commit 52b8fa45c24003c81fe0178b9036c68522ccf696
parent 629125026779ff0157edd555bdfc3f79f0883dd1
Author: pyratebeard <root@pyratebeard.net>
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2024 17:18:04 +0100
aphantastic_discovery
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+### aphantasia
+(ˌæfænˈteɪzɪə ) noun
+
+> an inability to form mental images
+
+---
+
+I always knew there were people that could not picture things in their mind or that didn't have a voice in their head. As it turns out, I am one of them.
+
+For my entire life my understanding of what it meant to picture something in your mind had been wrong. A few days ago my wife asked me some questions on how I visualised things, stemming from a conversation she had been having with friends.
+
+After taking a [quiz] I discovered that I have aphantasia, I am unable to create a mental image of any kind.
+
+I suddenly became fascinated with the subject. Finding out that my wife has the ability to picture things as clear as a photograph, or even animation, is incredible.
+
+<figure>
+ <img src="/img/aphantasia_apple_test.png" class="fitwidth" alt="Aphantasia apple test" />
+ <figcaption><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aphantasia_apple_test.png">Composition by Belbury, original image components by Mrr cartman, Caduser2003, Bernt Fransson and IconArchive.com</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+This is a representation of the scale of phantasia, from hyperphantasia (1) to aphantasia (5). From the research it seems around 2% of the population have complete aphantasia, with most people falling somewhere on the spectrum of being able to visualise _something_.
+
+The term aphantasia was coined in 2015 in a study called [Lives without imagery - Congenital Aphantasia][paper], and derives from the Greek meaning "without image". Research on the subject is still relatively new, so much about the condition remains unknown.
+
+I started asking my family and doing some tests to gauge what other people perceived. If I am asked to think of a person I know, like my wife or brother, I know what they look like but there is no imagery attached to that thought. If I read a character description in a novel I can understand what the character looks like but I can't "see" anything. It is hard to explain to somebody like my wife who can actual create detailed images in her head.
+
+Learning this about myself has given me a much better understanding of why I appear to struggle with some aspects of visual creativity compared to others. Take drawing for example. I like to draw and try to create characters or draw things from memory, but I always do much better when copying a picture or using a reference image. Artists I know also use reference images, but so many of them seem to be able to sketch really well from memory. I always put it down to talent or practice (which there is of course) but now I know some artist can visualise a reference image in their head, basically cheating (sarcasm).
+
+The same goes for photography. As those that follow along know I have been learning more about [photography] in the last year. It always frustrated me when attempting to compose desired photos in my head. Learning that a lot of top photographers can literally build a realistic photo in their head then go about recreating it in real life helps to explain so much.
+
+This isn't an excuse for me to not be making award winning art. Knowing about and understanding my own aphantasia has made me more forgiving of my supposed shortcomings and is giving me a new foundation on which to build better or alternative techniques.
+
+Since this discovery only a few days ago I have already found articles and information from artists and photographers who have aphantasia, detailing the various different approaches they make to producing better content. This will hopefully give me the tools to improve my own creativity process.
+
+Along with being "mind blind" I also learned that I have _silent mind_ or _sound-free imagination_ and what I can tell my aphantasia encompasses my other senses as well. This is being called multisensory aphantasia. This means that I cannot hear voices or sounds in my head. I don't think there is a direct link between the visual and the
+
+[quiz]: https://aphantasia.com/study/vviq/
+[paper]: https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/21561082/Sala_etal_C_2015_Lives_without_imagery.pdf
+[photography]: 20230928-drawing_with_light.html
