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Pretty sure I have aphantasia. So, I don't visualize anything. But, I do often imagine data structures and algorithms as ambiguous "things" at places and in mot
by corysama 2y ago
Pretty sure I have aphantasia. So, I don't visualize anything. But, I do often imagine data structures and algorithms as ambiguous "things" at places and in motion. Can't see them. But, I can move them around and remember where they are. Like, imagining Bubble Sort as a shell game with your eyes closed.
- hackinthebochs 2y agoI'm in the same boat. No visual imagery but I do "see" abstract relationships and how they interact. I'm reminded of a case where a man had head trauma-induced blindness. He couldn't see colors, shapes, etc. But it turned out he could still see motion. He described it as black moving on top of black. It's sort of like that, somehow I experience the contours of the abstract relationships, but they feel very insubstantial.
- jampekka 2y agoYou can experience this easily yourself: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_aftereffect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_aftereffect Motion is separated from shapes and structure and objects changing place very early in visual processing, and it's kind of a sense of its own.
- jampekka 2y agoI'd guess few people have much image-like things in their head for data structures or control flows or such. Such can be conjured if one tries to explain something visually by e.g. drawing. But 2D/3D structure is very limited for thinking about abstract stuff like programming. I don't really have a recollection of or introspective access to what I experience when I focus on something like programming. And I guess many who claim they do are confabulating.