Episode 25: What Is Aphantasia? - features the Co-Founder of the Aphantasia Network, Tom Ebeyer, explaining how people are unable to form mental images.
Episode Summary:
This episode of the Simple Questions Podcast features a discussion between Dylan Carnahan and Tom Ebeyer, one of the original 21 cases identified by Neurologist Dr. Adam Zeman as having aphantasia. Tom's experiences led him to co-found the Aphantasia Network, which has a mission to improve the lives of people with aphantasia through advocacy, research, and support to unleash the power of image-free thinking.
Listen as Tom explains what we know about aphantasia, the spectrum of visual imagination, and what hyperphantasia means.
In this episode we discuss:
- 00:00 - Face the Beast by The Whatnots
- 01:04 - Introducing Tom Ebeyer
- 03:22 - Pronunciation
- 04:44 - What is It?
- 06:49 - Thought Process
- 08:32 - Lack of Conversation
- 10:51 - Discovery
- 14:21 - Common or Uncommon?
- 16:12 - Hyperphantasia
- 18:53 - Lifelong Aphantasia
- 22:36 - Finding Out
- 29:17 - Impacts on Communication
- 35:45 - Cognitive Strategies to Remember
- 41:12 - Visual Imagination Spectrum
- 44:31 - Dreaming
- 47:14 - Research
- 49:55 - Aphantasia Network
- 51:05 - Closing Remarks
- 51:52 - Conclusion and Information
Resources: