aphantasia - chrisman/knowledge GitHub Wiki
Aphantasia
The inability to create mental imagery.
I has it.
Rarity
It's not as super rare as you think it might be. It seems like every time it comes up in a group, there is at least one other person who has it.
Audio Processing
What is more rare I think, is that I have no inner dialogue. I don't really have any running commentary or inner voice. And I certainly can't hear me speaking to myself, or hear my favorite songs, or quotes or bits from my favorite shows or movies or anything.
Dreaming
The only time I can see stuff in my head is when I'm dreaming. Which is why I love dreaming and lucid dreaming.
Memory
One significant drawback to aphantasia is that I have no vivid memories or significant recall. I know autobiographical facts about myself. But I cannot visualize anything or relive moments from my life.
Further Reading
Links, resources, etc.
- https://dozensanddragons.neocities.org/43
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010945215001781
- https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/cspe/engagement/extreme-imagination/
- https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/feb/26/what-is-aphantasia-like
- https://psyche.co/ideas/psychedelics-could-give-a-minds-eye-to-those-whove-never-had-one
- https://www.reddit.com/r/CureAphantasia/
- https://aphantasia.com/article/stories/writing-without-a-minds-eye/
- https://www.metafilter.com/204972/There-are-variants-in-everything-human
- https://radiolab.org/podcast/aphantasia
- https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/some-people-cant-see-mental-images-the-consequences-are-profound