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layout: post
date: 2025-11-30
link: https://kottke.org/25/11/meet-the-aphantasics-those-who-cant-see-mental-images
title: Aphantasics - Those Who Can’t See Mental Images
cited: Jason Kottke

---

Huh, so I've had this thing in the back of my mind for a lifetime where I have little interest in seeing things in real life such as going on safari as I know what an elephant looks like, and can picture it in its context.

> > As soon as I close my eyes, what I see are not everyday objects, animals, and vehicles, but the dark underside of my eyelids. I can't willingly form the faintest of images in my mind.
>
> Larissa MacFarquhar wrote a fascinating article about aphantasia (and its opposite, hyperphantasia) for the New Yorker: [Some People Can't See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound.](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/some-people-cant-see-mental-images-the-consequences-are-profound)