Had An Interesting Conversation

[cassa333]

I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine earlier.

Trying to explain what it's like to recongnise absolutely who you are talking to but look away and cannot, other than perhaps.... if I am really lucky.... say they have long or short hair!!

I am not able to describe anything about them. It is so difficult to recall detail that sometimes I think I should take a picture of the kids in case anything happened to them. I couldn't even say what they were wearing at the end of the day!!

Oh just realised the whole world is populated with The Silence lol

I have only about six months ago realised how different about my internal imagery is from other people.

Trying to explain it can be tricky lol

[Cloverjo]

That makes sense, Cassa and Buenchico. My son can't draw for toffee either. He was given a detention by his art teacher when he was supposed to draw a flower but drew something vaguely flower-shaped only 1cm in diameter. The teacher thought he was taking the pee. I didn't think of it at the time, but I guess he just couldn't visualise it enough to draw it.

[Buenchico]

When I was teaching maths there was a question in one of the workbooks for 11 & 12-year-olds which required the ability to work out which three-dimensional figures could be fitted together. If a child asked me for help with that question I always had to send them to one of my colleagues to seek assistance, as I simply couldn't visualise the shapes in different positions from the ones that they were depicted in. (It's ruddy embarrassing for a teacher to have to admit that he can't answer a question for 12-year-olds but my colleagues all understood that I had a problem with picturing things in my mind).

[cassa333]

My twins are far far brighter than I am and are both in the top sets for all the core subjects but DD failed miserably at one of The geography tests she had.

They were given a list of countries and their capitals and told to memorise them, Which she dutifully, did but they also had to know where they went on the map.

Because she couldn't visualise the places on the map she got them all wrong. If I remember rightly she got two right my accident. She was very upset about that but I just said that she (unlike me when I was young) knows what her problem is so needs to find a different way to learn that type of thing.

[tamborine]

My score is hyperphantasia but I couldnt describe yesterdays clothing of person I used for the test. Dont think I'd be much use on descriptions to police.

[Smowball]

I watched a programme on this last year and it was fascinating. One woman could nor recall faces whatsoever. She was introduced to a man who then left the room and came back two minutes later and said hello - she had no idea who he was.

[Peter Pedant]

// Have you been drinking?//
blimey a serious quote from the usual suspects

I think this is dysproposognosia ( prosopos = face)
not able to recognise faces

Oliver Sacks (awakenings - that one) writes very well about this - he had it anyway then lost the sight in one eye and got 'flat vision' as well ( which I that so it made sense)

very very fluent writer - I got thro his biog in three days
and yeah you can read it as you drink as well

yeah yeah - I used to think dysprosopognosie was something psychics and mediums did yeah but I never met one who recognised the term yeah ? have another drink Zac

[Smowball]

That's it Peter - it's fascinating but not for the sufferer.

[woofgang]

“The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat” is one of my favourite books. It was where I first encountered the concept of only treating the aspects of a disease or neuro-atipicality, which cause a problem.

[cassa333]

According to the Aphantasia FBI page there doesn't seem to be a huge connection between Aphantasia and Autism. Not indeed can I use it to excuse my shockingly poor memory lol

I so wanted it to be because I can't retain images that I can't remember lines from a page!!

[cassa333]

Seems I might have got the Autism connection slightly wrong.

Apparently around 2% of the overall population has some form of Aphantasia. However 10% of people on the autistic spectrum have it.

Not sure how that works out but I suppose the number crunchers could tell me how that works lol