Some people don't have a 'mind's eye'

[shotsup 832]

Well duh... You can't envision me as an ugly woman either.

I cans. Issw the return imsgimr on my fax mschins. Wows

[IGotWorms 3,315]

I crreped meself out with thus. Think WA s a sboerb when I written it. Dunno.

Put down the bottle, man

[OldMaid 1,838]

I cans. Issw the return imsgimr on my fax mschins. Wows

Did you type that with your toes?

[shotsup 832]

Well duh... You can't envision me as an ugly woman either.

I cans as I seen the faxes prints. Wows.

 

 

Kidding young hotternthrn nikkinumbers.

[shotsup 832]

Did you type that with your toes?

Slappsdc the cack

[shotsup 832]

Put down the bottle, man

Below me

[jerryskids 5,205]

Well duh... You can't envision me as an ugly woman either.

Lucky you.

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

What about other sense volty?

 

Can you recall what things smell like? Like not just remember that x smell equals Y, but actually imagine it? Taste?

 

In my youth, I more or less had a photographic memory. Both visual and auditory. I could leaf through a book and recall it verbatim later. I could recite professor's lectures verbatim months later.

 

As I've gotten older, that has faded. Which sucks. Learning chinese would have been easy then. Now its a b!tch.

 

Too much weed I guess.

[OldMaid 1,838]

Lucky you.

Not really... I have the ability to picture you naked.

[mmmmm...beer 691]

Are you serious? I could never do any of that, ever.

 

I must be broke like Volty

For reals?

[IGotWorms 3,315]

For reals?

Yup. Basically everything Volty has said in this thread applies to me.

 

Close my eyes and try to picture something, and I can't. Best I can do is try to remember it. Say I want to see what my wife looks like: I can't just conjure the image but maybe I'll be able to remember a photo I once saw of her or something.

 

This is the woman I chose to marry and see every day of my life. Pretty focked up, really.

 

But I do suspect it goes with an analytical mind. Which isn't to say all you minds-eye types are dumb, just maybe smart in a different way

[shotsup 832]

[Voltaire 4,559]

Uhhh of course... and now imagine its a rainbow of different brightly colored peas like skittles whirling down a drain... now make them black and white which turns into Jimmy Hendrix catroon singing purple haze... and on and on...

 

Of course dude... thats what we normals call... iiiimmmaaaaaaginaaaation.

Oh I have an imagination. I've won as many imaginary sporting events and won as many imaginary elections and afterwards given as many imaginary press conferences as anybody. I cannot in good faith say I've focked as many imaginary girls though. I just can't see anything when I imagine things.

 

Like Bill Murray lining up and whacking the flowers in Caddyshack. I do that. Well, not golf and no flowers have ever gotten hurt in any of my imaginary activities. But yeah.

 

I just don't see anything when i imagine.

 

While I'm at it, I don't even see Bill whacking the flowers when typing it, ah maybe very vaguely, but I do remember the scene from the movie. They may even have been marigolds.

[Voltaire 4,559]

What about other sense volty?

 

Can you recall what things smell like? Like not just remember that x smell equals Y, but actually imagine it? Taste?

 

In my youth, I more or less had a photographic memory. Both visual and auditory. I could leaf through a book and recall it verbatim later. I could recite professor's lectures verbatim months later.

 

As I've gotten older, that has faded. Which sucks. Learning chinese would have been easy then. Now its a b!tch.

 

Too much weed I guess.

No. Can't imagine smells either or touch.

 

I can hear music and I can hear Cyndi Lauper or Axl Rose or Louis Armstrong singing in my head but I can't think in their voices. Now I can think in John Wayne's voice, but that's because I can reasonably impersonate John Wayne. It's probably not really John Wayne's voice but more my imperfect imitation of him. I don't/can't impersonate Lauper, Rose or Armstrong.

[IGotWorms 3,315]

Found a short little online test you can take here: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34039054

 

I failed massively

[naomi 343]

A neurological study of a man who suddenly lost his mind's eye revealed what is happening (or not) in different regions of the brain.

[vuduchile 1,941]

Let's be clear here. When I close my eyes and try to imagine something, it's not like turning on a tv screen and watching a movie. It's not even like looking at a still photograph or a painting.

 

When I close my eyes, what I physically see is darkness. Black. But in my mind, there are thousands of images that are forever implanted there. I can recall any of them in an abstract sort of way.

 

I did the test in Worms' link above and what I get when I try to visualize my wife is a bit like a black canvas with a series of images of her sorta floating around. It doesn't matter if my eyes are open or closed, I can still "see" them.

 

I don't know how to describe it so that everyone can understand it. I just know exactly what her @ss looks like in those new jeans she bought a few months ago.

I instantly liked it when she showed me, and now I can recall that image anytime.

[mmmmm...beer 691]

I did worms test as well. Asked me if I wanted to be in their study as I visualize exceptionally well. The test is horsesh!t though.

[Voltaire 4,559]

I failed miserably and was also invited to participate.

[jerryskids 5,205]

Let's be clear here. When I close my eyes and try to imagine something, it's not like turning on a tv screen and watching a movie. It's not even like looking at a still photograph or a painting.

 

When I close my eyes, what I physically see is darkness. Black. But in my mind, there are thousands of images that are forever implanted there. I can recall any of them in an abstract sort of way.

 

I did the test in Worms' link above and what I get when I try to visualize my wife is a bit like a black canvas with a series of images of her sorta floating around. It doesn't matter if my eyes are open or closed, I can still "see" them.

 

I don't know how to describe it so that everyone can understand it. I just know exactly what her @ss looks like in those new jeans she bought a few months ago.

I instantly liked it when she showed me, and now I can recall that image anytime.

 

Agreed, your wife's ass looks great in those jeans.

 

Seriously though, this description fits me very well. In fact a few days ago before I read this, I thought that my ability to "image" scenes was more long than short term memory. I've tried multiple times to look at something, really look at it, then close my eyes... I pretty much "see" nothing. I could describe it because my mind memorized things, but I couldn't say I could see it.

 

However, if I think back to major events, or times like vudu described where my wife looked hot... I can conjure up what it looked like, although I can't say I can "see" it. I love his description of the black canvas.

 

I much prefer fiction to non-fiction, and I generally enjoy scenic descriptions in books (although some authors like Anne Rice can spend 3 pages describing the color of a flower petal, which eventually bores me). I have a vivid imagination. I am at the high end of understanding spatial relationships. I'm going to conclude that I'm normal, at least in this regard.

[Brad GLuckman 518]

I have a difficult time with faces. I can visualize them, but not vividly. I really have to concentrate to see it.

 

I agree with the poster who said they don't understand police sketches. I wouldn't be able to explain my wife's face, let alone some random criminal.

[mighty_thor 115]

 

This is seriously weird as fock. It's tripping me out. I had no clue some folks didn't see pictures/movies in their heads.

 

Waaoow.... dude you can't imagine many times I've wacked it to what was essentially a video of every chick I've ever thrown it in. You don't have that in you head... wow. Seriously... mind blown.

It freaks me out so much that I don't know if I really believe it. I think all people visualize things in their head maybe to different degrees.

 

Edit to add - after reading some of these articles, I guess i am more visual than most. I can conjure up a cousins face who I haven't seen in 10 years as vivid as if he was standing next to me. I can conjure up a vivid image of a house we vacationed in 40 years ago.

 

I am not good at drawing faces. I am not sure I could describe a face to a sketch artist. My friend in college who is very artistic would always point out little flaws in women's faces to me that I didn't always notice at first. Like a woman's eyes would be spaced further apart than usual. I may notice that her face was a little odd and I could conjure up her image vividly but I wouldn't pick up on the dimensional flaw.

[Voltaire 4,559]

It freaks me out so much that I don't know if I really believe it. I think all people visualize things in their head maybe to different degrees.

