Why some people can’t picture stuff in their heads

KERA's Think

KERA

Society & Culture, 071003, Kera, Think, Krysboyd

4.8 • 861 Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For some people, the ability to visualize a treasured memory or even a loved one’s face just isn’t possible. New Yorker staff writer Larissa MacFarquhar joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss a condition that makes it impossible for people to put their thoughts into mental images, the huge effect that has on other parts of their lives and how researchers can use the condition to help study trauma. Her article is “Some People Can’t See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Have you heard about OMG? Yes. This is a website the New York Times wirecutter featured as one of their most popular gifts. And for good reason, it presents new findings from the largest ever research study into women's pleasure and intimacy. In partnership with researchers at Yale and at Indiana University, they asked tens of thousands of women what they
0:21.6	wished they and their partners had discovered sooner. They found the patterns in those
0:26.2	discoveries and all that wisdom and intimacy is organized as hundreds of short videos,
0:31.6	animations, and how-toes. When you see OMG, yes, you might understand why wirecutter recommended it.
0:38.2	It is warm, honest, and has regular women talking about real experiences.
0:42.7	It's truly eye-opening.
0:44.8	See for yourself at omgyes.com.
0:47.3	That's OMGS.com. A lot of us probably take mental imagery for granted.
1:02.7	When I close my eyes, for example, I have no problem conjuring the face of my daughter
1:06.6	when she's laughing so hard that she can't catch her breath.
1:09.7	It's easy for me to picture my son's wild
1:11.8	toddler curls. I can still see the view from my hotel balcony on my first trip to Italy, as vividly
1:17.3	as I did 11 years ago. Some people, though, aren't able to picture anything. They can't conjure
1:23.3	mental images of their wedding day, their backyard, their parents' faces. And until about 10 or so
1:29.2	years ago, many of those people thought they were alone. From K.E.A. and Dallas, this is Think.
1:35.4	I'm Courtney Collins in for Chris Boyd. In the last decade, so much more has been discovered and
1:40.8	studied about people who can't visualize, as well as other linked traits, including
1:45.6	how we remember and even experienced trauma. And once this research started to gain traction,
1:51.3	a community sprung up for the people living with this condition. Larissa McFarcker writes about this
1:56.8	in a piece for the New Yorker. It's called, Some People Can't See Mental Images. The Consequences
2:02.2	Are Profound. And she joins us now to talk about it. Larissa, welcome to think.
2:07.6	Thanks so much, Courtney. So first off, can you share the technical name for not being able to see
	...

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