To ask if you see pictures in your "mind's eye"?

[MakeItRain]

I was reading about "aphantasia" and realised that it applies to me to a large extent. It's when you have no visual pictures going on in your head. So if someone says "imagine a beach, what can you see?" I was shocked to realise that some people can see the whole beach with colour and detail. Where even is this picture? I get a sort of vague sense of sand and waves, but no detail or colour. I realised it's probably linked to my appalling ability to recall faces.
What do you see if you're asked to "imagine a beach?"

Sorry I didn't mean to enable voting!

I see the beach in my home town. I can’t see an imaginary beach, only one that exists iyswim.

I can imagine a beach! Both ones I’ve visited and imaginary ones. Isn’t that why it’s called the ‘mind’s eye’??

Yes, I’m like this. It’s like an Imaginary TV screen in my chest. If I am solving sums I “see” the numbers there too.

Most of my thoughts appear like a film rather than pictures, ie with sound and visuals. So if I imagine a beach I sea sands, sun parasols,a beach ball children playing, can hear the sound of the waves, seagulls flying overhead and the echoing sound of children playing.

I memorise things by taking a picture of it in my head

I can imagine a beach easily. It's in colour, very detailed and I can hear sounds as well when I think of it.

But can you see details and colour? I can get a vague image of sea and sand but not really any detail going on!

My daughter has this. She's 15 and has ASD (not sure if that has a bearing on it). She's completely unable to picture things in her mind's eye, yet is also really creative!

I see pictures. I could totally see a beach. I’m not good at faces though. I can see people’s bodies and hair but faces not so much. I always imagine in pictures. Sounds and smells and noise too. Don’t know why.

I confess though that initially I didn’t have my glasses on and misread your post as ‘bleach’ and was imagining a bottle of bleach. The yellow one I have in my loo

I don't have a 'mind's eye' that I can use voluntarily.

I sometimes get involuntary flashes of images, triggered if someone says a word, or by a scent, but it's rare. I can't make it happen consciously and I can't 'hold on' to the involuntary images.

I always find it astounding to think that other people can picture things whenever they like!

I'm jealous! 😭 I never even thought about it until I read this article on aphantasia!

Some people don't have an internal monologue either.

I see vivid pictures in my mind of imagined things, have an internal monologue, and the monologue flips between two languages depending on where I am and who I'm with.

Now I'm "picturing" vague hazy bleach bottles 🤣 That's strange about the ASD link as I have lots of AS traits.

I have a very developed 'mind's ear' though, which I think is unusual. I can 'hear' music at will, to the point I can add in harmonies or remove percussion. I am a musician and have been playing since I was five, so I don't know if it's innate ability or a learned skill, but I don't know any other musicians who can do it to the extent I can.

I see things very vividly and can recall visual information (like facts from a book) by recalling the memory as if it’s on a movie screen and just reading it off (or re-viewing a picture, diagram eg ). It comes non very handy for exams!

People do vary a lot in this, though.

OP, what’s the colour of your front door?

I don’t have a minds eye. For a long time
I thought it was just a way of saying ‘think about’. I didn’t realise people were actually picturing the thing that they were thinking about! It makes me sad if I dwell on it too much, because I think it is also related to my terrible memory. I can remember facts really well and have always performed well in exams, but my recall of actual events is poor.

DH Appears to gave Aphantasia.

If I imagine person I know, I ‘see’ their face.

If he imagines them he ‘sees’ their name in text form.

Weird but explains so many rows we’ve had over the years where I’ve tried to explain how I want something in the house and he simply can’t picture it. Now I understand I draw things to show him.

I can create whatever I want to and “see” it very clearly. Same with sounds.

But can you see details and colour?

Yes

I'm autistic fwiw, so no, I don't think the ability to picture things inside your head in colour and detail is lost because of autism.

It might be a factor, but I've had this discussion elsewhere with predominantly NT people, and they are a total mix of yes/no as well.

I can't visualise stuff. I find anything that requires me to very boring.

I'm excellent at arranging stuff that's physically in front of me.

So, I can't imagine how to decorate a room or visualise what I want something to look like, but if someone put a range of paint colours and furnishings etc in front of me I can do a pretty good job without too,duh effort.

Yep, I can imagine pretty much anything!
I've had a really vivid imagination all my life - I could even hear the sea, not just see it

I can see the waves lapping on the pebbles, the sea frith growing in the dunes, the deckchair and windbreak gently waving in the wind, the blanket on the sand with a bag full of goodies for lunch.
I can smell the salt in the air - or maybe in my hair? and feel the sand in my jelly shoes.
And I can see my MAHOOSIVE sandcastle with flags and a moat (which I have to refill from a bucket)

I wish I was 7 again.

When I read, I always imagine the characters and scenes. It’s very real.

I’m the opposite. I ‘see’ everything (not mystic meg style! ).
Numbers especially and calendars. I have a very particular picture of the ‘year’ in my head and seasons / months have a particular space.

But can you see details and colour? I can get a vague image of sea and sand but not really any detail going on!

Yes, it's just as much of a surprise as seeing a new landscape you've not seen. So i read your sentence "picture a beach", closed my eyes, immediately saw yellow sand running down in front of me and breakwaters a bit like the East Coast of England, but also bronzed holidaymakers lying on towels, a woman in a floral bikini and a red fluttering beach umbrella to left of shot, and the sea itself was a more turquoise colour like the Med, it was very warm, and some gritty shells at my feet.

I didn't do anything consciously, I assumed the brain does it before I can consciously process the word "beach" into its associations.