How to know if you blind inside and is there a test for aphantasia?
In most people, the brain stores information visually. By creating associations, it is possible to remember more complex information. However, not every human mind works in the same way, and approximately 3 percent of the world population cannot visualize things in their mind. Some people even have problems with recalling smells, colors, or sounds. Such a mental condition is known as aphantasia.
So how to test for aphantasia, and is there a method to improve your memory even if your mind’s eyes are blind? To check whether you have trouble with imagination, it will be enough to take a simple aphantasia test that consists of a few steps:
- pick a thing you want to visualize in your mind (it can be anything you wish, for example, a red star);
- close your eyes and try to reproduce this star in the smallest details;
- rate what you saw depending on how bright was the picture in your head.
If the image was clear and vivid, and you can easily visualize the red star, or you can see it a little bit dim and unclear, then you don’t have aphantasia. However, if you see emptiness and nothing appears in your brain, it means that your mind’s eye is blind. But there are no reasons to worry as it is not a disability or illness that needs to be cured. The thing is that such people have a life without mental images, so if they want to improve their memory skills, an associative mnemonic device like the mind palace can be complicated to apply. However, it doesn’t mean that seeing the world without a mind’s eye, you can’t train and develop your memory.
What is an eidetic memory and how aphantasia can affect it?
There is no evidence that the inability to create associations with closed eyes negatively affects different types of memory, such as periodic, short-term and long-term, or eidetic ones. Eidetic, in fact, is the most controversial type of memory since its existence is not scientifically proven. So what is an eidetic memory and how people with aphantasia can develop it? Eidetic memory is a skill when you can retrieve accurate details about an object that you just had in front of your eyes for some time after it was taken away. Daily practicing of this exercise helps to hold a greater volume of important information in the memory and evoke it when needed.
Is it possible to practice this type of information memorization for people with limited mental imagery capacity when the visualization process is entirely absent? Here, some modern and advanced technologies can come in handy as in the modern world, there is an option to create the mind palace with the help of immersive 3D games and interactive software such as memoryOS. And while some people can’t keep images in their minds, they still can improve their mental agility, sharpness, focus, and concentration. By exercising and training possibilities of your brain with memoryOS, you can challenge your memory, boost your cognitive function, and discover new facets of your mind.
