

[@caraelaine4198]

Same … I am a very laid back person and this explains why 🤣

[@leookamisenpai17]

When I read books it’s like I’m wearing a VR headset and watching a movie. I can’t see my own surroundings but I’m consciously reading the book and watching it all play out. I also do other voices which is why I love reading

[@nancys8581]

Exactly! When I read a novel, I stop seeing the words and can't hear people talking to me. My husband has to come poke me to get me attention.

[@ishtiaqueahmed903]

Yes, same to me. Like I ascend to a higher plane when I am reading books, and everything around me vanishes until someone calls out loudly or poke. 😂

[@sailorr]

something ive always wondered is: do people actually see things when they imagine?? :O i can clearly imagine and "trace" images in my mind, but not physically see them. ex: when i imagine something red, i *know* its red as opposed to any other color, but i dont actually *see* the color red the language used to talk abt imagination is so nebulous that ive never known if ppl actually *see* things or not lol :"]

[@xoxxobob61]

@sailorr I'm actually quite surprised that some people don't see mental images in their mind when they imagine things. This entire subject fascinates me because I never knew it existed until recently.

[@robertgronewold3326]

Yep, when I picture things, I can see them VERY vividly. Like, I can even impose my imagined thoughts like a hologram over reality. If I am thinking of new furniture for a room, I can look at a blank space and just picture different kinds of sofas against a wall, and they are almost real to me.

[@hanabanana7041]

@@robertgronewold3326 Projecting imagination is prophantasia which is different.

[@impmind7734]

I think I can imagine things just very weakly. I think I can see colours but also I’m really not sure 🤷‍♂️

[@MandaPanda254]

I cannot coprehend people actually seeing things in their mind, crazy!

[@AmalaFrequents]

Do you have an inner monologue? -unplugs headphones- -silence- stares out window - 'I must be thinking something?' -inner conscous voice says- -more silence- -motorbike goes past- Brain: >> And that was when I realised that my thoughts were just sounds, impressions, shapes, and light. Verbal thoughts are like if I was having a conversation with someone and actively thinking about what to say. Also explains why my autistic self can go non-verbal when tired.

[@watermeloncreampop331]

This is exactly how I am I’ve never been able to visualize and I’m always constantly just thinking with my monologue

[@lukecoleman3643]

It's weird, I remember being able to see things in my head but I can't anymore. I still dream often in full color though. I've never had a nightmare and can't imagine senses either

[@dalegreer3095]

When I was a kid, my inner monologue would sometimes get louder and louder until it was shouting. It could be so loud! It scared me, so I guess I got control over it, but I still fear it. Sometimes when I'm having an inner monologue, or dialogue, I get this anxiety that it might get loud again, and I won't be able to control it. I'm like the aqua haired lady as far as that goes, my mono/dialogue is going all the time, except when I have music in my head, or I'm listening to ambient sounds. I don't listen to music much, even though I'm a musician, because it interrupts what's going on in my mind. I also compose music in my head.

[@chrys77cross]

When I'm making a grocery list I will browse through my small local grocery store in my mind's eye and as I browse past the merchandise I'm reminded of things I need or could use and write my lists that way. No, I do not meal plan, lol.

[@liljaalbers7128]

i do this too but not visually, i just remember really well where everything is in the grocery store. not too detailed though, it’s just the “sections” that i know of where they are and what would be there. (like, if i remember the section at the fruits it reminds me that i might get some apples)

[@liljaalbers7128]

in most cases if i “imagine” things it’s just recalling a memory of a time i was there, usually the most recent one. i was at the store today so if i had to imagine something about it it’s just remembering what it looks like

[@Maxskinen]

5:56 I can relate to that. And when the music is not playing in my head, I make geometrical patterns using my feet to "draw" the patterns. Also rubbing my thumb against another finger to the point that those fingers I rub have VERY shiny nails from all the rubbing. I am diagnosed with bipolar type 2 but I believe that all of these habits are common across a lot of mental issues

[@kayleeastrange]

it makes me so sad that i can’t picture stuff in my head

[@danielpaulson8838]

I can do both. I can feel the heat and hear the crackling of a campfire, dancing in the evening breeze. I can see the Milky Way when I close my eyes. I can imagine being a red corpuscle flowing in veins. And I can read Genesis and lock onto every structured monomyth nested in the analogs. That's all it is. Templates. I see them in other myth and religions too. Some people notice similarities between material from antiquity. I see the two, mentally conceptual templates that frame the goofy stories and that they are identical at that level.

[@IceMetalPunk]

I'm more of a 4 on that red-star chart, but like Dr. Page, I also "know conceptually" enough about what I'm imagining to describe it as a 6. But I do absolutely have an inner monologue, punctuated by songs like Rowan. Honestly, I think in language so much that I can't even imagine how I'd ever figure anything out, or truly understand anything, without describing it in words. I often think out loud -- "talk to myself" if you like, though I don't answer back like a conversation 😅 -- because that helps me think even more clearly. I guess this is a big part of the reason that my creative outlets are "I suck at visual art, but I love writing and programming", since those are more language-focused. Brains are weird on the whole, and thinking about how other peoples' brains work differently from your own is even weirder.

[@ixth3524]

Im so lost rn. I never thought about actually focusing on color or definite shape. The red star is like a 2 or a 3 for me. My mind tells me the star is there but i cant actually visualize clearly. But i swear I remember my dreams having color.

