John Joseph Adams

Lightspeed Magazine @lightspeedmagazine.com [ View ] May 09, 2024 at 12:29 UTC

Editor's Note: This story, "We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read" is one of the most amazing stories I've ever read. I urge everyone to read it, & I'm so excited to finally share it with you all. —John Joseph Adams lightspeedmagazine.com/HowToRead

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 30, 2024 at 02:48 UTC

I like "betray"—and a player I play with once used "confess" while interrogating someone.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 30, 2024 at 02:45 UTC

Auditory and visual imagining seem to be not always related. I can "hear" a horse with my eyes open too—or hear the melody of a song I know. But visually, I just see black. I very rarely remember my dreams, but when I do they're vivid, life-like experiences.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 30, 2024 at 02:43 UTC

And Erin Roberts on Twitter said: "The way I think of it, I have an intern in my brain who sees the picture and then reports to me what they're seeing. And sometimes I feel like they almost showed it to me for a moment, but if they did, now it's only a memory." This resonate with my 1 experience.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 30, 2024 at 02:43 UTC

Not sure if this will help, but I found these descriptions (again from aphantasia.com) useful of the "1" experience: "I Know What a Horse Looks Like, But I Don’t Picture One" and "No image at all, I only 'know' I am thinking of the horse."

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 23:06 UTC

That makes sense. I've seen that mental health can play a role. I can imagine transitioning being such a dramatic change that it would be like flipping a switch, turning your phantasia back on.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 22:51 UTC

What I've read is that there is likely a genetic component to congenital aphantasia (i.e., you're born with it), though people can also develop it later in life (acquired aphantasia).

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 22:49 UTC

Huh! That's fascinating. I wonder what it was about transitioning that allowed you to open your mind's eye again.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 21:32 UTC

Huh, that's interesting that music affects it for you. Does it matter what kind of music?

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 17:23 UTC

I know, it seems very strange. It probably doesn't help that aphantasia wasn't even coined as a term until 2015, so I don't know how much research was ever done into it before then. Also, it's a very difficult thing to convey when we only have our clumsy words to do so.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 15:05 UTC

That's awesome! Yeah, I can imagine that being an asset in that regard. When I was researching how to "do voices," I came across a lot of trans vocal training videos and such. I wasn't really able to expand my range despite my best efforts, though.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 15:02 UTC

If you can't see the 3, make an appointment with a neurologist.

Just kidding. I don't know, they left the 6 off too, and I added it, but failed to add the 3 when I did so. That image is from aphantasia.com.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:51 UTC

Whenever I DM, I have always used a VTT and always go a bit overboard with the maps and handouts to show the players what this or that looks like, whether it's a monster/NPC or an item etc. For auditory: When you "hear" a thing in your mind, can you replicate it with your voice?

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:46 UTC

I don't believe so—at least not an equivalent 1 on the horse scale—but I'm not clear to what extent this "hearing" happens. Like, I can think of a song and kind of hear it playing back in my head, though only if I know the lyrics... but I'm terrible at parsing out lyrics generally.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:39 UTC

Ah yeah, I can imagine "hearing" sheet music if you know how to read it.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:38 UTC

Oh, interesting, thanks!

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:18 UTC

A few people have mentioned auditory aphantasia. Apparently, the psychologist who coined the term aphantasia coined the term "anauralia" for the auditory version. Also: Aphantasia only got its name in 2015!

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:13 UTC

Or maybe not being able to see the 3 is indicative of some other condition and they're just not telling us...

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:09 UTC

Very interesting! I have some recollection of being able to see images at one time, though I can't say for sure. I had back surgery when I was 19, so it seems possible that could have affected the brain in some way.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:07 UTC

Dunno, I didn't make this! It didn't have a 6 either, and I did add that, but I missed that the 3 wasn't there.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:06 UTC

I only realized it in the last year or two. Like probably all aphantasiacs, I thought seeing images in your mind's eye was a metaphor or something.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 14:01 UTC

Do you mean hearing in your "mind's ear"—not like in your actual ears, right? I can do the mind's ear thing very well. Sometimes I'm frustrated when I'm trying to do a voice for D&D or something, because I can hear it perfectly in my head, but can't replicate with my vocal chords.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:59 UTC

Does what you're describing there include, at a very basic level, just being able to parse out lyrics? Because I am TERRIBLE at that. I feel like it's one of the reasons I can listen to death metal, because I can't understand the lyrics most of the time anyway.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:56 UTC

Huh. I think that's true for me too.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:52 UTC

I also hate it—and can't imagine receiving either response from people; sorry that has happened to you! (b) is obviously a completely ridiculous statement, and you should definitely consider just never speaking again to such a person who would say that.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:49 UTC

If you're a 6, then you do have hyperphantasia according to aphantasia.com.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:46 UTC

On Twitter, Erin Roberts said "The way I think of it, I have an intern in my brain who sees the picture and then reports to me what they're seeing. And sometimes I feel like they almost showed it to me for a moment, but if they did, now it's only a memory." Sounds similar to what you're saying.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:43 UTC

That's what basically everyone with aphantasia thinks!

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:42 UTC

I think I have some recollection of not having it, when I first became a voracious reader. I had back surgery when I was 19, so it seems possible that's a trauma that could have made me acquire aphantasia.

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:40 UTC

I've read that aphantasia does sometimes hit people later in life. Don't answer if you would rather not, but Cleveland Clinic says "Acquired aphantasia almost always happens because of an injury, illness or mental health condition."—can you think of something like that?

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John Joseph Adams @johnjosephadams.com [ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 13:36 UTC

This is my favorite response

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