There are definitely degrees to aphantasia. Rather than complete inability to visualize in the mind, I’d hazard a guess that most (myself included) can visualize to a minor degree in bursts. That might not make a lot of sense describing it to someone who doesn’t experience things that way, but if I focus, I can have a brief moment of imagining the visual features of something or someone but it fades quickly.
But as others have said here, there are far more ways than purely visual that such memories are stored and recalled. Spatial memory is comparatively strong for me as one example, such that if I close my eyes and focus on it, I can make myself “feel” like I’m in another room I’m familiar with entirely. Anyone who has ever wandered around their room in complete darkness or with their eyes closed probably knows what this feels like.
As it relates to this article, I’ve always heard that those with aphantasia can still have visual dreams since the two experiences rely predominantly on different parts of the brain. At least in my case I’d claim aphantasia but also no issues with experiencing dream visuals.
Sorry to yap so much, but I find it so extremely interesting that people can have such wildly different experiences within the mind like this, such that someone can sound totally bonkers to someone else if they don’t share the same experience. Inner monologues are another related phenomena where it’s fun to watch people try to explain what it’s like to each other.
There are definitely degrees to aphantasia. Rather than complete inability to visualize in the mind, I’d hazard a guess that most (myself included) can visualize to a minor degree in bursts. That might not make a lot of sense describing it to someone who doesn’t experience things that way, but if I focus, I can have a brief moment of imagining the visual features of something or someone but it fades quickly.
But as others have said here, there are far more ways than purely visual that such memories are stored and recalled. Spatial memory is comparatively strong for me as one example, such that if I close my eyes and focus on it, I can make myself “feel” like I’m in another room I’m familiar with entirely. Anyone who has ever wandered around their room in complete darkness or with their eyes closed probably knows what this feels like.
As it relates to this article, I’ve always heard that those with aphantasia can still have visual dreams since the two experiences rely predominantly on different parts of the brain. At least in my case I’d claim aphantasia but also no issues with experiencing dream visuals.
Sorry to yap so much, but I find it so extremely interesting that people can have such wildly different experiences within the mind like this, such that someone can sound totally bonkers to someone else if they don’t share the same experience. Inner monologues are another related phenomena where it’s fun to watch people try to explain what it’s like to each other.