Comment by theogravity | Hacker News Reader

Comment by theogravity | Hacker News Reader

I have this (unable to have any kind of mental imagery at all, and discovered that it was not normal via the Facebook article by Blake Ross years ago) and unscientifically correlate this condition as part of my lack of ability to remember certain things and recall events with storytelling ability.

I also sometimes have problems remembering names and eventually forget faces as well if I'm out of contact with someone for a long time.

Anyone else with aphantasia relate to this, or are my issues unrelated?

My wife, who describes herself as having very vivid mental imagery and says she has involuntary photographic memory at times (as in she does not know what triggers a memory to be completely photographic), has superb memory, and I personally believe it's what enables her to quickly learn so many languages.

So as a result (I know, based on sample size one), I'm led to personally believe that my memory-related issues may have some correspondence to aphantasia.

> Anyone else with aphantasia relate to this, or are my issues unrelated?

as another aphantasic, the only overlap i've got with you is perhaps in the face stuff. i'm slow to recognize faces, but i don't think that's connected.

> So as a result (I know, based on sample size one), I'm led to personally believe that my memory-related issues may have some correspondence to aphantasia.

i doubt there's a general connection. my memory is generally excellent, certainly superior to most people i work/interact with.

> discovered that it was not normal

Ah this was so surprising to me as well. It was mind blowing suddenly realizing how powerful other people's visual imagination is.

Allow me to contribute to the sample size:

I probably have aphantasia. It requires a lot of effort to imagine simple, basic visual details when thinking of something. I am terrible at describing faces of people I see every day, let alone strangers.

But when I do see someone I know, I usually recognize them instantly, even if their face changed a bit (facial hair change, long time no see etc).

I also am great with names. Once I get to know someone, I'll probably remember their name for a very long time (decades). I can remember the full name of most of my friends from 15 years ago. But other than that, my memory is really bad.

I do have one odd thing that I've always wondered. Most women's faces look like the same to me. In movies, I have a hard time knowing which women they are talking about (and it takes some time to associate a name to a face). Yet, I have no such problem with men.

Possibly related, I am attracted to men, which could explain why I can easily differentiate each men, but most women look the same for me.

Anyone with similar experiences?

I have aphantasia, I'm terrible with names but like you am excellent with faces.

I think the three are totally unrelated.

I have a form of aphantasia, and also poor memory of certain kinds, usually when there's a physical component to the remembering. Names from faces is a big challenge for me by default, but I've learned to practice.

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