 

Edit to add - after reading some of these articles, I guess i am more visual than most. I can conjure up a cousins face who I haven't seen in 10 years as vivid as if he was standing next to me. I can conjure up a vivid image of a house we vacationed in 40 years ago.

Believe what you want, we don't know what goes on in anybody's head but our own. Your experience sounds like BS to me but I don't doubt it since you have so many others corroborate it. I'd expect the same benefit of the doubt in return for me, worms, and Jerry.

 

I suppose there are probes folks can wear to monitor brain activity when given certain stimulus that prove the discrepancy.

[naomi 343]

Yup. Basically everything Volty has said in this thread applies to me.

 

Close my eyes and try to picture something, and I can't. Best I can do is try to remember it. Say I want to see what my wife looks like: I can't just conjure the image but maybe I'll be able to remember a photo I once saw of her or something.

 

This is the woman I chose to marry and see every day of my life. Pretty focked up, really.

 

But I do suspect it goes with an analytical mind. Which isn't to say all you minds-eye types are dumb, just maybe smart in a different way

 

Chinese lawyer friend who's been a prosecutor took the test and got mmmm...beer's results.

 

I tested average but realized that whenever I was on fence about how vivid an image was, color was most vivid.

[naomi 343]

Believe what you want, we don't know what goes on in anybody's head but our own. Your experience sounds like BS to me but I don't doubt it since you have so many others corroborate it. I'd expect the same benefit of the doubt in return for me, worms, and Jerry.

 

I suppose there are probes folks can wear to monitor brain activity when given certain stimulus that prove the discrepancy.

 

From the article I linked in post #99

 

One hint that MX (man who lost his "mind's eye" after a surgery) was rerouting visual information came from his brain scans. When he tried to picture faces, his mind’s-eye network* was quiet. But other regions in the front of his brain were much more active than the matching regions in the brains of the control group. These other regions may be applying different problem-solving strategies to the same input. MX’s performance on the cube-picture test also suggests that he is making use of alternative parts of the brain. Rather than trying to rotate the objects in his mind, MX apparently found a nonvisual way to match 3-D objects.

 

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about MX is that he did not need years to develop this new skill. As far as Della Sala and Zeman can tell, he switched over soon after his operation. Perhaps his blind imagination was always available to him, ready to be used. Studies of blindsight suggest that healthy people rely on both the vision we are aware of and the vision that slinks through our brains without our knowing. There may in fact be a little MX in all of us, even if we cannot see him.

 

*When you look at a person up close, for example, a particular network of brain regions becomes active, including areas that process raw signals from your eyes as well as more sophisticated regions that recognize individual faces. When you close your eyes and conjure up a face, the parts of the brain that receive signals from the eyes are dormant, but the regions that recognize the features defining an individual again light up.

[mighty_thor 115]

Believe what you want, we don't know what goes on in anybody's head but our own. Your experience sounds like BS to me but I don't doubt it since you have so many others corroborate it. I'd expect the same benefit of the doubt in return for me, worms, and Jerry.

 

I suppose there are probes folks can wear to monitor brain activity when given certain stimulus that prove the discrepancy.

After reading more of the posts and articles my eyes are open. I'm just pretty amazed that there is this difference in how people's minds work. It makes me wonder if this this difference shapes people's views on things.

[jerryskids 5,205]

It freaks me out so much that I don't know if I really believe it. I think all people visualize things in their head maybe to different degrees.

 

Edit to add - after reading some of these articles, I guess i am more visual than most. I can conjure up a cousins face who I haven't seen in 10 years as vivid as if he was standing next to me. I can conjure up a vivid image of a house we vacationed in 40 years ago.

 

I am not good at drawing faces. I am not sure I could describe a face to a sketch artist. My friend in college who is very artistic would always point out little flaws in women's faces to me that I didn't always notice at first. Like a woman's eyes would be spaced further apart than usual. I may notice that her face was a little odd and I could conjure up her image vividly but I wouldn't pick up on the dimensional flaw.

