Current Events > Today I learned I have aphantasia and people really can visualize things

(+) Yeah! (+)

Pus_N_Pecans posted...

I mean, you dont necessarily have to draw things anyway. You could try to work in a more abstract way and see if anything comes from that? Im not really sure, but it seems like something you might be able to try.

I actually really haven't tried much of anything abstract at all, what I've been interested in has usually been more of the realistic drawing stuff. I should try it either way. And now that I've been sitting here thinking about this, I'm wondering if it would help me to try writing what I imagine down with as much detail as I can so that I can use that like a reference. Like you said, so much of it is based on visual references, and since I can't pull those up the way that others can, I can't really imagine a whole picture at once the way that I assume others can. I have to go more piece by piece the way that a writer would describe a scene.

Doe posted...

I don't understand the whole internal monologue thing

If you are constantly thinking with your talking voice then you must be........dumb. like, that's so slow. You can only speak so fast

No it is way faster. You perceive it as if it was the same speed. Like I already repeated this sentence several times in my head before I finished typing it.

*aimed at Tenlaar

I think thatd be an interesting experiment. Youve got a unique perspective.

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Gah, is my interest in realistic drawing even rooted in my inability to imagine the abstract!? I wasn't prepared for this level of self discovery today, WTF TC.

I am 36 years old and I have never had a conversation about this in my life before. The more I think about it, I feel like I did have it somewhat as a child but it got progressively worse to the point where it is full on. Thinking back now, it was the early to mid 20's where my passion for fun time fantasy reading really took the most dramatic dive and I switched more to visual mediums, which makes sense in a way as my brain hit it's final stages of development until I was left with just a void where the visual imagination should be. I can still enjoy reading, it's just...not the same. And it's especially not the same for what I call "popcorn fantasy," generally dumb action packed stuff like the Drizzt books or whatever.

mobilebloechel posted...

That's crazy, I'm like the polar opposite of TC as I have Synesthesia, where I can even taste colors and shapes along with visualizing them.

that's fucking wild. i'm jealous.

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Mecha Sonic posted...

that's fucking wild. i'm jealous.

I heard its a bit of a curse of they associate something with a disgusting or negative taste.
thinking about it I bet aphantasia would be helpful in not getting horror movie images stuck in your mind before sleeping.

mobilebloechel posted...

That's crazy, I'm like the polar opposite of TC as I have Synesthesia, where I can even taste colors and shapes along with visualizing them.

@mobilebloechel

Dude that's nuts. Can you describe what they taste like?

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Vaati_Reborn posted...

Reading about it is pretty cool though, such a wide spectrum of experiences. When someone says "close your eyes and think of a square" i don't see shit, never have. I thought it was just a figure of speech kinda thing my whole life lmao.

I think the most interesting thing is how it effects peoples dreams, i dont seem to have any issue with that in fact i used to be plagued by visual realistic nightmares a bit as a kid. i'd have nightmares and dreams that continued for weeks just where I left off before waking up.

being able to voluntarily visually see things sounds cool and overwhelming at the same time though. low key kinda jealous now

When someone tells me to close my eyes and visualize TC I dont see shit. Never have.

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Are people supposed to be able to see a visual just as real and clear as if you were seeing them with your eyes? If that's the case I guess I have aphantasia too. I can imagine what some things look like very vaguely but I never have an actual visual of them I can "see", if that makes sense.

Storm101 posted...

Are people supposed to be able to see a visual just as real and clear as if you were seeing them with your eyes? If that's the case I guess I have aphantasia too. I can imagine what some things look like very vaguely but I never have an actual visual of them I can "see", if that makes sense.

There's different levels of visualization. If you are unable to voluntarily visualize anything, as in no vague form or anything, you have aphantasia.

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Rhylos posted...

Almost as crazy as the people who don't have internal monologues.

I still refuse to believe this is a thing.

Some of this is sounding pretty familiar. I used to be an avid reader, but I was always frustrated at how I couldn't visualize the settings or characters I was reading about. They were just words on a page. I always wondered if it were different for other people, but I've never actually heard of this. It also gets me with music. I tried to learn the guitar and I could play chords fine, I could read sheet music and play it okay, but take that away and tell me to play what I hear or play something original and I've got nothing. Just sit there helplessly like a loser. It was so humiliating I dropped the guitar to avoid that feeling.

mobilebloechel posted...

Kinda, so essentially there are several different versions, but what it comes down to in my condition is everything I touch, i taste. Now I don't notice it with food, cause if I touch it I'm probably gonna eat it in like 4 seconds, but more with chemicals and elements. Like any coin I hold, I instantly taste like I just put it in my mouth...

Which is gross so I don't take change back, glass tastes good and feels cool, and that's where the shapes and colors start to come in. As I hold somehing longer, it will go more from taste and start to permeate my skin, and my entire body will start to feel like that object, and shapes and colors change that sensation. Now it sounds fun, but most the time it's just a hassle. Like cleaning products, I might as well just spray in my mouth when I'm doing house cleaning. Plus chemicals drain my energy real quick. Most plastics are gross too, and paper will my my throat scratch after about 30 seconds. I still love books tho.

But anyways, I didn't intend to take any thunder from TC, but there you have it. It's complicated lol. Oh and people I can get a real good read on when shaking hands, like a 6th sense. But it's also gross, I might as well just lick their hand, so I'm very selective about what I touch.

Thanks for sharing man, that was genuinely interesting to read!

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