brains, curious, visualization

[wispfox]

When you close your eyes, do you see something?


I was asked this at Thanksgiving, after a long conversation involving face blindness, the fact that I have no visual memory and only vague glimmerings - after a _lot_ of work - of visual imagination. My initial reaction was utter and complete confusion, to the point of asking if the person only asked to get that reaction from me. It was, in fact, a serious question, although the reaction was itself appreciated.

I see nothing at all. I didn't really consider that other people might see something.

Indeed, this makes me wonder if this is why I am so sound-oriented when navigating a dark room; at least some of the other people in the room apparently visualize the room they are in when their eyes are closed. And were, indeed, perplexed when I said that I _listen_ to get around places that I cannot see, in addition to feeling my way. In fact, making noise so other people know where I am actively interferes with my ability to not run into things, because I am no longer able to _listen_. (I can hear when I am near objects because the sound quality changes, especially walls and doors and such. Less so smaller objects, since they are not at my ear height, I suspect, and are less fully encompassing and thus causing echos that I can hear)

Comments

Re: A metaphorical answer

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Huh. So you can imagine visual things, but it is an effort of will. Your cable TV is fascinating; not sure that I have it.

Re: A metaphorical answer

[gentlescholar.livejournal.com]

Well, the three modes sort of blend together; it's a matter of what gets my attention. If I don't steer, my hindbrain does. So I can choose what to visualize, or something will get visualized for me, amounting to daydreams that can more or less tune out actual vision, making vision a background process that only jumps back when my environment reminds me to pay attention to it.