Aphantasia Club: Research on the mental imagery spectrum

Description

One year ago, I discovered that I don't have any superpower. When I close my eyes, everything is dark. Yet, 98% of the world's population is phantasic. 98% of the world's population can see an apple in their mind when asked to picture one; can meditate by imagining themselves on a beach; can count sheep to fall asleep. 98% of the world's population has the ability to picture mental images in their mind's eye. On the contrary, 2% of the population is aphantasic. This beautiful word, whose etymology comes from the ancient Greek ph ntasia-which literally translates to "image, apparition"-simply means that in our head, everything is black. Eyes closed or open, we have no ability to see something that is not there; to picture a scene that will not happen; to replay our memories like movies. While dozens of images may have crossed your mind as your eyes read those lines, for me, everything is black.