Karen, this piece landed hard. I've been sitting with the compass-breaking-under-stress observation all evening.
One question I don't think you addressed directly, and I'd love your take. You wrote that aphants like you develop heightened spatial reasoning as compensation for lacking visualization. And that people with high spatial intelligence tend to be allocentric. But what about people who have both? I can visualize really well AND I see the world map at the same time.
I recognize the allocentric mapping in myself, but I can also picture an apple, watch full scenes in my head.
Do you know if research has looked at this dual capacity? Or have you come across others who have both? Curious if it complicates the compensation model.
Thank you for a piece that gave me language I did not have.
That's such a great question! I hadn't thought about it, so now I had to go down a bit of a research rabbit hole myself. I'm not a scientist or any sort of authority on the subject, but I'm nothing if not innately curious.
From what I can tell, researchers seem to treat visual imagery (being able to picture an apple or imagine a scene) and spatial reasoning (understanding layouts, mentally rotating objects, navigating) as related but distinct abilities. One researcher I came across, Maria Kozhevnikov, has written quite a bit about object imagery versus spatial imagery, and my understanding is that someone can absolutely be strong in both.
So I don't think your experience contradicts what I wrote. If anything, it makes me think I probably oversimplified the "compensation" idea. My takeaway from the research wasn't that all people with strong spatial reasoning are compensating for aphantasia, but that some people with aphantasia seem to lean more heavily on spatial strategies because visual imagery isn't available to them.
That's me translating research into plain English, though—not me claiming to be a cognitive scientist.
I really appreciate you asking the question. It's exactly the kind of thing that helps me refine how I think about these topics.
So interesting! I live my life as if the blindfold had just come off after a pin the tail on the donkey game ... the world swirls around me. I get off the northbound freeway to buy gas, and end up getting back on going southbound somehow, perplexed that the freeway signs advertise the places I had just been. My husband and sons have compasses in their heads. My eldest at 4 years old could point North from anywhere, inside or outside.
It doesn't surprise me at all that emotional distress can throw an extra wrench in orientation. There's a reason we talk about being Off Kilter sometimes.
Thanks, Sabra! It fascinates me how the brain works. I know quite a few people who call themselves "directionally challenged." I have zero context, because for me it's like an extra sense that I've just always had to compensate for the sense I didn't know I lacked.
I love your description of living your life as though the blindfold just came off. I can imagine the disorientation! You should write. 😉
Karen, this piece landed hard. I've been sitting with the compass-breaking-under-stress observation all evening.
One question I don't think you addressed directly, and I'd love your take. You wrote that aphants like you develop heightened spatial reasoning as compensation for lacking visualization. And that people with high spatial intelligence tend to be allocentric. But what about people who have both? I can visualize really well AND I see the world map at the same time.
I recognize the allocentric mapping in myself, but I can also picture an apple, watch full scenes in my head.
Do you know if research has looked at this dual capacity? Or have you come across others who have both? Curious if it complicates the compensation model.
Thank you for a piece that gave me language I did not have.
That's such a great question! I hadn't thought about it, so now I had to go down a bit of a research rabbit hole myself. I'm not a scientist or any sort of authority on the subject, but I'm nothing if not innately curious.
From what I can tell, researchers seem to treat visual imagery (being able to picture an apple or imagine a scene) and spatial reasoning (understanding layouts, mentally rotating objects, navigating) as related but distinct abilities. One researcher I came across, Maria Kozhevnikov, has written quite a bit about object imagery versus spatial imagery, and my understanding is that someone can absolutely be strong in both.
So I don't think your experience contradicts what I wrote. If anything, it makes me think I probably oversimplified the "compensation" idea. My takeaway from the research wasn't that all people with strong spatial reasoning are compensating for aphantasia, but that some people with aphantasia seem to lean more heavily on spatial strategies because visual imagery isn't available to them.
That's me translating research into plain English, though—not me claiming to be a cognitive scientist.
I really appreciate you asking the question. It's exactly the kind of thing that helps me refine how I think about these topics.
That makes a lot of sense. I appreciate your time, your thinking and the conversation! ♥️
So interesting! I live my life as if the blindfold had just come off after a pin the tail on the donkey game ... the world swirls around me. I get off the northbound freeway to buy gas, and end up getting back on going southbound somehow, perplexed that the freeway signs advertise the places I had just been. My husband and sons have compasses in their heads. My eldest at 4 years old could point North from anywhere, inside or outside.
It doesn't surprise me at all that emotional distress can throw an extra wrench in orientation. There's a reason we talk about being Off Kilter sometimes.
I'm glad your compass points true now, Karen!
Thanks, Sabra! It fascinates me how the brain works. I know quite a few people who call themselves "directionally challenged." I have zero context, because for me it's like an extra sense that I've just always had to compensate for the sense I didn't know I lacked.
I love your description of living your life as though the blindfold just came off. I can imagine the disorientation! You should write. 😉