Comment aphantasia essentially is a learning disability (Score 1) 243
I have zero ability to visualize in my mind. I have compensated in various ways, but this is undoubtedly a form of learning disability. I have other related issues that I refer to as aphasias. I suffered "silent cerebral palsy" at birth. At school, and especially at university, I was at an extreme disadvantage to regular students, who could memorize course work relatively easily. I talked to a lot of high achieving students, and found that most of them had "photographic memories" that aided them immensely in exams. They usually didn't like to talk about their abilities, but occasionally I would come across someone who would open up, and then end up bragging about it. Some of them were as dumb as f*ck, but were able to do very well because they could see every word of every page of their notes or textbook, etc. Some were quite smart. I remember one girl who got straight A's in her courses, bragged about it, but also admitted that several months after a course, she couldn't remember anything about it, and couldn't see any of it in her mind any more. Still she got stellar grades in undergrad school and A's at Osgoode Law School. So for those of us that have zero ability to visually remember, have a great deal of trouble doing well in university, cannot get top grades regardless of how hard we worked, and are disadvantaged trying to get into grad programs.
