AIBU to think aphantasia is not rare?

[Sunninginthecorner]

I was doomscrolling insta and a video came up about aphantasia.

Rather than explain what it is badly I found this:

Aphantasia is a condition in which people do not visualize, or see, images in their minds. This rare way of processing information and recalling memories affects about four percent of people. Close your eyes and imagine a fluffy cat. What color is the cat? What is the cat doing? When asked such questions, many people will conjure up a lifelike visual image. But others do not. People with aphantasia know they are thinking of a cat. They can even describe what a cat generally looks like. But they do so without “seeing” a cat in their mind. Instead of using their ‘mind’s eye,’ someone with aphantasia may think using words, numbers or ideas.

Brain scans show that people with aphantasia respond differently to sounds than people who use mental images.

I can’t see images and my very small poll IRL hasn’t found anyone who does see images.

IABU - you can see in images and it is rare
IANBU - you can’t see images and can’t believe it’s that rare

I honestly thought that everybody could see images in their minds. I'm really astonished to read all these comments. My mind is like a movie screen if I'm asked to visualise something and I see these images in great detail. When I'm reading, which I do a lot, I totally 'see' the action that's being described.

There really is no image. I struggle to describe places, usually landmarks that are there. I use descriptive. I really cannot conjure up an image. I didn't realise people could actually see the image in their head.

I also can watch autopsies and crime or horror but the images dont stay

I can visualise but not very detailed. My friend recently told me she cannot and also is very bad at recognising people, so it seems the two are linked. Like most brain functions, she thought everyone was the same as her until adulthood.

Me too, i was astonished when i found out that my partner can't. He doesn't even have visual dreams. He's much more verbal and he writes a lot, he struggles to draw even the simplest thing in front of him, and can't draw from imagination at all. He loves reading, but doesn't bother with fiction as he can't create the imaginary world in his head.

It’s very interesting isn’t it - I can’t visualise at all but I’ve got a brilliant memory for faces (even if it’s a very minimal interaction, if I see them again I’ll recognise them)

i can’t picture things at all, I used to love reading (less enjoyable now with reading glasses) - there have been lots of comments about books vs film versions of the books- even though I can’t see in pictures in my mind- I still would have a good grasp of how I ‘imagined’ characters or places from the original books, and would also have been disturbed if the film version deviated from the original text.
Likewise - I can easily remember what my old childhood home/room used to look like- just not in picture form.
My daughter also can’t see things in her head, but is an artist with a very vivid imagination which she uses everyday in her art.

This is interesting- I remember skipping over swathes of battle scenes when reading lord of the rings as a child - too much tedious detail afaiwc- but I loved the rest of the world building details. Now I prefer detail heavy non-fiction.

Whereas when I'm reading to my kids I’ll read the scary stuff but not the bits that evoked (in me) intrusive memories. I always assumed it would do the same to them.

We’re reading Jurassic Park and The Lost World atm and I skip some of the descriptions of how exactly people kick the bucket. I can’t think how I could test this without risking really messing them up!

This has slightly blown my mind. I had no idea everybody doesnt picture 'an apple' in their head for example.

Now waht to find out if anyone I know thinks like this!

Ok it’s very very hard to explain but I would say I hold a “conceptualisation” of the house. So I can sort of spatially move around inside my mind where the different rooms, windows, doors are. I can remember key facts but yes, they are just words not images. Hence why I can’t remember things like the carpet or wallpaper because my memory forgot those facts and I don’t have an image to fall back on.

it’s like if you said “imagine a horse” I imagine a concept of a horse. If you asked what colour was the horse, I couldn’t tell you because I didn’t conjure an image! I can then make up its brown, and add that to the concept.

I have to curate quite carefully what I read. It works its way into my dreams and my dreaming imagination can massively out horror the original author. I find Stephen King an amazingly competent writer but after some nasty experiences, I never read his books.

Yes, same, I can appreciate the idea of a horse in my mind, including the shape and movement, but I'm not seeing it, there is no visual.

Yes exactly! So if you said draw a horse I could draw it because I have the concept of a horse in my mind. It must be boggling to those who can visualise, because even writing it out sounds crazy!

Can you hear it? Imagine the smell, thick wiry mane and it's hot breath when you feed it?

If I think about it, I can think of the sounds that a horse makes, a huffing sound springs to mind for example. But it's not coming out of a horse, I'm just thinking about the sound really. I feel like I can almost hear it. Neighing is harder, I know horses neigh and of course recognise neighing, but I can't even get a snatch of what it sounds like in my head.

Definitely can't imagine the smell. I wasn't thinking about a wiry mane or hot breath. Now you mention then, I can think about them, but I'm not seeing or feeling them and my idea of a horse didn't have that kind of detail.

That's incredible! I briefly tried mushrooms but they just made me paranoid-I don't think I took enough. I did get some geometric shapes that I could actually see eyes open on the ceiling but I was kinda hoping for more. Won't be trying again anytime soon though!

I think what you saw is more impressive than general visualisation that most of us can do, sounds really magical. I'm actually imagining it in my minds eye now lol.

But yeah it's such a fascinating subject!

Thanks for indulging me, that's really interesting!

I've just tried the same with my partner anf youngest son. My son can picture, feel and smell the horse, my parter is like you and can only construct the concept of a horse.

My partner is very verbal and reads a lot, he loves listening to the radio and discussing ideas and recalling historical events, but he has no "mind's eye" at all.

Yes that's exactly it. How interesting-I had assumed if you could do it with one sense you could do it with all but I guess it varies. I have a "minds eye" equivalent for every sense. But yeah it's like that-I don't actually see a scene I just imagine it the same as you can imagine a song but not really "hear" it.

Your poll doesn’t make sense so I don’t know what to vote. When I first heard the term I discussed it with my partner and was surprised to find he doesn’t visualise images or see things in his ‘mind’s eye’ and he thought it was just a figure of speech. I’ve since discussed it with quite a few people and I don’t think it’s that rare at all. People are used to their own way and don’t realise some people literally ‘see’ things differently. I’d say it was much more like 60/40 of the people I’ve discussed it with. His whole family don’t visualise, whereas mine do.

I think it probably is. My DN has ASD and aphantasia too.

I don’t know about the condition until I heard this on BBC sounds. DM was diagnosed a little later.

Wow so can you imagine smells and tastes too? I only have sound. And my sound has the limitation that it’s only ever my voice 😅 so even if i think about the song bohemian rhapsody it’s just me singing it not Freddie! I’m missing all the others, I just have me jabbering away in my head!

I have smells, tastes and touch when I imagine things and in my dreams.

That's facinating, so you don't hear all the instruments like the actual song playing in your head? It's just you in there? What if it's a song you are unable to sing irl, are you able you do it in your head?

My partner is like this, no images, no music, just his thoughts as concepts and monologues. Sometimes i think he's missing out, but i also think it gives his thoughts a lot more clarity. He's not as easily distracted as i am, he stays on task and is generally more focused.

Oh wow, I know I have aphantasia so can’t see images, but had never thought about the rest! Other people when they think of a song hear it as if it’s played on the radio? The singers voice & the music?!! My mind is actually blown. I just have my own voice in my head, constantly!! Annoyingly.