Does Your Brain See Things Differently? Tips for improving your “mind’s eye” from our memory expert, Jonathan Hancock
Which is lighter in colour: a grass lawn or a pine tree?
The lawn, right? And how did you decide? Almost certainly by “seeing” them both in your mind, and comparing the two shades of green.
But not everyone can do that. Recent research—using this very question, along with other visualisation tests—has unearthed a small but significant set of people who don’t seem to use mental images at all. The condition they have is thought to be shared by between two and five per cent of the population: “aphantasia”.
While most people use mental imagery to help them remember, aphantasiacs have to use other techniques. And in doing so they highlight the many different routes we can all use to learn, recall, explore and apply the information we need.
Research suggests that the ability to visualise is a sliding scale. And you may be able to sharpen your mind’s eye through practice. Explore favourite destinations in your imagination, imagine the faces of
52 loved ones, or recall precious objects with as much clarity as possible. Practise seeing the details as well as the “big picture”.
But it’s also really valuable to explore some of the other strategies used by people with little or no visual imagination:
• Use other senses. Be observant about sounds, textures, tastes, and particularly smells. Practise bringing these to mind, and use them whenever you can to connect with your memories.
• Think logically. Even without visual clues, you might be able to use logic to work out when something happened, where you left a possession, or how you and a friend first met.
• Explore your emotions. Strong feelings help to store long-term memories, so use them to boost recall, too. How did you feel when you visited the place, watched the film, or read the book that you’re trying to recall?
• Try muscle memory. If you’ve done something many times, it may be easier to stop trying to remember it, and just let it happen. If you’re struggling to “see” your password or PIN, for example, check whether your fingers can just type it in without any conscious thought!
These are strategies that many people with aphantasia rely on, instead of image prompts, and we can all learn something from them.
■