commit 89995b9b6e6c8c0c553c402a995780657d00fdb2
parent 2da0c87e63b3677916ce8799d01a53c7033020bc
Author: pyratebeard <root@pyratebeard.net>
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2024 23:21:47 +0100
aphantastic_discovery
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1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
diff --git a/entry/aphantastic_discovery.md b/entry/aphantastic_discovery.md
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ This is a representation of the scale of phantasia, from hyperphantasia (1) to a
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.
+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 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).
+Learning this about myself has given me a 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 produce better results 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 artists 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. I knew what I wanted an image to look like, where objects would be placed or how I wanted the lighting, yet when I came physically compose the photo I would struggle to match what was 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.
@@ -32,10 +32,17 @@ This isn't an excuse for me to not be making award winning art. Knowing about a
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.
-In my research I have also learned that along with being "mind blind" I have _silent mind_ or _sound-free imagination_ and from what I can tell my aphantasia encompasses my other senses as well. This is termed multisensory aphantasia. This means that I cannot hear voices or sounds in my head, or recall smells, touch, or taste. When I am "talking to myself" I don't hear a voice or any sound, I just know what I am saying. I can recall conversations and songs, knowing what people or music sounds like, but cannot actually hear anything. I don't think there is a direct link between the visual aphantasia and the other senses, having full multisensory aphantasia looks to be extremely rare.
+In my research I have also learned that along with being "mind blind" I have _silent mind_, that is there is no auditory sense in my mind. A proposed term for this is _anauralia_. When I am "talking to myself" I don't hear a voice or any sound, I just know what I am saying. I can recall conversations and songs, knowing a person's voice and knowing the tune and vocals of a song, but cannot actually hear anything. Again, this is hard to explain to those that do have an internal auditory sense.
-helped me to understand how my brain works...
+From what I can tell my aphantasia encompasses my other senses as well. This is termed multisensory aphantasia. Along with the lack of visual and sound I have no mental smell, touch, or taste. Reports suggest that people with aphantasia also have lower levels of the other mental senses but not all have full multisensory aphantasia.
+
+Reading what little (real) research there is out there has proved yet again that the human brain is absolutely insane and still such a mystery.
+
+Reading various articles, blogs, and Reddit comments has proved once again that humans are absolutely insane and we are all so different. Each of us experiences the world in different ways without truly understanding how others do. Next time somebody seems confused when you're giving directions keep in mind that they might not be able to picture it the way you can, maybe they need to use an alternative method.
+
+Where do you fall on the phantasia scale? No matter if this is all new to you or you have known about aphantasia for some time, I would be interested to hear about how experience things. My contact details can be found on my [homepage].
[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
+[homepage]: https://pyratebeard.net
