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Some people can't see mental images

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183 points petalmind | 1 comments | 30 Oct 25 17:45 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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sharkjacobs ◴[30 Oct 25 18:14 UTC] No.45763206[source]▶
> He knew, of course, that people talked about “picturing” or “visualizing,” but he had always taken this to be just a metaphorical way of saying “thinking.” Now it appeared that, in some incomprehensible sense, people meant these words literally.

This is the quintessential aphantasic experience. I still struggle to believe that other people "see" things in their heads.

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ivape ◴[30 Oct 25 18:26 UTC] No.45763380[source]▶
So, if you watch a poor person begging for food on the street, how do you process that in the future? Do you rely on the remembered feeling and literal observation in words? How do you not remember what you saw?
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1. hvs ◴[30 Oct 25 18:43 UTC] No.45763664[source]▶
I "know" that I saw someone begging on the street. I might remember other "facts" as they seemed appropriate. But that's it. If you asked me what color their hair was or what they were wearing I would have no idea unless I had chosen to make a note of that fact.