I have Aphantasia. Literally no imagination at all. AMA.

Dude, you have no idea how much this whole concept has preoccupied me today. Been talking with friends about it, and no matter where they were on the red triangle test, they were all, "wait, doesn't everybody see it that way?"

I can't really tell if I hear music in my head or if I hear me doing music in my head. I think I'm too aware of it now. I'll have to try to surprise myself down the road or something.

Listening to some of your tracks, I dig it. I notice there's a lot of theme and variations. Layering, repetition, building. It's interesting that that's the kind of music that appeals to me. I used to work in design fields and still do stuff as a hobby, and my tendencies are usually towards layering and themes. I wonder if, because we can't really visualize an end product, that's how we create. We're additive.

You're doing EDM and the like, which allows for tinkering. I also tend towards non-destructive techniques. I'm a mess with a paintbrush, but I love digital film editing.

I don't know if I mentioned, but I have a friend who has no inner monologue, it's all images. I used to think it was a weird quirk, it was only today that I realized I don't really have imagery. My brain has gotten VERY good at filling in the blanks. When I think of an elephant, I can see the elephant. I can see the whole scene, I can see details. Except... there's no actual picture. If I close my eyes, it's black. It's like I have a memory of just having looked at an elephant, or something. Do you have a better way of putting that?

Even when I'm creating something... Like if I think about some layouts I want to do. I can see it in my head, except I can't. I can put the ideas in my head to paper, but that's the first place where actually see it. It's very strange, now that I'm aware of it. I guess I never thought there was anything different.

Back to that friend I mentioned. He said for him it's so extreme that when he's visualizing something, it replaces the thing he's actually looking at. Which I imagine can be quite dangerous. I'll have to ask him more about it.

Sorry to ramble, but I've been all over the place today. Thank you for opening my eyes to this!

/r/casualiama Thread Parent