Not Everyone Can Picture Things

  • 📰 WSJ
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 45 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 21%
  • Publisher: 63%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Some people can’t conjure up mental images of things they have seen. Even more surprising, they often don’t realize it and aren’t hampered by it. v

Psychologist Alison Gopnik explores new discoveries in the science of human nature. Read previous columnsClose your eyes and imagine a brightly-lit plain white china teapot. If you’re like me you can vividly “see” the reflections on the surface, the precise angle of the spout. But, much to my surprise, my friend Ed can’t conjure up any such image—there aren’t any pictures in his mind.

Ed didn’t realize his experience was unusual until he was in his 60s. A meditation teacher told him to focus on a mental image like a candle flame—and he couldn’t do it. Ed was curious how many other people were like him, so he surveyed colleagues at Pixar. There was tremendous variation: About 3% said they had little or no mental imagery, while a similar percentage were “hyperphantasic” with imagery that was almost painfully vivid, and there was a wide range in between.

So if the aphantasic folks can do everything with pictures that people with mental images do, how can we tell whether their experience really is different, beyond just their say-so? Ain the journal eLife by Lachlan Kay, Rebecca Keogh and colleagues at the University of New South Wales tries to answer that question. They studied 48 random undergraduates and 18 people who were aphantasic.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 98. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Netflix Vows To Not Censor 'Specific' Artists Even If 'Harmful' For EmployeesThe revised company memo appears to be a response to Dave Chappelle's controversial 2021 special on the streaming platform.
Source: HuffPostWomen - 🏆 27. / 68 Read more »

Coastal Fire Shows Even the Rich 'Are Not Safe From Earth Breakdown'\u0022The only way out,\u0022 said one climate scientist, is to \u0022fight side by side and to strip power away from the rich corporatists who are leading us deeper into catastrophe, even as their own homes burn.\u0022 ClimateHuman They can just move to one if their multiple homes the majority of humans don’t have that luxury js. ClimateHuman *unless you can fire dildo rockets into space ClimateHuman No faith at all in corporate America.
Source: commondreams - 🏆 530. / 51 Read more »

Not bothered: Miners ‘not impacted by volatility’ in Bitcoin marketWith the cost of mining 1 BTC around $6,200 for some, large Bitcoin mining companies see opportunities in the downturn because as other miners leave, the landscape becomes more profitable for those who stay the distance. No luna w gore re re re terre :)
Source: Cointelegraph - 🏆 562. / 51 Read more »

Utah moms spending 'all day, every day' in search of infant formula some can't even affordTraveling from store to store to stare at empty shelves, scouring Facebook groups and spending hours on the phone every day has become a part of many parents' lives nationwide. It's no different for Utah parents who are also desperate to find infant formula.
Source: KSLcom - 🏆 549. / 51 Read more »

Ukraine calls for reconstruction planning even as war hits stalemateThe G7 has provided or pledged more than $24 billion in financial support for Ukraine since the war began — so far, a drop in the bucket of the $600 billion or so the European Commission estimates it will need for reconstruction. What stalemate? The Russians are getting rolled up. Reparations unlikely but should be mandatory. I will hold my breath. … PLAN FOR FUTURE .. STRONG EUROPE & FREE-WORLD W/O RUSSIA CONTROLS VIA “OIL”, CORRUPTION, TERROR- POSSIBLE BIG ECONOMIC-‘BOOM’ IE: AFTER- WWII -
Source: axios - 🏆 302. / 63 Read more »

Even after abysmal showing in Phoenix, don’t count Mavs out of pushing Suns to seven gamesOn the way to the locker room after his worst game of the playoffs, Luka Doncic unwittingly characterized the final, futile moments of the Mavs’ 30-point...
Source: dallasnews - 🏆 18. / 71 Read more »