AttentionSpanZero t1_j2dhtq0 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 1:12 PM

Reply to comment by ven_zr in Every single person in the world who reads a novel will have a different image of the characters and scenes that they read by JenJen3508

It's hard to describe what memories are like to people who don't have aphantasia. I remember things, but I don't visualize them. It's like knowing how many coins are on a table and the denominations but they are covered with a black cloth. All I "see" is the cloth, but I recall that I did see something before they were covered. I can't "see" a scene over again. I also only recall specific details if I noted them the first time. I recognize someone I know, but don't ask me to describe them in detail. You'll get very generic feedback.

ThrowJed t1_j2djfh0 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 1:29 PM

Yeah it's almost like you remember the concept of the thing rather than the thing itself.

ven_zr t1_j2dm0an wrote on December 31, 2022 at 1:53 PM

That's the best explanation I heard yet. Its amazing how that is opposite on how I comprehend. I have to "see" it to grasp the concepts of meanings. Example if reading a sentence doesn't translate to visually, the words are meaningless and might as well be a foreign language.

My wife recently found out this term amphatasia but wasn't ever able to explain it well with me.

I wonder. Do you "see" dreams?

Edit: Oh another question! I have issues remember names or remember sentences Ive read but yet I can even remember minor details on faces. Is it the opposite with you?

AttentionSpanZero t1_j2dsez1 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 2:47 PM

I do have dreams that are visual, but they are quite vague and I have a hard time remembering what I dreamt once I wake up. I don't think I've ever had a vivid dream, but they do vary a bit in detail. Oddly enough, I'll sometimes know someone in my dream but they are often portrayed by an actor I might have seen more recently on television. At least I'll feel like it's that actor since I can't see them very well. But I have no visualization at all while I'm awake.

I remember concepts from what I have read very well, but not exact sentences. I'm also bad with names. I'm actually very good at remembering faces, but only on seeing them directly. I don't know which details make them familiar, just that I recognize them. So I'll often recognize someone I met only once before if I see them in person. But I won't usually remember their name.