#visual imagination

[egelantier]

poll time!

Visual Imagination (ability to vividly see people, things and settings in your mind)

I have a vivid visual imagination and always had (I'm autistic)

I have a vivid visual imagination and always had (I'm not autistic)

I never had a vivid visual imagination (I'm autistic)

I never had a vivid visual imagination (I'm not autistic)

I used to have it and then it dimmed or disappeared (I'm autistic)

I used to have it and then it dimmed or disappeared (I'm not autistic)

I used not to have it and then I developed it (I'm autistic)

I used not to have it and then I developed it (I'm not autistic)

Voting ended onMay 21, 2024

Extra question for tags or anon asks if you're comfortable with it: if you ever had a course of antidepressants or other mood regulating meds, did it interact with your visual imagination in any way?

[incognitopolls]

Do you have a strong visual imagination? How easy is it for you to learn new languages?

Strong visual imagination, languages are easy to learn

Strong visual imagination, languages are moderately challenging to learn

Strong visual imagination, languages are very hard to learn

Poor visual imagination, languages are easy to learn

Poor visual imagination, languages are moderately challenging to learn

Poor visual imagination, languages are very hard to learn

Total aphantasia, languages are easy to learn

Total aphantasia, languages are moderately challenging to learn

Total aphantasia, languages are very hard to learn

Other

Voting ended onNov 8, 2024

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[downthetubes]

In Memoriam: Stephen Payne, editor and publisher

In Memoriam: Stephen Payne, editor and publisher

Publisher and editor Stephen Payne in 2017. Photo © and courtesy Kevin Jon Davies I am incredibly sad to learn of the death of Stephen Payne, a founder of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (DWAS), former editor of Starburst magazine and co-founder of Visual Imagination, whose raft of publications predominantly catered for the growing interest in television fantasy and science…

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[neurosciencenews]

Blind in the Mind: Why Some People Can't See Pictures in their Imagination

In fact, such individuals are often startled to find that people are not speaking in metaphors when they say, “I picture it in my mind’s eye.” This phenomenon of mind blindness has only recently been given a proper name – congenital aphantasia.

[ineffabilite-s]

Confession: I don't have a visual imagination.

This is something I've thought about since that one day in sixth grade when we were told to close our eyes and picture this calming scenario our teacher was verbally instructing. And I closed my eyes and sat through a blank nothing. Then when we were sharing what we imagined, there was a boy who talked about how he pictured the square getting smaller and smaller until he, as a rabbit, could no longer fit into it and jumped out (the instructions were to imagine a big dark square and imagine it decreasing in size until you can't see it anymore. then imagine you are a rabbit. Something along those lines. I don't quite remember everything; this was like eight years ago). I wondered if he'd actually saw those things in his head or was just making it up. 

Then, last year, my psych professor was lecturing on something where he told us to close our eyes and imagine a triangle. Or something having to do with visualizing an object. And I turned to my friend next to me, expecting her to agree, and said that I don't actually see a triangle when I am trying to imagine a triangle. She said, "Really? What do you see?" "Black?" "That's weird."

I just had a conversation with my roommate who is a synesthetic, wherein she sees colors associated with letters and numbers and anything you can name or think of. And we talked about visualizing a car. Who's in the front seat? She had a descriptive answer. I said I don't know; I don't see anything but I could probably make up an answer for you. 

It's weird to me because I definitely have an imagination. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to function as normally as I do. But I always thought my lack of a visual imagination was normal, and I really think it's not. It's weird because this is one of those scenarios where I will never know for sure if what I experience is normal, because I can never get inside anyone else's head to confirm otherwise. That's scary. And maybe it explains a lot as well, like how I can't tell depth of anything (ask me how long a car is approximately, in feet, and I really can't tell you) and I've never imagined what my wedding would look like.