Interestingly, if you read Huxley's DOORS OF PERCEPTION, he hints in there that he is aphantasic. The language he used at one point in talking about the experience seemed to indicate that pretty clearly to me that he was incapable of visualization.

I can read and enjoy almost any kind of prosaic literature, but have never really enjoyed poetry as it us so predominantly (to me, anyway) visually oriented.

It's not really a problem for those who never had the ability, really. We find workarounds, in a sense, by using familiar descriptions from memory. If someone says, "Picture a horse," for instance, my immediate reaction is, "OK, I've seen horses, I know what they look like." So, I "imagine" a horse, from past experience, but do not visualize it.

As far as anyone knows, from everything I've read and discussed, that has not been determined. My brother and sister do not seem to lack visual imagination. My parents being long dead, I'll never know about them. But it seems as though it's random.

I had the typical reaction noted in the article when I finally came to realize that other people really could conjure pictures in their heads; incredulity. In meetings at work when people would implore those present to "picture this...", or "visualise (whatever)...", I always thought it was just a saying, not that anyone would actually be doing it.

@Condor5 That explains a lot. I'm visual and knew there were people who are verbal, but didn't realize some could not visualize as I do. No wonder communication is so difficult.

@Condor5 so you just don't see anything? When you are reading you don't picture it in your head. Fascinating. Can't imagine what that is like

@EdEarl it's not that communication is difficult, Ed, it's just a bit different.

@GreatNani that's exactly how it is, yes. What I have to do is recall something similar and remember, not visualize, what that looked like. That's about as close as I can get. I can describe features adjectively, not from visualization.