Inspired by a post from reddit re: starting a public list of famous people with aphantasia. Here’s who we know so far:
- Blake Ross, Software Engineer, Founder of Mozilla FireFox Internet Browser. Shared perspectives on how it feels to be blind in your mind in Facebook Article.
- Craig Venter, Biochemist/Geneticist (known for leading the first draft sequence of the human genome)
- Ed Catmull, Computer Scientist, Former President of Pixar (known for his work on Toy Story, Bugs Life, Finding Nemo, Inside Out & many more). Shared perspectives on ‘my mind’s eye is blind’ in BBC News.
- Brian Froud, Fantasy Illustrator (conceptual designer for the Jim Henson films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth)
- John Wood Campbell Jr, Science Fiction Writer and Editor (known for Astounding Science Fiction later called Analog Science Fiction and Fact).
- Oliver Sacks, Neurologist, Naturalist, Historian of Science and Author (known for Awakenings, Mind’s Eye, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat). Talks about his lack of mental imagery in this Youtube video..
- William James, Philosopher and Psychologist. In his book ‘Principles of Psychology‘, James describes “I can seldom call to mind even a single letter of the alphabet in purely retinal terms. I must trace the letter by running my mental eye over its contour in order that the image of it shall have any distinctness at all.”
- Mark Lawrence, Novelist, who wrote The Broken Empire trilogy of fantasy books. Wrote piece for The Guardian describing what it’s like be an author with no mind’s eye.
