Researchers have long realized we weren’t all experiencing imagination in the same way. In fact, the ability to inwardly visualize objects and scenarios can be drastically different from person to person. 

Professor Adam Zeman, a British neurologist, shares in Science Direct that, in the 19th century, at least one man knew some people didn’t have a mind’s eye at all. “British psychologist Sir Francis Galton recognised in the 1880s that for some people the ‘power of visualization‘ was zero,” he shares.

But it wasn’t until years later that Zeman coined terms to describe those who could imagine vividly and those who couldn’t. The names he gave them were “aphantasia” (“without imagination”) and “hyperphantasia” (“beyond imagination”). According to Aphantasia Network, these terms formally identified “both ends of the imagery spectrum, opening the field to serious scientific study.”

Notably, there are many first-hand accounts from people with hyperphantasia (which only make up 3% to 6% of the population) wherein they can create imagery in their mind from a mere suggestion. This imagery is so layered and detailed, it’s almost as if the individual is right there in the room with it.

There are self-assessment quizzes people can take to determine where they fall. One standard experiment asked people to close their eyes and picture an apple in their “mind’s eye.” For some, conjuring up an actual image was impossible. They understood they were “thinking” of an apple, but without........

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