Hmm.

I feel like I’m very logical and I don’t like speculating on things that I don’t have all the information on.

I can imagine things of course but only in like a practical reality sense

I’m confused of what you mean. Do you think you could give an example?

I take in information. If I take it in visually or by reading it, it’s basically the same. I’ll remember what I can as facts and details.

Lol I will stay blissfully unaware. Thanks for the heads up!

I don’t normally dream

But when I do they are very vivid like it feels real

I cannot determine if I am actually seeing visuals in them because after I wake up I cannot recall the images, but I feel like I can remember some details I saw visually rather than just making up the details.

Yes it extends to reading.

I do not have an image in my head of what Harry Potter is supposed to look like after reading the book. As long as the character in the movie didn’t have completely wrong details I wouldn’t think anything of it.

I’m the opposite. I will read a paragraph and then realize that I was thinking about something else and even though I read the paragraph I didn’t absorb any of the knowledge.

I couldn’t imagine reading outloud and thinking about what I need to do for work tomorrow. I have to 100% focus on reading words.

Reading text outloud for me does take more brain power. I’m reading it in my inner voice and now I have to translate that to spoken words.

I see “Elephant”, I say “Elephant” in my inner voice, I speak “Elephant” in voice. It’s an extra step.

I’d be like you and not really comprehending what I am reading if I just saw the word and verbally said it. I wouldn’t really comprehend the meaning as much.

If I wanted to get the best experience it would be following along in a book with audio.

I say every word basically with my inner voice while reading, so having someone else do that for me is brain power I do not have to use.

I took a lot of art classes, I can draw with a reference photo.

It is difficult for me to recall faces for example but if i reduce a face to geometric shapes and proportions and do a lot of trial and error so i can approximate a face I’ve seen.

Same I cannot see a person’s face in my mind but I can think of their face in proportions. I would have to do a ton of sketches to get basically sketch a reference photo, then I could work on making it better from there.

Reading both is very similar for me but non-fiction does give more imagination material.

Like if I read Star Wars I would get a lot more ideas on space and jedi. If I read about the Kreb Cycle I would just know the information on the Kreb Cycle.

Same I didn’t know until I was an adult. My math scores as a child were high but I hated reading and I wasn’t the best at it so I was put in special reading classes.

Do you have the consciously read every word? I don’t understand how people can just look at a paragraph and just soak up the knowledge without going through all the individual words.

You could pause a movie or show

I can zone out on my own tangents with video or audio and it relates to the video or audio.

I will zone out reading and it will be about completely different things and I’ll realize that I really haven’t gotten anything I just read.

I have to focus on reading, understanding, critically thinking

With video and audio, it’s just understanding and critically thinking. I don’t have to focus on telling my brain the information.

I’d say that my imagination isn’t effected. It just doesn’t have mind’s eye images to go along with them.

Best way I can describe it is that it’s like a computer without a screen. The computer knows what the image looks like and it could put it up on a screen if one was attached but it doesn’t have the screen to do so.

I get the “sense” of an image. Like it’s almost there and I could tell you all the details of the image I am trying to imagine.

If you have any questions feel free to ask anything, I enjoy discussing it

I cannot read unless I know what each word is. I can skim something and look for keywords and get a gist but to really understand something I am processing at least parts of every word in my inner voice.

I’d equate it to baking a loaf of bread from a recipe.

If I had the recipe read to me while I was make it I could focus 100% of my attention on making the bread.

If I had to watch a video I would have to watch, pause, then complete the step. If I was reading the recipe I would have to read a step and then do it. My attention would become broken in ways.

If I knew how to make the loaf I could listen to an audiobook while making it. There’s no way I could read a book while making it.

I have aphantasia.

How does reading and watching it in your mind’s eye change anything from just watching it on a screen?

I prefer audio books because it allows me to critically think better during because I can listen and think at same time, but reading words takes more brain power.