4 ms·

I've discussed the topic of "aphantasia" (the inability to form mental images [0]) with programmers at various jobs as well as with non-developer friends. It's

I've discussed the topic of "aphantasia" (the inability to form mental images [0]) with programmers at various jobs as well as with non-developer friends. It's certainly anecdata, but it's always been curious to me that I've only ever heard engineers identify with this condition -- and more frequently than the understood likelihood of it within the general population would lead me to expect. So, again, not a known neurological effect of programming, but an interesting correlation I've observed between many of the best programmers I've known and the condition of aphantasia. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia

ryandvm 5y ago
Interesting. I'm a software developer and I've only recently become aware that I seem to be deficient in this area. For example, I can imagine the concept of particular person's face (shape, features, etc.), but there's not really a visual aspect to it in my mind's eye. Of course, it's kind of hard to figure out if what you imagine is what somebody else imagines.
agentcoops 5y ago
Coincidentally, within the original 1880 study [0] that first grappled with the phenomena it was most highly-correlated with scientists. He concludes that: "scientific men as a class have feeble powers of visual representation... My own conclusion is, that an over-readiness to perceive clear mental pictures is antagonistic to the acquirement of habits of highly generalised and abstract thought." [0] https://web.archive.org/web/20160416064610/http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Galton/imagery.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20160416064610/http://psychclass...