"To be frank, the article is technically not wrong. Aphantasia has not been widely researched, but the current consensus is that aphantasia forces the brain to think about objects more figuratively. This meant that the complementary strategies are just to salvage whatever is remaining inside the brain, rather than actively getting the literal content."

"I spent some time in key west. One day i swam up to a busted pipe, partially buried underwater, and suddenly out swam a shark. lol, i about swallowed my heart. it all happened too fast for me to have any reaction. It swam out then was gone. It was a lemon shark, but darn it, i was so close that my heart didn't have the time to differentiate. lol, my only shark story and its a lemon shark :)"

"There was some early research with Patient MX that showed aphantasics actually performed similar or better at controls on mental rotation tasks. Here's an older article about it with mental rotation examples for anyone who wants to give it a try and compare notes! https://aphantasia.com/article/science/mental-rotation-tasks"

"Because I study computers, this is not really a problem as I turn the visual problem into a coordinate geometrical one. Just mapping each coordinate to a number and than thinking about the rotational transformations of the numbers is enough for me to figure out, since the wrong answer has no such transformation."

"That's an interesting experience to share — thanks for posting. It's worth noting that running and yoga both involve high levels of interoceptive awareness, which is scientifically linked to imagery vividness. That said, there's currently no evidence that these activities can "unlock" mental imagery for those with congenital aphantasia. If you're curious to dig deeper, you can explore our AI research assistant (aphantasia.com/chat) — it pulls from verifiable sources in our aphantasia research library."

"Not an advertisement. This was my personal experience and I am unaware of formal research studies that cover this. However, I thought it was a useful data point for others and for further research. And in fact, perhaps some out there may want to even try such activities to see if it gets unlocked for them."

"Same for me. I know the image exists in the back of my mind somewhere… "I know an apple exists." I too have seen through the black on a couple of occasions. I saw my dog who had passed. Everything turned white (she was a white dog) and she was outlined in black/gray as if in the clouds surrounded by the outline of palm trees. Even though the scene was not clear I immediately knew it was my parent's backyard looking up at the sky, one of her happy places."

"Hey Neal, it’s an interesting angle to ponder. The research suggests aphantasia isn’t a “broken” visual system—it’s more of a connection issue. The FIN is still creating the imagery, but the link between it and your conscious awareness isn’t firing properly . This disconnection appears to show up in both congenital and acquired aphantasia cases—the FIN seems to be the common thread . Whether you were born with it or lost imagery after an injury. So you might actually be onto something wondering about your own FIN connectivity. https://aphantasia.com/research/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109398 https://aphantasia.com/research/10.1016/j.cortex.2026.01.009"

"Is this an advertisement? Skipping the anecdotal evidence for a moment, please reference any related studies."

"If insurance companies incorporate AI as an interface, i imagine that people will be oversharing their medical details with the very companies that shouldn't have that information in the first place. Does HIPAA even apply when you are sharing your info freely with AI? Not to worry, we'll get AI regulation right after it causes undisputable harm."

"To be frank, the article is technically not wrong. Aphantasia has not been widely researched, but the current consensus is that aphantasia forces the brain to think about objects more figuratively. This meant that the complementary strategies are just to salvage whatever is remaining inside the brain, rather than actively getting the literal content."

"I spent some time in key west. One day i swam up to a busted pipe, partially buried underwater, and suddenly out swam a shark. lol, i about swallowed my heart. it all happened too fast for me to have any reaction. It swam out then was gone. It was a lemon shark, but darn it, i was so close that my heart didn't have the time to differentiate. lol, my only shark story and its a lemon shark :)"

"There was some early research with Patient MX that showed aphantasics actually performed similar or better at controls on mental rotation tasks. Here's an older article about it with mental rotation examples for anyone who wants to give it a try and compare notes! https://aphantasia.com/article/science/mental-rotation-tasks"

"Because I study computers, this is not really a problem as I turn the visual problem into a coordinate geometrical one. Just mapping each coordinate to a number and than thinking about the rotational transformations of the numbers is enough for me to figure out, since the wrong answer has no such transformation."

"That's an interesting experience to share — thanks for posting. It's worth noting that running and yoga both involve high levels of interoceptive awareness, which is scientifically linked to imagery vividness. That said, there's currently no evidence that these activities can "unlock" mental imagery for those with congenital aphantasia. If you're curious to dig deeper, you can explore our AI research assistant (aphantasia.com/chat) — it pulls from verifiable sources in our aphantasia research library."

"Not an advertisement. This was my personal experience and I am unaware of formal research studies that cover this. However, I thought it was a useful data point for others and for further research. And in fact, perhaps some out there may want to even try such activities to see if it gets unlocked for them."

"Same for me. I know the image exists in the back of my mind somewhere… "I know an apple exists." I too have seen through the black on a couple of occasions. I saw my dog who had passed. Everything turned white (she was a white dog) and she was outlined in black/gray as if in the clouds surrounded by the outline of palm trees. Even though the scene was not clear I immediately knew it was my parent's backyard looking up at the sky, one of her happy places."

"Hey Neal, it’s an interesting angle to ponder. The research suggests aphantasia isn’t a “broken” visual system—it’s more of a connection issue. The FIN is still creating the imagery, but the link between it and your conscious awareness isn’t firing properly . This disconnection appears to show up in both congenital and acquired aphantasia cases—the FIN seems to be the common thread . Whether you were born with it or lost imagery after an injury. So you might actually be onto something wondering about your own FIN connectivity. https://aphantasia.com/research/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109398 https://aphantasia.com/research/10.1016/j.cortex.2026.01.009"

"Is this an advertisement? Skipping the anecdotal evidence for a moment, please reference any related studies."

"If insurance companies incorporate AI as an interface, i imagine that people will be oversharing their medical details with the very companies that shouldn't have that information in the first place. Does HIPAA even apply when you are sharing your info freely with AI? Not to worry, we'll get AI regulation right after it causes undisputable harm."