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> This network is responsible for a wide range of mental processes that take place when the brain is at rest. These processes are often referred to as the “inne

> This network is responsible for a wide range of mental processes that take place when the brain is at rest. These processes are often referred to as the “inner voice”, or the “self.” Now I am wondering if my "aphantasia" also explains why I rarely feel lonely. Could it be that people who are able to see and hear their friends in their mind are more likely to miss them?

astrobe_ 6y ago
From introspection alone, I think that people that rarely feel lonely are that way because they have a richer imagination or "inner world". Does your aphantasia prevent you from day-dreaming, for instance? I would be curious to know if "lone wolves" exhibit the same brain features as those who feel alone (which would suggest that they are actually lying to themselves?) or if they exhibit different features, or if they are the same as people who can feel lonely but don't because they are "socially satisfied".
- Raphmedia 6y ago
  > Does your aphantasia prevent you from day-dreaming, for instance? I can "day-think" aka get lost in logical thoughts. I don't have the inner voice either, so it's less like reading a text and somewhat more like reading code. No narration, just a stream of... invisible "variables". It's hard to explain without having experienced what other people see or hear, I have no point of reference. I also have the bad habit of forgetting people. "Out of sight, out of mind", except I do have object persistence. I imagine it is easier to randomly think about someone when you can hear or see them at will.
  - astrobe_ 6y ago
    I've just realized I was trying to imagine, image-in your experience, oh the irony...
    - Raphmedia 6y ago
      To be honest, Pen & Paper games have lost their appeal now that I know I'm the only one at the table not seeing anything. Same for authors who write lengthy descriptions of environments and characters in books. I just figured that some people enjoyed to keeping notes of the descriptions -- architects maybe. I always skipped them. On the opposite of that, VR is really amazing. Being able to keep my VR headset just above my eyes and look into an imaginary world at the same time as the real one? Simply mind blowing. I guess that's how people feel when they picture things. You could try looking through an unplugged VR headset. You would see how I feel without any images!
      - YinglingLight 6y ago
        Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling nostalgia, for you cannot picture your childhood home? Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling cringe, for you cannot re-play an embarassing conversation in your mind? Now the spicy, Ethical question. Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling remorse for your actions?
        Raphmedia 6y ago
        > Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling nostalgia, for you cannot picture your childhood home? I think so. I barely remember anything from my childhood. I experience nostalgia but probably less of it. For example, smelling garlic bread will make me think of my childhood home that was next to an italian restaurant. I can also perfectly remember the layout of the building. I remember the fear I had one day as there was no electricity and I had to climb 4 flights of stairs in pitch black. But I can't see any of it. I can't see what my grandmother used to look like. In a strange happenstance, I remember she looked a bit like the queen does on the $20 paper bills so I often get nostalgia by handling money. She did not look identical, but had enough "variables" that were identical for my mind to "confuse" or "link" the two, in a way. I know that when I was a child, I would confuse my parents or teachers with characters seen on TV. > Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling cringe, for you cannot re-play an embarrassing conversation in your mind? Actually, I can remember conversations. I simply cannot hear them or see them. I still have the text transcript of it silently playback into my memory, bringing back conversations in my short term memory and allowing me to relive them. It's more like instinctively knowing, the same way you know 4+4=8 without imagining two bundles of four sticks. The only sound I can produce in my head is my own voice, so sometimes I will "talk" with someone else anyway. It is identical to how it would look to see me read outloud the dialogues for two characters. I have been told that people can even hear musical instrument... all I can do it focus hard and reproduce the noise of the instrument with my voice. So it just sound like acapella done by someone with no music talent. To answer your question, I rarely have issues falling asleep. I do have memories of times where I was a teen and would struggle to fall asleep because I would think back on what happened at school. But it was a rare occurrence. > Now the spicy, Ethical question. Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling remorse for your actions? Yes. I feel as if it has taken me more time than others to reach certain developmental milestones. Now that I am an adult, I have those remorse. I can think about how doing X would trigger Y and make someone feel like Z. It's like a huge mindmap. But before being able to juggle so many concepts, events and variables? I wondered for a long time if I might be a sociopath. Turns out I simply needed to learn all of those concepts from a different perspective. Like a left handed person trying to learn to write by attempting to mimic a right handed person.
barrucadu 6y ago
To provide one datapoint, I think I've got a pretty strong imagination. For example, if I get into a book or story, at some point it's like I stop "reading" and start "watching" it unfold. I day dream a lot. I've got an internal monologue running almost constantly while awake. But I'm definitely a hermit, and I never feel lonely. I've been working remotely since March and not seen anybody socially since December last year, and frankly it's been great. In a normal year I only meet up with my friends once or twice anyway.

astrobe_ 6y ago

From introspection alone, I think that people that rarely feel lonely are that way because they have a richer imagination or "inner world". Does your aphantasia prevent you from day-dreaming, for instance? I would be curious to know if "lone wolves" exhibit the same brain features as those who feel alone (which would suggest that they are actually lying to themselves?) or if they exhibit different features, or if they are the same as people who can feel lonely but don't because they are "socially satisfied".