[@raynac224]

2:00 so I can kinda identify with the 1 and 6 answer. I am building a definition of how I visualise I call conscious aphantasia. If you ask me to straight up hard focus on visualization its 1. but if I get caught up in a story and let my mind wander my subconsious will generate vivid imagery. the moment my conscious mind trys to get involved it returns to 1. Like for this question I got caught up in the moment and my mind got caught up in the moment and i first saw the outline of a start and then each point had a circular point of yellow light appear on it and that 5th of the star turned red and then the yellow circular light disappeared. and at the end I saw 6 clearly. but the moment I looked at the chart and became fully aware of what I was doing I could not return to 6 no matter how hard I tried! I just stayed at 1. It explains how if I get caught up in a book or am dreaming or am listening to a description in dnd and get caught up in the moment i can see things. key term caught up in the moment. But if you ask me to picture a beach... nothing. how something will look nothing. the more focused I am the worst the visual. the more unfocused the better.

[@richmon78]

"a man walks into a bar"....I've never pictured a bar or even considered the concept that people would actually picture a bar when listening to a joke. Crazy how our minds work.

[@saintblades]

I would have just asked, “Can you hear your thoughts?”

[@literal-tree]

wow this is such a cool lineup of youtubers

[@mariabella19]

I might have partial or something. I see all the colors and images, but like with a fog over it. As if ghostly. So, I saw star number 3. I can't believe people could see 6, exactly. That's remarkable.

[@boxmanatee]

Love the "am I going to die" guy's reaction.

[@pixxiestix666]

I am so fascinated by this. I see darkness behind my eyes but in my mind's eye I see everything clearly. And I see it better with my eyes open. It's weird I don't know what that is.

[@Fruityflootloops]

3:25 omg now that Hank mentions it there is a bar!!!!

[@carpdog42]

I already knew I had Aphantasia before watching this.... but I am 1:10 in right now and I had to pause and comment to say.... the reaction inside my head is absolute incredulousness. You saw the pixar ball? I saw black on black. I saw the outline of a table with a ball sitting on it.... in a negative space of darker black on a dark grey background. When he said push the ball, nothing changed. I swear all this talk of pixar balls feels like everyone else is cheating at life and I am playing on hard mode.

[@Explainmerandom]

I see a white ball with noisy stripes, on a black to white morphing gradient table, and when pushing it off it has no physics, just moves at right angles. UNTIL the prompt is more specific, tell me its a tennis ball on a CHEAP wooden table. Then everything fills in at a depth and detail that is crazy. The table even has stains and patches of chipped out wood, texture, stickiness, has splintered sections on the side, very detailed wood grains. Parts will be dirty. Same with the tennis ball, it has detailed small splits in the rubber, dark spots vs lighter ones, a certain fluffyness to the pulp. The green yellow and a gradient dependint on its most lit and darker side, it'll posses weight and move with implied physics. It weirded me out because, on one side if it doesn't trigger its literally about as imaginative as black and white tetris on a broken/glitching screen. Or it can even be blank and I only know of it in terms you describe but see nothing. But the moment you give enough of the right trigger, it explodes into view like something out of the matrix with more details than you can count. I also have a weird form of synaesthesia though, it is also selective like this. So normally I won't have anything, but if I'm highly skilled at something or in a heightened state, or focus on something closely, I will get auditory and visual synaesthesia. Thinking on this reminds me why I sometimes have trouble writing consistently because my imagination morphs in and out. I figure I'll have to select a mode and learn to trigger it consistently to manage it.

[@Christobanistan]

I remember that scene from The Ring where the chick crawls out of the TV. I see the clip in my head vividly (that moment scared me to death!), with details, but I admit when I bring up most memories, the colors aren't vivid. I think that scene was black and white, actually! :D

[@melodycuthbert4840]

I picture my words appearing on a page that represents my brain. Other times I hear my voice talking, saying my thoughts aloud. Other times it’s like watching video, seeing me & other people interact/rehearse the scene so that if it happens IRL I’ll know what to say. I have a ton of details in pictures in my mind.

[@stationBob]

I only just found out about aphantasia and I find it funny that, when trying to find an analogous "unusual brain processing situation", almost everyone brings up colourblindness. Given that I am colourblind and therefore have a lifetime of experiencing the astonished reactions from people when I try to explain how colour is changeable to me, depending on what I am told by colour-sighted? (lol) people about the things we can see around us, I can imagine how this is a fair comparison. It must be equally strange for people with Aphantasia to realise that they do not really remember, or simulate the world in the same way that they naturally assumed other people do. And yet we all do our best to get along and accept each other 😊

[@AmandaHugandKiss411]

To the blue haired girl, you can train your mind to be completely silent. When I was in my 20s my mind had dialogue and music constantly but I learnt a technique to silence my mind. You start first with meditation and silencing your mind, the once this is mastered now you'll know what it feels like to have a silent mind. Then you practice silencing your mind while being out in public and eventually you be able to just silence it at will.

[@suzicq]

But why would you want to silence it?

[@CrankyGrandma]

I have an internal monologue and sometimes it’s external, and I can visualize things very clearly and vividly. I was so surprised to find not everyone has this. I also assign colors, sounds, and sometimes smells to things or ideas that don’t actually have them. For example the number 5 is light blue.

[@ladykoiwolfe]

For ten years I was in therapy where thez tried to get me to meditate through visual cues. It never works for me. I can meditate by letting my mind go blank because that's just natural for me. I definitely have an internal monologue through. It can go on and on and on. Stopping that is a bit of a trick.

[@b.rosebulmahn4600]

I don’t have a mental image, but I’ve always had a mental monologue. Kinda like mental radio 24/7; I can sing entire songs in my head or carry on imaginary conversations but I cannot picture anything consciously