aphantasia

I was about to ask you about it but then I realized you might be sick of questions. I only knew the dictionary definition so I googled and I found a great article about it by a co-creator of Firefox - Blake Ross.

Imagine a dog. Got it? I don’t. Here’s what it’s like to be unable to visualize anything. - Vox

I’ll quote a tiny bit as a taste…

Here are the top 20 questions I’ve gotten from friends and family.

1. Can you picture my face?

2. So you don’t know what I look like?

3. So you don’t recognize me when you see me?

4. How about picturing something simpler, like a red triangle, or the table right in front of you?

5. You’re just assuming that others can actually see things with their eyes. Nobody can do that, you hypochondriac.

6. Does this apply to other senses?

7. What is going through your mind all day, if not sights and sounds?

8. Do you dream?

9. How do you imagine things?

10. How do you masturbate?

11. Did you ever have surgery or an injury?

12. How many people have this experience?

13. How do you write fiction if you can’t visualize scenes?

14. How do you design product interfaces if you can’t visualize them?

15. How do you play the piano?

16. Can you draw?

17. Can you spell?

18. How do you navigate directions?

19. How could you go your whole life not knowing that I “see” mental images?

20. I don’t believe you.