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183 points petalmind | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.206s | source
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andy99 ◴[] No.45763166[source]
I’ve read tons of these and still have no idea if I have aphantasia or not. I can’t understand whether people just have different ways of describing what’s in their minds eye or if there’s really a fundamental difference.
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teamonkey ◴[] No.45766116[source]
I have aphantasia. I know what something looks like, I just can’t see it.

It’s not like a written or verbal list though. I also have no internal voice so that wouldn’t make sense. It’s just like the concept of what I’m thinking of is right there in all its detail. Its extremely spatial - I’m thinking in 3D even if I’m not visualising it.

On the visual side, sometimes if I try hard I can make out an amorphous blob. Mostly colourless, though sometimes it has some abstract colours. Trying to recall actual detailed features is very hard, especially faces.

Occasionally I get memory flashes which are more like actually seeing a photograph in my head, but they last a fraction of a second and can’t be done on demand. Sometimes I have dreams which are more visual. This is how I know that my normal way of thinking isn’t visual.

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kraftman ◴[] No.45766152[source]
If you think about something famous, like the Eiffel tower, or big ben, you don't picture them?
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ncruces ◴[] No.45767172[source]
No, not at all.

A simple test I've seen mentioned is, ask someone this: “imagine a car, a fast car, zipping through a windy road… ok? (pause) now, what color was the car you saw?”

If you even need to think about it, you hadn't seen it.

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1. zajio1am ◴[] No.45771490[source]
That does not match my experience. I can imagine things, but details are limited to properties i intentionally think that the imagined object should have.