I have the trait known as aphantasia, which renders me unable to conjure mental images, yet it does not impair my memory. Despite lacking the ability to visualize, my cognitive capacity rivals that of individuals unaffected by aphantasia. Rather than viewing aphantasia as a dysfunction, I perceive it as a distinctive trait. Having retired from a profession demanding adept multitasking, I maintain that blanket categorizations of negative attributes fail to accommodate individuals with diverse methods of memorization and information processing.
I’ve been aware of my Aphantasia for a year or two now. I can draw images of placeres and things I’ve seen/experiences. I do not draw things from an image, I draw things from my “knowing”. My memories are made of (things, sub things, definitions) data elements of what I “know”. My memory has no images in it. My “knowing” is so integrated in my mind, I go without ever thinking I’m missing images. My “knowing” is my primary thought pattern.
Differentiating between having knowledge and visualizing images, I have Aphantasia, yet it has never impeded my performance in my various technical careers. It is important to note that having Aphantasia does not determine one's ability to excel as an employee.
I have aphantasia, and I love to travel, see new places. Yes I can not recall (see) memories of my vacations, but I have wonderful memories of what I did, wear I went, what time of day…etc. I also journal day by day my vacation and always take lots of pictures.
Your choice of words interesting “picture” instead of “see”. I’m 65 and only recently became aware of that I have full aphantasia. I’ve been trying to choose words that fit better than “see.” Most often I’ve been replacing “see” with “remember.” I “know” what things look like, and I don’t need to “see” them to describe something.
Thanks for the reply.
Hello Cara, Thanks for the reply! I like your phrase “forces aphants to commit more information to memory.” For me to off-set the extra memorization, I lean on my systems a lot. Joking I’ve referred to my iPad, iPhone and Mac as my other brain. I stay with the Apple products because they all synch really well. Best wishes, Chuck
Hello Lindsey, I sometime worried over the years that I could not remember childhood events, including most of high school. I do have memories that are sort of metadata outlines of things I’ve been telling myself about over the year, but no images or solid memories. With the advent of Iphone photography, I take and love to review both trips and special occasions, but also mundane things.
I’m 65 and I love to keep pamphlets and other things like that from places I visit. My iPhone has thousands of photos. All organized by year and place. Like you I have a collection of many books. I can get lost in scrolling through my photos, reinforcing my metadata(words) that build my memories. @Emma Cowell - I love your phrase “life references.”