Aphantasia

Today's episode is all about Aphantasia, also known as mind's eye blindness. Those with Aphantasia can't visualize scenes, people, experiences, objects, and memories, and it can impact other senses as well. This lack of mental imagery was described as early as the late 1800s, yet it has remained a relatively unstudied phenomenon until 2015, when a study first introduced the term, Aphantasia. Since then, the amount of research about Aphantasia has continued to grow. Our two guests today, who both experience Aphantasia, include Tom Ebeyer who is the founder of the Aphantasia Network, and Jana O'Connor, writer of the upcoming feature film, PICTURE IT, probably the first long-form film highlighting the experience of having Aphantasia! The key moments in this episode are: 00:00:34 - Understanding Aphantasia 00:01:04 - Interview with Tommy Ebeyer 00:01:44 - Aphantasia Network and Community 00:04:55 - Impact of Aphantasia on Daily Life 00:13:51 - The Relationship between Imagination and Body Response 00:14:22 - Research on Aphantasia 00:16:37 - Personal Experiences and Unique Imagery Profile 00:21:00 - Resources for Aphantasia from Tom 00:24:42 - Jana discovering Aphantasia and Writing "Picture It" 00:28:27 - Impact on Daily Life 00:32:04 - Grief and Aphantasia 00:36:24 - Creative Professions and Aphantasia 00:39:11 - Aversion to Descriptive Passages 00:40:10 - Childhood Horror Experience 00:41:25 - Approach to Writing and Performing 00:43:21 - Visualization and Learning 00:45:14 - Challenges of Standardized Testing 00:49:44 - Representation of Aphantasia in Film and Writing 00:53:01 - Writing and Visual Imagination 00:53:40 - Evolution of Television and Writing 00:54:35 - Aphantasia Resources from Jana DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Episode-011-Aphantasia-Transcript.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Design: Perpetualnotion.ca Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast