From: Doug Jones (djones@xcor.com)
Date: Wed May 29 2002 - 11:51:16 MDT
Damien Broderick wrote:
>
> At 08:30 PM 5/28/02 -0700, R. Coyote wrote:
>
> >Its unimaginable to me that someone couldn't close their eyes and 'see' an
> >apple after just staring at one, then again I usually have vividly colored
> >dreams
>
> Dreaming visual imagery has nothing to do with waking visual imagery. The
> former must only require the random activation of the same process modules
> and loops involved in sight. I dream in full color too, but am totally
> lacking in waking visual imagery. It's very annoying.
>
> Damien Broderick
Interesting. I have excellent visualization, possibly due to
compensation for the visual impairment I had until age 13. I had
exophoria[1], an extreme case of "lazy eye", so badly that stereo vision
was impossible. Instead, I would concentrate on the image from one eye,
then move my head to induce parallax. Until I had corrective surgery, I
could glance at my (chronically messy) room, turn out the light, and
walk to my bed through a complete image with objects shifting around me,
stepping over shoes, around tables, picking up a pillow along the way...
Shortly after I achieved stereo fusion, that degree of visualization
went away, but I can still turn objects in my mind. It's handy, such as
when discussing control systems dynamics for supersonic aircraft- I can
hold an image of the plane in my head, with forces and moment arms.
On the other hand, my "Name that Tune" wetware failed about five years
ago. I once could recognize familiar songs in the first second or two;
suddenly (and very noticeably) it could take ten seconds for the pattern
to fall into place. The change happened from one day to the next, and
was permanent. I still seem to have a smaller "playlist" that I can
recognize immediately, though. Algernon strikes again.
-- Doug Jones, Rocket Plumber [1] Apparently a genetic affliction; my son required surgery also, and in photographs I can tell that my grandfather and his great-uncle (Guiseppe Garibaldi) were walleyed also. Perhaps the mercenary captain could visualize battlefields particularly well...
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