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aphantasia
Jan. 11th, 2024 07:11 amaphantasia (ay-fan-TAY-zhuh, ay-fan-TAY-zee-uh) - n., the inability to form mental images of real or imaginary people, places, or things.
The phenomenon has been known since at least 1880, when it was identified by Francis Galton, but received little attention till 2015, when Adam Zeman published an extensive study, in which he coined the term from Ancient Greek roots a-, not + phantasÃa, perception/impression/image. Note that this is not a binary condition: there are grades of how well someone can mentally visualize something. Also note this affects only voluntary visualization -- dreams are not affected.
---L.
The phenomenon has been known since at least 1880, when it was identified by Francis Galton, but received little attention till 2015, when Adam Zeman published an extensive study, in which he coined the term from Ancient Greek roots a-, not + phantasÃa, perception/impression/image. Note that this is not a binary condition: there are grades of how well someone can mentally visualize something. Also note this affects only voluntary visualization -- dreams are not affected.
---L.
