Aphantasia -- abscence of a "Mind's Eye"
I am an aphantasian, are any of you the same?
Read all about it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34039054
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/science/aphantasia-minds-eye-blind.html?_r=1
http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/23-the-brain-look-deep-into-minds-eye
Quote: billwill @ 26th August 2015, 12:17 PM BSTI am an aphantasian, are any of you the same?
No, I'm Melmacian. 
Didn't Horseradish state somewhere (maybe in the "weirdest dreams"-thread) that he doesn't dream in images?
That's interesting. I can't imagine how to think without mental images.
I do dream & day-dream with picture images/movies/feelies/smellies, in fact the full sensations.
Sometimes when daydreaming I realise I am seeing images, but as soon as I apply such a logical thought... poof.. the images are gone.
I think maybe the pictures part of my brain is used for logical thought & correllations.
I was recently amazed to find out that my girlfriend has this. I couldn't get my head around it, I thought she was mental.
I Googled it to see if anyone else was the same and discovered many people who were.
I think it's fascinating.
Quote: Lee @ 26th August 2015, 1:56 PM BSTI was recently amazed to find out that my girlfriend has this. I couldn't get my head around it, I thought she was mental.
I Googled it to see if anyone else was the same and discovered many people who were.
Surely you immediately picked her up from the nuthouse then.
It's not a "has this" any more than being left-handed is a "condition".
In fact, I suspect perhaps Aphantasians are more evolved than Phantasians in that we don't have distracting images obstructing our symbolic-logical thinking and can make deductions more quickly.
Quote: billwill @ 26th August 2015, 2:11 PM BSTIn fact, I suspect perhaps Aphantasians are more evolved than Phantasians in that we don't have distracting images obstructing our symbolic-logical thinking and can make deductions more quickly.
Yes, but you'll always need a dirty magazine for having a wank whereas I save my money.
Quote: Gordon Bennett @ 26th August 2015, 2:15 PM BSTYes, but you'll always need a dirty magazine for having a wank whereas I save my money.
Your remark shows how you don't really understand it.
Quote: billwill @ 26th August 2015, 2:19 PM BSTYour remark shows how you don't really understand it.
My remark shows I'm in a joking mood and that I underestimated the seriousness of this thread and what this means to you. Sorry Bill!
Anyway, sometimes I associate words or even numbers with images or colours (that happens automatically, I can't avoid it) and that helps me to remember things better later. In other words I'd be rather lost without the ability of seeing things with my "mind's eye".
Quote: Gordon Bennett @ 26th August 2015, 2:09 PM BSTSurely you immediately picked her up from the nuthouse then.
Quote: Gordon Bennett @ 26th August 2015, 2:22 PM BSTMy remark shows I'm in a joking mood and that I underestimated the seriousness of this thread and what this means to you. Sorry Bill!
Quote: billwill @ 26th August 2015, 2:11 PM BSTIt's not a "has this" any more than being left-handed is a "condition".
I'm left-handed and I think you'll find it is a "condition" in a right-handed world 
No offence taken.. I didn't expect (or even want) serious discussion on this BCG forum, just posted the header message to make the members aware of Aphantasia.
People don't think about HOW they think, so like Lee above, it comes as a surprise when they find out that a small proportion of people think without pictures.
For me of course, now long ago, it came as a surprise that other people thought with pictures.
Quote: Lee @ 26th August 2015, 2:47 PM BST
I'm left-handed and I think you'll find it is a "condition" in a right-handed world
I think I chose a bad example there, I think it would have been better to say:
It's not a "has this" any more than being blue-eyed is a "condition".
Quote: billwill @ 26th August 2015, 2:11 PM BSTIn fact, I suspect perhaps Aphantasians are more evolved than Phantasians in that we don't have distracting images obstructing our symbolic-logical thinking and can make deductions more quickly.
If that is the case they're going to invent a pill that paralyses the image-making part of the brain and sell it for gazillions of euros to stock brokers.
Quote: billwill @ 26th August 2015, 2:52 PM BSTNo offence taken.. I didn't expect (or even want) serious discussion on this BCG forum, just posted the header message to make the members aware of Aphantasia.
So you're not planning to be the face of Aphantasia?
Isn't a mind's eye just imagining that you're seeing something anyway? The images aren't real*, your brain pretends they are they. On that basis, Aphantasians just aren't easily fooled.
*I realise that conventional vision is imaginary, too, stimulated by the the cones and rods in the eye.
