Image Free Thinking

Discover the invisible world of Aphantasia

Discovering everyone around you is visualizing can be hard to wrap your mind around. Join the network and connect with other image-free thinkers like you!

Joining Aphantasia Network has changed my life! I really thought aphantasia was holding me back, but now I understand that image-free thinking is my superpower.

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Begin your aphantasia discovery journey

Embark on a journey of self-discovery with these must-read stories from our community. Join a discussion to connect with other like minds. Delve into the science behind extreme imagination. Discover and learn about aphantasia.
How do you describe aphantasia? Founder of Aphantasia Network often gets asked this question. His answer? Think of a horse.
What do you mean you can't picture a horse? For visualizers, it's hard to imagine what it's like not to visualize.
Knowledge of our invisible differences dates back to 340 BC. Aristotle stands at the beginning of this history when imagination was not an established topic of discussion yet.
Why might your mind's eye be blind while your friend can picture crystal-clear images? Shocking insights into the known neurodifferences in imagery vividness.
Do I have aphantasia? Answering that seemingly simple question can be very confusing. Understanding aphantasia is a journey of self-discovery.
November 12, 2018
I always find this question so interesting. For most of my life, I didn’t realize that others were actually visualizing their thoughts and memoriesR...
Aphantasia isn’t limited to just visual imagination; it can impact all sensory imagery in the mind. For example, when most people go to a restaurant and see ...
December 8, 2020
When Tom and I first tell people about his experience of aphantasia we often get asked this question: Do you dream? Tom doesn’t dream visually, he drea...
February 11, 2021
I recently wrote an article on new research that uses electrical stimulation to see what’s different in the brains of people who see vivid imagery vers...
June 13, 2021
My girlfriend has hyperphantasia for all mental senses. It blew my mind when I learned some time ago she can accurately taste in her mind what a dish will ta...
CBC Radio publishes a multimedia docuseries on the discovery of aphantasia, Tom Ebeyer's discovery of aphantasia and building the foundations for a global Aphantasia Network.
December 12, 2019
How did you discover aphantasia and hyperphantasia? Adam Zeman joins the Founder of Aphantasia Network, Tom Ebeyer, for a live Ask Me Anything event to answer the community's questions.
February 21, 2021
Aphantasia is the inability to visualize but can impact all mental imagery senses. Joel Pearson joins Founder of Aphantasia Network, Tom Ebeyer, for a live Ask Me Anything event to answer the community's questions.
February 25, 2021
Adam Zeman shares the rediscovery of aphantasia, a blind mind's eye, in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference and Exhibition.
October 21, 2021
How can aphantasia be measured? Joel Pearson talks about measuring aphantasia objectively and reliably in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.
October 21, 2021
Phantasia – the psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes
Zeman, A., Milton, F., Della Sala, S., Dewar, M., Frayling, T., Gaddum, J., … Winlove, C. (2020). Phantasia-The psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes. Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior, 130, 426–440. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2020.04.003
Visual imagery typically enables us to see absent items in the mind's eye. It plays a role in memory, day-dreaming and creativity. Since coining the terms aphantasia and hyperphantasia to describe the absence and abundance of visual imagery, Adam Zeman and his team have been contacted by many thousands of people with extreme imagery abilities. Through data collected from questionnaires filled by 2000 participants with aphantasia and 200 with hyperphantasia, the researchers have found some interesting patterns. Participants with aphantasia tend to work in scientific and mathematical fields and have difficulty with face recognition and autobiographical memory. On the other hand, those with hyperphantasia tend to work in creative fields and have a higher rate of synaesthesia. The study found that around half of the participants with aphantasia reported the absence of wakeful imagery in all sense modalities, but most of them dream visually. The researchers have also noted that aphantasia runs in families more frequently than expected. This study highlights the widespread but neglected features of human experience with informative psychological associations.
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