Here and Now...and Then

In our house, we've been learning a lot about Aphantasia. This is the inability to visualize images in your mind.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Hyperphantasia. This condition includes the ability "of having extremely vivid mental imagery."

A common gauge is the apple test. If you're asked to picture an apple in your mind, how does it look?

The left is Hyperphantasia and the right is Aphantasia. My mental imaging sits at 1 and Candace lands at 5. It's a strange and fun dynamic to figure out together. I think this is why I have a dozen full-length movie style dreams every night and she sleeps dreamless. (Sounds sooo relaxing.)

Bringing History Alive

It feels like this Hyperphantasia condition is why I enjoy learning about and visiting historic places so much. The more I know, the more the area comes alive while I'm there. When I first crossed Stucki Bridge it was such a strong connection with my ancestors. It was like they were there with us. (I plan to write and post that full story soon...)

So much can change in an area in so little time. I was shocked the other day to see this photo from the early 1950s. Can you tell where it is?

This is the infamous Shibuya Crossing. Our family visited this corner while in Japan recently. I showed them this picture and they couldn't guess where it was because it looks very different now:

Just imagine all that has happened to build this area up. Adding an old photo and a little bit of history adds so much.

It's also the reason journal writing is so rewarding. With a little refresher on the day, it can be relived again and again.

My Mind on the Big Screen

There was a new movie released recently that does a very good job at portraying this historic Hyperphantasia that can happen. The movie is called Here. The story covers the events of a single spot of land and its inhabitants, spanning from the distant past to the 21st century. It has a single camera angle and shows all that happens in that single spot. It's how I feel when standing in a spot with known history.

Here is the official trailer (unrelated sidenote: Gump fans will notice that, like peas and carrots, it puts Forrest and Jenny back to gather again.)

If you also have historic Hyperphantasia then you might enjoy this movie as well. If you're married to someone with it, enjoy this peek inside their brain.