Ralf Schreiner

Hi Elizabeth, I'm 59 yo and it's been about 5 years ago, I found out about aphantasia and how I am affected by it. Let's say: I'm a hardcore aphantasiac, like zero on the scale. No pictures, no sounds, no physical sensations, I only phantasize in inner monologues or dialogues, it's just words. I vaguely realized what differs me from most other people I knew a long time ago,  but I saw myself as a freak, and in no good way. I never met anyone without "a mind's eye" except for somebody with severe mental and substance abuse problems, so rather nobody to identify with. The mere fact it has a name and affects quite may others (2% of the world population is a LOT of people) has done me nothing but good. In general I have a better understanding for my abilities and disabilities. What you wrote about reading and writing descriptions is exactly what I experienced from an early age on. I would always skip any form of description, so I never really "understood" what most of Edgar Allen Poe's work was all about ;-) Otoh I started reading Dostoevsky at a young age and really "got" the inner monologues as if they were inside my mind. I would like to know what a vivid dream feels like but I'm glad I'm not haunted by painful memories the same way as people with a mind's eye often are. The fact that I only phantasize in words has helped my verbal skills a lot I would say, so all in all knowing about (my) aphantasia has helped me feeling "normal" quite a lot. Best PAL  

Hi Burt, I realize and acknowledge your frustration. I'm just not sure whether I support your premises and the claims built on those premises. As to the list of actions you're proposing, I must say points 3 to 7 would apply to pretty much every applicant, while I would recommend to take step 2 before step 1. Any findings of aphantasia being an obstacle in the process of learning a foreign language would very much support your point. Personally, I'm not convinced aphantasia makes it "almost impossible to become fluent in a foreign language". Just have a look at this forum, there are many participants who are not native english speakers and they express themselves quite well. Aphantasiacs are present in pretty much all jobs and professions. Many are musicians, a skill that basically requires comparable assets and abilities as learning a foreign language. I would love to hear from other members though, what's your experiences and ideas? Best, PAL