On aphantasia:

“I dream, but not in pictures”

“I can write entire articles, documents, or conference talks in my head while out for a run. It’s usually quicker for me to create content in this way than sit at a computer and think about it. I can come in from a run and type out 2,000 words, transferring what I’ve written in my head to the document.”

First time I’ve heard how I experience the world described in words! Also why I take photos.

https://rachelandrew.co.uk/archives/2024/04/21/on-having-no-visual-memory/

#Aphantsia

On having no visual memory – Rachel Andrew

It was a shock to me to have recently found out that when people say ‘imagine.. in your mind’s eye’ that weren’t they being metaphorical. That it’s literal and people do ‘see things’ in their minds. I see only black. Maybe a tunnel of light if I try very, very hard.
@skinnylatte a friend of mine who has aphantasia described his experience with that as thinking that people who say that are being dishonest. Until he realized that he has aphantasia and most people don't. I guess my equivalent to that is thinking that having verbalized thoughts is a weird thing that happens in fictions not realizing that most people actually think that way.
@skinnylatte I feel so seen (but not literally)
@skinnylatte there’s a study at Edinburgh (and somewhere else soon? Saw a mail pass by) about aphantasia things. Want a link?
@skinnylatte me too - I realised it a few years ago, it’s quite confusing to a lot of people!

@skinnylatte wow. I'm the other way. I see and manipulate things in my mind. Everybody's different!

I'm surprised to hear you say this because you crush it with photography!

@skinnylatte That… sounds like some kind of alien intelligence to me. It’s like landing on a different planet with a highly advanced civilization and learn that the way they think is different.
@skinnylatte I'm still not entirely convinced that this is true. I mean, I go along with it because I don't want to be rude, but it seems highly implausible that people remember whole pictures of things like their brains are hard drives.
@isaacfreeman people on the other end, with hyperaphantasia, report being disappointed by movie adaptations of their fave books because the imagination felt much more vivid. I don’t understand! (I just read about that)

@skinnylatte I’m like 8/10 of that. I have a super minimal visualization, but I have a lot of similar compensating strategies.

My wife, otoh, is amazingly good at all the visual stuff.

I spent years being frustrated and feeling incompetent. But I’ve recently learned to be thankful for the complementary team member. At least *someone* can find things. :)

@skinnylatte Just reading your posts, I would never have known about you. I guess your ability with recipes and cooking could be enhanced by this and it’s probably a new delightful surprise each time you cook something. Nevertheless it’s sad to think you can’t have a flying dream.
I think if I had this mental arrangement I would move to somewhere near the entrance to Yosemite valley. That way I could wake up each morning and experience the awe that sight over and over again. Or is it possible that with aphantasia the significance of what you see is somehow lessened?
@skinnylatte that’s me.

@skinnylatte holy crap, really, thanks for sharing.

Just the other weekend I felt myself again in a position where I was kinda defending myself: “how do u run that much and write books?” “I can put half a chapter down without stopping afterward a 10k, why?”

@rotnroll666 I’m glad you found it useful. The first time I found out about this I was also floored.