Raphmedia 6y ago
> Does your aphantasia prevent you from day-dreaming, for instance? I can "day-think" aka get lost in logical thoughts. I don't have the inner voice either, so it's less like reading a text and somewhat more like reading code. No narration, just a stream of... invisible "variables". It's hard to explain without having experienced what other people see or hear, I have no point of reference. I also have the bad habit of forgetting people. "Out of sight, out of mind", except I do have object persistence. I imagine it is easier to randomly think about someone when you can hear or see them at will.
- astrobe_ 6y ago
  I've just realized I was trying to imagine, image-in your experience, oh the irony...
  - Raphmedia 6y ago
    To be honest, Pen & Paper games have lost their appeal now that I know I'm the only one at the table not seeing anything. Same for authors who write lengthy descriptions of environments and characters in books. I just figured that some people enjoyed to keeping notes of the descriptions -- architects maybe. I always skipped them. On the opposite of that, VR is really amazing. Being able to keep my VR headset just above my eyes and look into an imaginary world at the same time as the real one? Simply mind blowing. I guess that's how people feel when they picture things. You could try looking through an unplugged VR headset. You would see how I feel without any images!
    - YinglingLight 6y ago
      Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling nostalgia, for you cannot picture your childhood home? Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling cringe, for you cannot re-play an embarassing conversation in your mind? Now the spicy, Ethical question. Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling remorse for your actions?
      - Raphmedia 6y ago
        > Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling nostalgia, for you cannot picture your childhood home? I think so. I barely remember anything from my childhood. I experience nostalgia but probably less of it. For example, smelling garlic bread will make me think of my childhood home that was next to an italian restaurant. I can also perfectly remember the layout of the building. I remember the fear I had one day as there was no electricity and I had to climb 4 flights of stairs in pitch black. But I can't see any of it. I can't see what my grandmother used to look like. In a strange happenstance, I remember she looked a bit like the queen does on the $20 paper bills so I often get nostalgia by handling money. She did not look identical, but had enough "variables" that were identical for my mind to "confuse" or "link" the two, in a way. I know that when I was a child, I would confuse my parents or teachers with characters seen on TV. > Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling cringe, for you cannot re-play an embarrassing conversation in your mind? Actually, I can remember conversations. I simply cannot hear them or see them. I still have the text transcript of it silently playback into my memory, bringing back conversations in my short term memory and allowing me to relive them. It's more like instinctively knowing, the same way you know 4+4=8 without imagining two bundles of four sticks. The only sound I can produce in my head is my own voice, so sometimes I will "talk" with someone else anyway. It is identical to how it would look to see me read outloud the dialogues for two characters. I have been told that people can even hear musical instrument... all I can do it focus hard and reproduce the noise of the instrument with my voice. So it just sound like acapella done by someone with no music talent. To answer your question, I rarely have issues falling asleep. I do have memories of times where I was a teen and would struggle to fall asleep because I would think back on what happened at school. But it was a rare occurrence. > Now the spicy, Ethical question. Would you estimate that you have less periods of feeling remorse for your actions? Yes. I feel as if it has taken me more time than others to reach certain developmental milestones. Now that I am an adult, I have those remorse. I can think about how doing X would trigger Y and make someone feel like Z. It's like a huge mindmap. But before being able to juggle so many concepts, events and variables? I wondered for a long time if I might be a sociopath. Turns out I simply needed to learn all of those concepts from a different perspective. Like a left handed person trying to learn to write by attempting to mimic a right handed person.

barrucadu 6y ago

To provide one datapoint, I think I've got a pretty strong imagination. For example, if I get into a book or story, at some point it's like I stop "reading" and start "watching" it unfold. I day dream a lot. I've got an internal monologue running almost constantly while awake. But I'm definitely a hermit, and I never feel lonely. I've been working remotely since March and not seen anybody socially since December last year, and frankly it's been great. In a normal year I only meet up with my friends once or twice anyway.