Nachum Pereferkovich

On “Mental Health Breakthrough: Aphantasia Does Not Shield Against PTSD”

Aphantasia undoubtedly impairs visual memory, which affects drawing skills.

On “Drawing from memory”

I can also only draw an abstract diagram of a bicycle. I know why: I see hundreds of separate lines - small and large, which take a long time to draw, but do not converge; because the image and the abstract scheme of a bicycle are not the same thing. Maybe I could be an architect...

On “Homesickness and aphantasia?”

I left the country where I was born and raised 52 years ago; and never felt a sense of nostalgia, not even one day.

On “Memory Capabilities”

Hi , Ava! You are very lucky that as a child you were forced to remember faces. I did not have such happiness; the memorization of faces was automatic; and gradually began to weaken with age, which even applies to individual details. Of course, I am unable to draw specific faces from memory.

On “How did you do in art class?”

Hi Dennis, I have the same story with some differences. I was one of the worst students in drawing lessons: if there is nothing in my head, then on paper too. However, when sketching from life, something could come out - provided that I start with the smallest details. Later I realized that when I was drawing something, I had to turn it and its details into diagrams; and then something whole falls into a large number of schemes. It's more like architecture or drawing; and indeed, there are aphants among draftsmen and architects.

On “This is all new to me, am I or aren't I aphantasic”

According to recent studies of aphantasia, the appearance of bright or dim images while awake is associated with the activity of two areas of the brain: the visual cortex (in the back of the head) and the prefrontal cortex (behind the eyes). The prevalence of activity in the visual cortex contributes to brighter visualization; the prevalence of prefrontal cortex activity reduces the visualization brightness , even to zero. During sleep, the activity of the prefrontal cortex naturally decreases, which may explain the brightness of uncontrolled dreams. The question is how to learn to control it.

On “The Art of Aphantasia”

Matthew, hi ! To be honest, I do not understand the meaning of the expression "Knowledge of an object as it looks"; more precisely, I put my meaning into it, which may not correspond to your meaning. Maybe first need to give a definition ; otherwise "visualization" and "knowledge" for me are two different disparate categories. I am an aphant, and my knowledge of the subject lies in defining its schematic form, some few scattered details and trained hand movements to transfer to paper. I don't know how to draw at all, or rather, I do it at the level of my ten-year-old; what I attribute to aphantasia.

On “Do your memories feel more like movies or more like facts?”

The issue of nostalgia is an interesting point. Could it be that a complete lack of nostalgia is a symptom  SDAM ? I left my native country at 26, and have been living in another place for 48 years; but never experienced nostalgia. Also, at the age of 10, I almost drowned in an industrial pool; I always remember this situation, and even see something; but never experienced a sense of horror.

How do you approach mental math without visualization? Share your techniques and experiences for tackling calculations!

On “How did you first discover aphantasia?”

I have a similar story with drawing; at the age of 12, I realized that despite the fact that I liked to draw from the age 5 , the level of drawings was stuck in the age of 9 years; and I completely stopped drawing a for ever (I'm 74 years old). But I love improvisations - musical; and it has become my life profession. Not only did I completely stop drawing, but also play games that require visual memory: checkers, chess, card games; when I realized that it was a waste of time .

On “How did you first discover aphantasia?”

This is an interesting fact - aphants with poor auditory memory. I just thought that ear memory compensates for the lack of eye memory; so it is with me. This is a strange situation: a musician who is completely unable to draw ( unlike my children).