I was probably around 23, when I accidentally heard during a podcast that one of the hosts had aphantasia. Then I looked into it, and found that I'm part of the minority. I researched further into it, and it now makes sense why I have difficulty finding directions, reading fiction, remembering faces, remembering events, etc.
The problem with aphantasia/hyperpahantasia is that you are born with it, and in your mind things have always worked the same way. Many people might never found out that there are people on the opposite end of the spectrum.
I have reached a simple way to test if people have aphantasia. I ask them to imagine a car. Then I ask them what color it was. In my mind there is no car, so the question what color it was makes no sense. People who can imagine things, immediately reply with a color.
I don't think this test is adequate. By that standard I would have aphantasia as well.
This seems to use the same misguided approach as dream researchers who thought that dreams were in black and white, even though it is trivial to find someone who reports dreaming in or about color. People can perfectly well remember a dream without coloring it in.
The simple resolution is: dreams and internal images are not necessarily associated with color. Memories most likely have (or even are) strong associations with other parts of the brain. For some, it is impossible to separate one part from the other. So some people hear sounds when they remember something, some people have visual images, others have emotions, yet others have fear and anxiety, all associated with a trigger or memory.
This differs from memory to memory, from person to person, and even over time in the same individual.
Yes, there probably are some people with aphantasia, but it is most definitely not the 50% of Hacker News who self-reports it every time this comes up.
Edit: anecdotal evidence that may require people who think they have aphantasia to reconsider: I once had a dream about a close friend. When I woke up, I remember seeing the friend in my dream, standing. However, I could not remember from the dream whether I could see my friend's face, or whether I viewed him from the back. Those specific details were simply not filled in at dream-time.
My hypothesis is: dreams fire concepts, not actual pixel imagery. Makes perfect sense from a neurological point of view. Same probably goes for internal phantasia.
I partially agree with your comment. It is more likely that I imagine the “forms” of a “car” which are colourless, but if I had to imagine a Holden Commodore (which my father owned) it would be much less abstract and definitely red.
Most dreams I have are that dark, hazy abstract kind of thing, but if I enter into a lucid dream it not only becomes ‘pixel perfect’, it somehow appears more visually detailed than reality.
I’ve also discovered that I can produce extremely vivid, temporary images if consciously focus on visualization just before or after sleep, or during meditation, but I don’t really have any control over what these images actually entail. I would say these images are closer to what you might be referring by to as pixel perfect, even if they are images formed from clouds in the minds eye.
How will we be able to check whether the pixel perfect images are actually pixel perfect, or whether our minds simply trigger the (binary?) signal "looks crisp to me"?
I've oftentimes tried to recreate such a vivid image, either in a drawing, or simply in my mind, and I've always failed. The vivid image always fades away upon closer scrutiny.
The problem with aphantasia/hyperpahantasia is that you are born with it, and in your mind things have always worked the same way. Many people might never found out that there are people on the opposite end of the spectrum.
I have reached a simple way to test if people have aphantasia. I ask them to imagine a car. Then I ask them what color it was. In my mind there is no car, so the question what color it was makes no sense. People who can imagine things, immediately reply with a color.