Ishtar's Shithouse Poetry

Imagery, Memory, and Domestication in Human Evolution Human cognition and behaviour are shaped by intricate relationships between sensory perception, memory, and social dynamics. Two seemingly distinct areas—how individuals process pain and how domestication influences behavioural traits like tameness and aggression—offer profound insights into both our neurological makeup and evolutionary history. By examining the role of pain and emotional imagery alongside domestication theories, we can better understand how these factors may have shaped human development and the domestication of animals.  Mental Imagery: The Vivid, Muted, Emotional and Painful  Imagery, the mental ability to visualise and recall sensory or emotional experiences, varies widely among individuals and even species . These variations influence behaviours ranging from empathy to aggression, with implications for how humans relate to pain and emotion—both in themselves and in others. Muted Pain and Emotional Imag...

I’ve always thought of myself as intuitive. From the moment I learned the word as a child, it felt like the perfect description of the things I sensed before I should know them. One of my earliest memories is a vivid example of this uncanny intuition—what I consider a type of very mild precognition.  It was my last year of Primary School, and the Christmas play was a big event. That year, our tiny village school—with barely 60 students—had splurged on the rights to play the music from  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat . The excitement buzzed through the classroom as the teachers began announcing the cast.  We were all crammed into the biggest classroom, fidgeting in anticipation as name after name got called. My own name hadn’t been mentioned yet, but as the roles dwindled and with only a handful of us left, a strange and knowing thought crept into my mind: "No. They wouldn’t... Why would you even think that?",  I tried to shake it off, but the feeling I...

Deep in the shadows, a black cat prowls, Her sleek coat draped in midnight's cowl. Her eyes, twin moons of emerald light, Harbour a world that glows, so bright. In her bright mind, wild rivers run, Dappled with fields, kissed by the sun. Prey of light and dream takes flight, Through the labyrinth of boundless sight. Her owner, blind, feels her friends beat, A current flows where visions don't seep. The whispers tell on where darkness dwells, And in quiet tones, her presence casts spells. The cat, transfixed begins her chase, Across imagined time and space. Her paws strike down on phantom ground, While purring winds of joy resound. The blind one listens, her head held high, Tracing the dance she cannot spy. Each thump, each bash, each chirping sound, The window into a sight unbound. Together they weave a private lore, Of hunter, prey, and bathroom floor. The bond between these worlds so clear, A vivid mind, heard by kindred ear. For sight is not the only way To glimpse the dream...

Introduction to the Proposed Framework The new framework that I have presented, designed to help with understanding mental imagery, now includes fifteen distinct modalities (or " yeda's "), each with a range of four variations in strength:  aphantasia, hypophantasia, phantasia  and  hyperphantasia .   This results in a total of sixty variations leading to over one billion possible combinations of mental experiences. This expanded framework offers a deeper insight into the diverse ways our minds perceive and interact with imagery, unlocking a more detailed understanding of the mental senses. Neurodiversity is the norm, we all possess a unique perspective to bring to the table.  It has taken two years and a lot of feedback from the community to be able to articulate the instant " feeling " or " knowing " I had two years ago when I discovered aphantasia and a door was opened—the topic of neurodivergence suddenly " all made sense ", as did a lo...