Space Anarchist

I have visual hypophantasia and spatial aphantasia. I am a pure projector. I can make images like simple drawings come up but they appear to be floating in front of my face rather than inside or behind my head. What I find really strange and hard to believe is the idea of having a "second screen" inside one's head that can even contain three-dimensional space. How would the geometry even work? It seems that it must involve more than three dimensions or perhaps curved spacetime like in a black hole. I think it would be very interesting if "inner space" could be scientifically analyzed in terms of physics and mathematics. It must have some kind of shape and structure which could be modeled with mathematical equations, yet I have never seen any experiments along these lines so far. And if the scientific and mathematical principles were discovered, then it might be possible to simulate it in a way that people like me could experience.

I don't have the ability to relive or re-experience memories, but in my case it doesn't seem to impair my ability to recall the details. My memory does seem to be more non-linear than average; it takes a conscious effort to sort things into sequential order. I also have a poor memory for specific sensory details like people's faces and voices. But I have no problem with the general components of narrative memory: who, where, when, what, why and how. Oddly enough, I do have nostalgia even though I don't relive memories. In my case, it's because I form emotional attachments to places. I think I'm one of the lucky ones -- I don't need mental time travel in order to have a strong sense of personal history and identity. To me, actually reliving a memory sounds like a bizarre oddity.

I can get vague, subtle impressions in all five senses. What I don't have is an alternate dimension in which to put them. I don't have inner space or inner type. All of my impressions seem to be non-linear and non-spatial, or minimally spatial, like drawings on a piece of paper. If I try to visualize a place, I can't actually go inside it, because it isn't three dimensional, stable, or self-existent. It's just like a little drawing that I make instantaneously.

Aphantasia does seem to be hereditary in some people. If one identical twin has it and the other does not, that might mean that it is epigenetic: that is, it shows up during fetal development due to different physical and chemical conditions within the womb. For instance, one twin may have absorbed more of a certain chemical from the blood. Something would have influenced the development at some point after the original fertilized ovum split into two. Alternatively, it may reflect some change that occurred during infancy or early childhood.