[AdammadA]

May i ask out of curiosity. Do you see dreams? I personally can see shapes if i concentrate while im awake and close my eyes and can spin them around like looking at a 3D model in some kind of viewer for instance. It's not perfect and how long i can hold that mental image for depends. I can do this with my eyes open too, similar to augmented reality but much fuzzier and again limited to the length of time i can hold that image for in my mind.

I'm more of an artist than a coder, but do both. I find it harder to code than i find creating 2D or 3D objects in something like blender for instance. But visually i can mental map nodes etc. to assist me in coding.

As for voices, inner monologue or attaching voices to comments i read is pretty much natural thing for myself. I assume we all did that to some degree but clearly not. It's interesting how we see our world and understand it. In your case it must be different. I'm intrigued really how you make sense of things without visually creating associations in the mind etc.

[politelemon]

I very rarely dream, but I have had dreams, and definitely seen people, places, things in there. So I think I have relegated shapes/colors/visuals to just dreams. Clearly I am wrong.

Wait, does this mean daydreaming is people actually seeing things? Do you daydream? When I daydream I like to create 'what if' scenarios and follow them to conclusions.

> and close my eyes and can spin them around like looking at a 3D model in some kind of viewer for instance.

> But visually i can mental map nodes etc. to assist me in coding.

This is amazing! I've daydreamed (ha!) about having an ability to render objects in my head and manipulate them like a computer but you already do that. I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm envious.

I'm not artistic, just a normal software person.

[checkyoursudo]

So I am in this middle ground, where like you I cannot for the life of me actively picture anything in my mind's eye. I close my eyes and it is black, blank, and lifeless. My wife, for example, can close her eyes and recall my face perfectly. I have read about some artists being able to essentially trace what they are picturing in their mind's eye, though it seems that some incredibly talented and famous artists also have had aphantasia!

Anyway, the middle ground for me is that despite not being able to conjure vivid (or any) mental imagery, I have vivid dreams and daydreams. So it seems that if I am tired or my mind is wandering, some mental canvas unlocks, but not while I am alter and paying attention.

[episteme]

> Wait, does this mean daydreaming is people actually seeing things?

Yes, they are usually seeing similarly to seeing in a dream. Seeing with the minds eye as they say. You don't usually lose awareness of your surroundings, what you are seeing in reality just becomes more of a background process while you visualise a daydream.

[politelemon]

Thank you for sharing... today feels like having a 'life altering' view. I think this will also help me relate to and work with people around me when presenting, remembering, etc. in terms of expectations.