I have raised this topic before on this forum, so those of you familiar with it may want to skip this article.
It's from Scientific American, and the subject is aphantasia, or, the inability to conjure up mental images.
I have this peculiar condition, and like others, who are mentioned in the article, I find ways around it. Also as was noted of some others, I did not know until later in life that people actually can draw up images in their "mind's eye."
I hope some of you find this article useful.
Scientific American: When the Mind's Eye Is Blind.
[scientificamerican.com]
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Interesting article. I think we all 'see' things in different ways, courts rely on eye witness testimony yet we know it is the most unreliable testimony there is.
I don't think I see things as vividly as some people, I surmise this from looking at art works and discussions of how the artist created the work. TY for posting.
silverotter11
Level 9
Jan 27, 2019
1
Aphantasia isn't a phenomenon of perception, it's the inability to conjure images in the mind; in other words, to visualize, literally.
@Condor5 I was using the incorrect term - when I am unable to find something (keys or glasses) I have to work at visualizing where I saw them last and for the past few years it has been difficult to get the mental picture in my minds eye of where I saw the item setting.
@silverotter11 if I might offer a suggestion, I have in the last few years tried to practice mindfulness. This has helped me tremendously with not misplacing items like keys and glasses. Initially, I try to be consistent about leaving those kinds of objects where I know they'll always be, and if I leave something in an unusual spot, I make a mental note at that moment that I'm doing something different and I need to be aware of it. I know that often we misplace things because we are thinking about something else at the time and unconsciously set the item down not noting where. I know this sounds obvious and simplistic, but it has saved me a great deal of frustration.
@Condor5 Yes, I try to do that also and sometimes I am successful, I just find it frustrating that the picture I use to be able to form does not pop up the way it use to. It is a learning process. TY for reminding me of the tips. Sometimes even when I make a mental note at the time later in the day I find the post-it note has fallen off the fridge (the mental one) 
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