 

The vacation home is a good example. Back in October we stayed in a little 2 BR bungalow in Hollywood. I could describe the layout to a good detail, I could tell you it was dark, but colors... I got nothing. I'm back to vudu's description -- a black canvas with quasi-images flickering in my brain.

 

I suck at drawing, which always kinda bugged me because I am good at the other arts. Yesterday we were at the Tempe Arts Festival and I saw a woman painting a sunlit desert scene. I thought of this thread and how most of the artists there probably have a wide open mind's eye. That being said, I could never be a sketch artist, but I feel like I could work with one to create a drawing, at least of my wife and kids, but of other people I know as well I suspect. I think I could guide the artist enough. Anyway, it would be an interesting experiment.

[penultimatestraw 473]

After reading more of the posts and articles my eyes are open. I'm just pretty amazed that there is this difference in how people's minds work. It makes me wonder if this this difference shapes people's views on things.

Certainly eye witnesses to crimes.

[penultimatestraw 473]

 

The vacation home is a good example. Back in October we stayed in a little 2 BR bungalow in Hollywood. I could describe the layout to a good detail, I could tell you it was dark, but colors... I got nothing. I'm back to vudu's description -- a black canvas with quasi-images flickering in my brain.

 

I suck at drawing, which always kinda bugged me because I am good at the other arts. Yesterday we were at the Tempe Arts Festival and I saw a woman painting a sunlit desert scene. I thought of this thread and how most of the artists there probably have a wide open mind's eye. That being said, I could never be a sketch artist, but I feel like I could work with one to create a drawing, at least of my wife and kids, but of other people I know as well I suspect. I think I could guide the artist enough. Anyway, it would be an interesting experiment.

Take this test: https://public.psych.iastate.edu/glwells/theeyewitnesstest.html

[naomi 343]

After reading more of the posts and articles my eyes are open. I'm just pretty amazed that there is this difference in how people's minds work. It makes me wonder if this this difference shapes people's views on things.

 

From a Facebook post written by a survivor in the Bataclan theatre during the Paris attacks:

 

As i lay down in the blood of strangers and waiting for my bullet to end my mere 22 years, I envisioned every face that I have ever loved and whispered I love you. over and over again. reflecting on the highlights of my life.

 

Sometimes I go through one - two week phases (think it's stress related) where out of the blue I'll vividly imagine experiencing a sudden catastrophic demise, car wreck, explosion, etc. It'll happen a handful of times. I could be pouring a cup of coffee, reading, making my bed, whatever, and I'll just super vividly for ~two seconds 'see' 'hear' and 'feel' something like that. It doesn't scare me, it's actually a bit awe inspiring, but it's slightly worrisome that my mind does it. Not having a mind's eye made me think of how that dynamic would be totally different. If it still happened, would it be as stirring

[mmmmm...beer 691]

This is still one of my favorite threads ever. It really was eye opening and super interesting even re-reading through it again.

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

This is still one of my favorite threads ever. It really was eye opening and super interesting even re-reading through it akl.

Yeah, Naomi takes a lot of sh!t here, but she can be one of the more interesting posters sometimes.

[Voltaire 4,559]

This is still one of my favorite threads ever. It really was eye opening and super interesting even re-reading through it again.

Yeah, I learned a lot about myself and humanity in general from the thread. I may not have known otherwise. One of the most important ones we've had IMO.

[Mookz 1,287]

One little boy, one little man.

 

Funny how...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME

 

FLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIES

 

 

[Bad Santa 24]

Uhhh of course... and now imagine its a rainbow of different brightly colored peas like skittles whirling down a drain... now make them black and white which turns into Jimmy Hendrix catroon singing purple haze... and on and on...

 

Of course dude... thats what we normals call... iiiimmmaaaaaaginaaaation.

Imagination huh? In the 70's we called that LSD.

[Bad Santa 24]

I have a difficult time with faces. I can visualize them, but not vividly. I really have to concentrate to see it.

 

I agree with the poster who said they don't understand police sketches. I wouldn't be able to explain my wife's face, let alone some random criminal.

Wait. They have faces?