Thinking with Aphantasia

How do people think without a visual imagination?

I would say my imagination is invisible but it is OK, because I have the tools to read it. I have a yedasentient or 'knowing and feeling mind'.

As another form of expression, the Apple Dot video below is a pretty accurate visual representation of how it feels for me to think, without mental imagery - like an artist might use paper or video to represent feelings or concepts that can't be seen. Apple did a pretty good job, even if it wasn't intentional.

I get the feeling when I think, that I sort of 'hold' points of information in my mind space, which is represented by the dots. All the properties and information I know about this point are consciously held in this space.

Using the video as a guide, this is how a visualization session might go for me:

1st dot - "Imagine an apple"- Everything I know about apples is ready to be utilised. 2nd dot -"What colour is the apple?" - I make a choice based on what I know about apples. 3rd dot - "Where is the apple?" - I make a choice based on what I know about apples. 4th dot - "You notice the apples is ripe for eating" - Ok, apple is ripe? 5th dot - "What do you do next?" - Ermm, wonder why I am being asked about apples. You could say I am wondering, what is your point?

It feels like interconnected points of information will sort of join up in my mind space. Unconnected subjects are held separately. I can hold many points at once, all evolving at their own pace. If you asked me to flip a thought on its head or look at it from another angle, I sort of feel my perspective of those points shift, like the video display's visually. Sometimes, these collective points of information join up with other previously unrelated bits of information, as understanding on a topic grows, in sort of 'ah-ha' moments.

I also have an inner monologue and while I don't 'hear it', I know what it is saying and what I sound like as I think, so I can talk to myself in my mind space, about these points.

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