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Well I haven't come to a conclusion. It's a hypothesis and rests upon more than just art tutorials. That was just an example that I was reflecting upon. In

by Lerc 8y ago

Well I haven't come to a conclusion. It's a hypothesis and rests upon more than just art tutorials. That was just an example that I was reflecting upon. In fact I would say that it doesn't rest at all upon that but rather that it was the starting point of my thoughts.

mattmanser 8y ago
Well, it's incorrect. I recently realised that I have got aphantasia too (in my late 30s!) and have talked to a fair few people now about it, including artists. I've also 'cured' it, using a technique called image streaming, which most aphantasia sufferers can do. Very few aphantasia sufferers are actually incapable of using their mind's eye. It's hard, but apparently it gets better with practice. I have "seen" a mind's eye picture. It took me about 6 days before I saw something. I've not kept it up as it was kinda cool, but I've got enough projects on at the moment without adding another. An easy test for you is to ask a friend to picture a person. Now ask what colour their coat is. For me and you, we have to make that up, add a new property to the description that is essentially a list of properties we know a person should have. For them, they already know, as they've "seen" a picture of that person. They don't say that they'll add the purple coat property to the list of characteristics, they have already seen a picture where the person was wearing a purple coat. It's not mass delusion, it's a real thing. Also, of interest, is that there are degrees of skill, so some people have extremely vivid mind's eye, and some people have fuzzy, or black and white, or not very detailed, etc. Here's a good starter article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34039054 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34039054
- graeme 8y ago
  Did image streaming get you vivid images, or just images, period? I have dull and fleeting mental images, but they're there. Am wondering if I can expand them.
  - mattmanser 8y ago
    It's supposed to improve it. I don't really know, there's little scientific study on it, and some people claiming it's tosh vs some people saying it worked for them. I did it for about a week before I started seeing images, so it does take some practice and some time. I found recording myself while I did it helped me to keep speaking, which helped the process. The first few days were frustratingly without any progress, but things did start to come together about day 6 or 7. At the time I had a ridiculous amount of projects I was trying to do, realized I was overwhelmed and this was one of the ones I have parked until a later date. I will try it again as it did seem to be working.
    - graeme 8y ago
      So how were you doing it? I'd like to try.

by Lerc 8y ago

mattmanser 8y ago

Well, it's incorrect. I recently realised that I have got aphantasia too (in my late 30s!) and have talked to a fair few people now about it, including artists. I've also 'cured' it, using a technique called image streaming, which most aphantasia sufferers can do. Very few aphantasia sufferers are actually incapable of using their mind's eye. It's hard, but apparently it gets better with practice. I have "seen" a mind's eye picture. It took me about 6 days before I saw something. I've not kept it up as it was kinda cool, but I've got enough projects on at the moment without adding another. An easy test for you is to ask a friend to picture a person. Now ask what colour their coat is. For me and you, we have to make that up, add a new property to the description that is essentially a list of properties we know a person should have. For them, they already know, as they've "seen" a picture of that person. They don't say that they'll add the purple coat property to the list of characteristics, they have already seen a picture where the person was wearing a purple coat. It's not mass delusion, it's a real thing. Also, of interest, is that there are degrees of skill, so some people have extremely vivid mind's eye, and some people have fuzzy, or black and white, or not very detailed, etc. Here's a good starter article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34039054 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34039054

graeme 8y ago
Did image streaming get you vivid images, or just images, period? I have dull and fleeting mental images, but they're there. Am wondering if I can expand them.
- mattmanser 8y ago
  It's supposed to improve it. I don't really know, there's little scientific study on it, and some people claiming it's tosh vs some people saying it worked for them. I did it for about a week before I started seeing images, so it does take some practice and some time. I found recording myself while I did it helped me to keep speaking, which helped the process. The first few days were frustratingly without any progress, but things did start to come together about day 6 or 7. At the time I had a ridiculous amount of projects I was trying to do, realized I was overwhelmed and this was one of the ones I have parked until a later date. I will try it again as it did seem to be working.
  - graeme 8y ago
    So how were you doing it? I'd like to try.