Barbara Ki dig

I am 66 years old and just heard about aphantasia a few weeks ago. My husband is creative and when we were building a house 20 years ago, he would describe parts of the house (as a concept) that I just couldn't imagine. He said, "don't you have vision?". I replied, of course I did, thinking more of sight than vision. I create things as well, quilting, stained glass, furniture refinishing, etc., and my process is based on measurements and trial and error--not organic at all. When people said that they can see in their mind, or can visualize it, I thought they were just making it up because I have zero ability to "see" things in my mind. Then very recently I heard an interview with Andy Weir, the author of the Hail May Project. The reporter asked him if the Alien in the movie version of his book looked like his vision of it, as he had written. He said he has aphantasia, so had no visual premonition of how the alien would look. It really hit me then that aphantasia is a real thing. It described exactly how I have felt so many times in my life. I'm in that annoying space now where I ask everyone I know if they can visualize or see things in their mind. Some are very interested in my situation, asking questing, prompting me to try to understand how I remember things that I cannot see in my mind. I'm also a bit upset that I am lacking this capability, especially since I have chosen time and again, passions to create with color and texture and shapes. I was happy to find this site, a community of us who share this anomaly.