Can people with aphantasia use the memory palace technique?
I believe you can, mostly based on my aphantasic relative. You think in space, right? So, place it around you. In front of you, or behind you if you wish. Maybe you can fill the room youâre in, then move to another.
As for the images themselves, I donât necessarily know. Maybe you can try thinking the space around them? Works for drawing.
1 Like
Yes, there are people with full blown aphantasia who do it.
When I very first started with the memory palace I spent a lot of effort on trying to make the images crystal clear, and on fully embodying the feel of âwalkingâ through it. The walking is a complete waste of energy, all you really do is shift your focus from point to point when placing or checking what images are there.
Many of my carefully imagined images faded very quickly, and I believe thatâs because I put all my effort into seeing them, and basically no effort into their purpose. My pet theory is when you do that, they fade as easily as everything else you imagine all day fades- your brain feels like thereâs no reason to keep them around.
The actual images donât matter very much (in my experience), itâs really the effort you put into the meaning behind them and their interactions that matters. For example, if I quickly âlookâ at a certain window I see Bruce Lee fighting some argonian on top of a plane. The image is extremely degraded, I have no idea what Lee is wearing, what colour the argonian is, if there should be more there, what direction the plane is facing or whether or not the fact itâs yellow was always the case. Maybe they werenât even fighting in the first place? But what I do know instantly upon seeing this little story is that argon is the third most plentiful element in the air.
2 Likes
I think that yes. They could make a draw of the palace with words not images. And relate it by Word games or relating the meaning.
If you can walk around without getting lost, then you can use a memory palace.
It doesnât really matter if you donât visualise it, as long as you can conceptualise it.
Like I know that I need to turn left from my bedroom to go to the bathroom. I know that the toilet is right next to the door, etc.
It doesnât matter if I canât âseeâ it, as long as I know where it is and that Noah Bennet with a balloon (meaning the chemical element 2 Helium) sits there. Iâm using a memory palace.