![]() ![]() When you ask someone with aphantasia to picture a ball on a table, they will probably recall the concept of a ball and apply their knowledge of what happens when you apply a force to a spherical object. Instead of coupling concepts with stimuli such as imagery or text, they understand the concepts themselves. Without the ability to visualize, aphantasics organize thoughts in a very different way. The reason the “ball-on-a-table” thought experiment works in identifying aphantasia most of the time is because of the different way that most aphantasics think. He noted that some of his students had no ability to visualize. The name comes from the Greek word ‘phantasia,’ meaning “imagination,” and the ‘a-’ prefix meaning “without.” This phenomenon was first observed in 1880 by Francis Galton during a study on visual imagery. Patients with aphantasia are unable to create a voluntary mental image. These people, whether they know it or not, may have a condition called aphantasia. When asked if they already knew the answer or not, they said that they had to come up with an answer for the questions as they were asked. Out of 25 people, 23 already knew the answer to every question, before they were asked. All of them were able to rank their visual imagination, with an average ranking of 6.84 out of 10. Out of 25 respondents, all were perfectly able to answer every question. ![]() I released a poll on twitter, asking these questions to my followers. However, there are some people, about 2% of the population, that have to pick an arbitrary answer for these attributes as they’re mentioned. You just know intrinsically that the ball is red or blue or whatever color it is. You don’t have to pick a color for the ball. Most of you will probably be able to say with complete confidence that you were able to answer every question without conscious thought. Would you be able to tell what happens to the ball? Would you be able to say the color and size of the ball, the material of the table, and the color of the person’s shirt? On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the fidelity of your visual imagination? Most importantly, did you already know the answer to each question listed above, or were you coming up with an answer as you read it? Now imagine that someone walks up to the table and gives it a push. The Greek word phantasia, listed in the Dictionary of Spiritual Terms, translates to "imagination." The word aphantasia, by contrast, represents difficulties in creating mental imagery with one's imagination.Picture a ball on a table. Adam Zeman, neurologist and professor of cognitive and behavioral neurology, gave aphantasia its name in 2015 after encountering a patient who lost their ability to visualize mental images following surgery (per Aphantasia Network).Īlthough the name for this unique occurrence is fairly new, the term "phantasia" dates way back to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in De Anima (On the Soul), Part III, as explained by the Aphantasia Network. ![]() Since then, more researchers have taken a special interest in how differences in the brain may relate to this mysterious lack of mental imagery. However, the mechanisms of this experience were initially introduced in 1880 by renowned scientist Francis Galton in his paper Statistics of Mental Imagery. Because aphantasia had not been studied extensively until recently, it is not yet well understood by researchers. ![]()
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