What is aphantasia?
What is aphantasia?
Let's see how well you can visualize a horse.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
Close your eyes.
Picture a horse. You got it. Great.
Now let's check in. Did you actually see a horse in your mind's eye? And if so, how detailed was the image?
For some people, that mental picture that pops up is extremely realistic and detailed. And for others, it's more vague. Like maybe just an outline
for a few people.
No image appears at all.
These people have what's known as aphantasia.
When the brain doesn't form or use mental images as a part of thinking or imagination.
It's not a disorder. It's defined as a characteristic, like being left handed.
There's not much research on aphantasia, and there's a lot of variety in how it affects people.
This ability to see something in your mind's eye seems to follow along a spectrum.
For example, back to that horse.
Someone might imagine a horse exactly like seeing one in real life
or they could visualize a horse where most details are clear. They might see details that are moderately clear
or a really dim, vague outline.
Or they could just imagine the idea of a horse without any image at all.
In general, people seem to develop techniques to work with whatever imaginative visual abilities they do have.
And most of us don't even realize that others are visualizing things in a different way from us.
So go ahead and ask around. You might be surprised at what you see
or don't see,
or moderately see.
Picture a horse. You got it. Great.
Now let's check in. Did you actually see a horse in your mind's eye? And if so, how detailed was the image?
For some people, that mental picture that pops up is extremely realistic and detailed. And for others, it's more vague. Like maybe just an outline
for a few people.
No image appears at all.
These people have what's known as aphantasia.
When the brain doesn't form or use mental images as a part of thinking or imagination.
It's not a disorder. It's defined as a characteristic, like being left handed.
There's not much research on aphantasia, and there's a lot of variety in how it affects people.
This ability to see something in your mind's eye seems to follow along a spectrum.
For example, back to that horse.
Someone might imagine a horse exactly like seeing one in real life
or they could visualize a horse where most details are clear. They might see details that are moderately clear
or a really dim, vague outline.
Or they could just imagine the idea of a horse without any image at all.
In general, people seem to develop techniques to work with whatever imaginative visual abilities they do have.
And most of us don't even realize that others are visualizing things in a different way from us.
So go ahead and ask around. You might be surprised at what you see
or don't see,
or moderately see.