Is it normal to be unable to visualise?

So i got talking with a friend the other day, somehow imagination came up. He said he could SEE (visualise) things very vividly he imagined in his head (as if he was actually looking at the thing). I cant and have never been able to do this.

I did some research and what i have got is called Aphantasia, am i normal?

Voting Results
33% Normal
Based on 12 votes (4 yes)
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Comments ( 7 )
  • RoseIsabella

    When I listen to music I picture a scenario in my head, or a ballet being choreographed in my head. I've been picturing this stuff in my head even before music videos were a big thing.

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  • LloydAsher

    You can train that ability. Start by thinking of a 2d object and then make it more complex by adding colors and contours.

    Most people have the ability to visualize shapes. The degree of your friend has is pretty rare and is a godsend for engineers that have that ability.

    If you rate the ability from 1-5 with your friend being a 5 and you being a 1 I would say I'm a high 3. Super complex shapes and colors are an issue but visualizing an apple is fine enough.

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  • COVID-19

    You can diagnose yourself with anything if you search it on the internet.

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  • SkullsNRoses

    I voted not normal because it’s technically not but it’s common enough for most people to have a concept of it, even if they don’t know the word Aphantasia.

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  • Boojum

    If I were to try to visualise, say, a green box with pink spots, I wouldn't be able to actually "see" such a thing in my mind in the sense of being able to close my eyes and see the object as clearly as if I were looking at it.

    On the other hand, if I visualise driving a route I'm very familiar with, I can step through it with a good degree of accuracy, having no problems recalling things like landmarks, buildings and intersections along the way in their correct sequence and pretty accurately recalling relative distances. But, again, it's not like I'm watching a moving behind my closed eyelids.

    I'm willing to believe that some people do have this ability, but I doubt if it's that common.

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  • ellnell

    Well yeah if it's a condition it's probably normal.

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    • waffle_stomper

      i just wanted to do a poll

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