Total Aphantasia + Anauralia: How to use memory techniques? Memory Palace without mental images or sounds?

Neuroscience, Psychology, and Health
1

Hi everyone :waving_hand:

I have the incredible “mental combo” of Total Aphantasia accompanied by Anauralia.

Because of this, I am unable to visualize images or hear sounds in my mind.

So far, all the memory techniques I’ve come across are based or focused entirely on visual images.

I am incapable of doing that. However, I would like to know if there is any way I can use techniques like the Memory Palace, or any other memory technique suited for people with zero or low capacity for mental visualization (I am open to adapting them).

  • Aphantasia: The inability to voluntarily visualize images in one’s mind.

  • Anauralia: The inability to hear internal sounds/voices in one’s mind.

Even though I don’t see or hear anything internally, I perceive concepts through spatial, tactile, and kinesthetic awareness (for example, I feel the intention/movement in my throat to represent sounds, and I know where things are located in space, even without seeing them).

Are there any experts, people in similar conditions, or curious minds willing to help me out?

I would like to know:

* Is it possible to create a functional Memory Palace, memory technique, or adaptation tailored for me?

* Has anyone here with Aphantasia managed to create a functional method?

Any tips, ideas, adaptations, or reading recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

2 Likes
2

Yes, I would think so.

People who cannot hallucinate at will often have excellent spatial thinking, as you mention you have. So you can still associate ideas with places. Test it now: try to place a few ideas a couple streets over and see if it makes them easier to remember.

Let us know how it goes. :grinning_cat:

3

I have a friend with this condition who uses a system that focuses on describing what he wants to remember, including every possible detail about the information; this allows him to create perfect drawings from memory based on those descriptions. For example, when drawing a Pokémon ball, he would describe a circle, a central division resembling a belt, and a circular button in the middle of that division, then specify the colors and their placement. He focuses on describing exactly what he wants to recall.

3 Likes
4

Yes it is possible, you can memorise fast using memory palace. Here is a video tutorial:

2 Likes
5

Hi and what’s the point of doing so? Using words instead of images?

6

Hi. I don’t understand the video. Could you explain something about the technique? I don’t have aphantasia but it’s really interesting.

7

Hi! The main point is to make meaningful connection between objects and between the object and the location. If connection is a physical interaction or transformation you can think how some properties of objects change. You can think about it even without visualising.
Examples:
Location is a TV. TV show your object.
Location is a human. The human tell you something crazy about the object.
Location is a newspaper. The main topic of the newspaper is your object.
Object is a lazer. The lazer burns your location.

Hope it helps you to understand what Mark Boyanowski wanted to say.

2 Likes