Luc Jeanneau

I like both. A gripping story with awesome facts and twists and turns is right up my alley. I'm like you Katrina, in that overly descriptive books will bore me though. So I think it's harder to find fiction that keeps things concise. Fast reads are always the best. Aside from the plot, the "feel" of the book is almost the most important. The cadence, pacing, flow, and turns of phrase help. It's almost like it needs to be a satisfying feeling to read/narrate it in my head because that's the only experience I am really getting out of it.

My experience is exactly the same Tom. There's just nothing. I feel like a computer just spitting out data. I have the idea of something or know the facts of something and can just recall that. There's no visual analysis - it's like it gets done subconciously. When people describe more context around a memory or situation, sometimes that helps me retireve more facts.I can recognize a tune like it's nobody's business, but songs don't get stuck in my head. At least not the way it would with a mind's ear. It's more like my inner monolgue, the one that does the thinking and constant narration, will hum or sing the tune. This is hard to describe. Basically my inner monolgue can carry a tune, but I don't experience the tune in any auditory sense. I just "know" that my inner voice is hitting the different notes. More often than not, a line or two will occupy my mind on repeat, especially if there isn't a lot of sensory input or cognition required in the present moment.Smell. Never had it. Don't have anything remotely like it. I wonder if they've linked this to the emotional detachment.The closest I would say I get to anything is a kinesthetic sense. If I think about my arm crossing my body to hit a backhand shot in tennis, I can feel my heart rate change and my breath shorten. But that's about it. It's like I am motor planning, but the only feedback I get that anything is happening is from my major two organs, and that's a stretch at best.

Hi Tom, So glad to hear you speaking of your experience on the CBC doc project. I like you am a total aphantasiac. I have known for about 4 years now that I have aphantasia. I was at a yoga class at the Vancouver YMCA and the instructor was leading a guided meditation. Her intent was to paint a vivd image of a walk in the forest. I think she was just particularly bad at describing it, because instead of relaxing to the cadence and sound of her voice, I started wondering what the point of this was. No one can see this anyway I thought to myself. Why would people keep using guided imagery if no one could use it. I started thinking about my Grandma who often says: "put yourself on the corner of X Avenue and Y Street". I thought of common saying's like counting sheep, and "picturing other people" during sex. It kept eating away at me that maybe I was doing something wrong. So, when I got home, I Googled "can other people actually visualize things", and down the rabbit hole I went. Blake Ross' article put a name to it for me. I identified with almost everything. Then I started, almost obsessively, pestering friends and colleagues about their mind's eye and visual imagery experiences. I had colleagues with photo-realistic descriptions, friends who could replay memories with visuals, sounds, and smells. I felt like I was missing a basic, joyful, human experience. It felt very isolating because people would just challenge it and say I was crazy - or get tired of me trying to explain something I couldn't quite grasp yet. Since then I've given talks about it and have come to recognize the strengths it provides. Though I am able to recall certain happy loving moments in my life, they often come with a lack of emotional attachement and detail. I wish I could step back into the sights and sounds of my travel - but this inability has bred a love for creative endeavours like photography, that create snapshots I can relive. I find myself using trial and error problem-solving in my work, as I can visualize a solution or conjure and emotional or sensory reaction my interventions might have. You may all find this ironic, as I primarily do sensory processing work with children. Anyway, I am glad to read about others experiences and to grow my knowledge and involvement in this small community. If there is any way I can help or get involved, I would love to. If anyone wants to go for coffee in Vancouver, I'd love to hear your stories and experience.