I’m convinced that most cases of aphantasia are just a result of the difficulty in commutating the experience of visualizing something.

To me, “seeing” something in my mind’s eye isn’t really similar to actual visual perception. I can imagine an apple and rotate it in my mind but I would describe this as more of an exercise in understanding what that would look like. I can “see” the stem, the striations of color, the shape, the imperfections move as the apple rotates. However, I do not actually visually perceive the apple as if it were a physical object reflecting photons into my eyes, stimulating my retina and causing the conscious perception of the apple. I think this is likely true for others.

If people could actually visually perceive or mentally project whatever they’re imagining into their actual vision, then I believe people would be much better at drawing. You could just imagine this vivid image on the paper and essentially trace it.

I’ve heard the counter argument that this isn’t the way drawing works. I still think that most people draw poorly because of the way that your mind’s eye works, and not because of the way that drawing works. When they put pencil to paper, the truth about the inadequacy of their visual concept becomes apparent. Their mind was tricking them into thinking they held a complex visual idea but really, it was a vague conception.

I’m convinced that holding something in your mind’s is far closer to “understanding” than it is to “seeing”.