Can you visualize a picture in your head?

[Embassy]

Dh and I were discussing something today. He can't imagine people not being able to see pictures in their head. I told him that I don't. I checked with my older kids and one does and one does not. He thinks it isn't normal:tongue_smilie: So please answer my poll.

[nono]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

[fhjmom]

I do, and I polled my DH and middle two DC and they all said they do as well. When I read, I see it like a movie playing in my head. Also, I can look at two dimensional house plans and "walk" through a 3-D house in my head.

[Slipper]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

Same here except I couldn't always see the page clearly. But, if I'm searching for something (like the mustard in the fridge or a certain can in the pantry) I can close my eyes and tell people exactly where it's at based on the picture in my mind from when I was last in the pantry, fridge, whatever. Same with my messy desk. ;)

[fhjmom]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

Oooo, I could do that to! People thought I was weird because I could tell you what pictures were on that page and what info was in the paragraphs before and after he answer.

[LaxMom]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

Yup, me too!

 

Now, I find that it's an impediment to finding things, since items can be easily hidden from me if they don't match the mental image.

 

I also "see" sounds, like homophones as they come out of someone's mouth, or harmony/melody pattern overlays.

[Catwoman]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

:iagree:

 

Same here. I remember that I was surprised when I found out that not everyone could do that.

[Hunter's Moon]

No, I cannot see words or numbers either.

 

I also have trouble reconstructing geometry figures in my head. Like looking at a flat piece of paper with the sides of a shape unfolded and figuring out what it is. Same with copying a pattern with blocks or something.

[Jenny in Florida]

I also "see" sounds, like homophones as they come out of someone's mouth, or harmony/melody pattern overlays.

 

Wow! I thought I was the only one who saw sound. For me, it's not words, but music, especially instrumental music. I see the music as colors and waving lines.

[Embassy]

No, I cannot see words or numbers either.

 

I also have trouble reconstructing geometry figures in my head. Like looking at a flat piece of paper with the sides of a shape unfolded and figuring out what it is. Same with copying a pattern with blocks or something.

 

OP here...I find this all quite puzzling. My ds who does awesome with geometry and copying patterns with blocks cannot see things in his mind. He also has a poor sense of direction. My ds who finds geometry and copying patterns on the difficult side can see things in his mind. I am so confused:confused:

 

If anyone can explain this I'm listening!!

[Jenny in Florida]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

When I was a kid and couldn't sleep, I used to visualize pages of a book as though they were projected on the ceiling and read until I nodded off.

[LaxMom]

Wow! I thought I was the only one who saw sound. For me, it's not words, but music, especially instrumental music. I see the music as colors and waving lines.

 

Yes! Exactly!

 

The word thing is infrequent, and I probably wouldn't notice except a friend saw me do it an called me out on it.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

I could do this, too, and so can ds1. I can also envision how something will look when it's changed. Like, I can "see" how a room will look when it's finished before I even start remodeling it. Dh can't. My mom can't.

[Hunter's Moon]

OP here...I find this all quite puzzling. My ds who does awesome with geometry and copying patterns with blocks cannot see things in his mind. He also has a poor sense of direction. My ds who finds geometry and copying patterns on the difficult side can see things in his mind. I am so confused:confused:

 

If anyone can explain this I'm listening!!

 

I was good at Geometry, just not visually. If I am given a 3D image, I can reconstruct it. Otherwise, it takes quite a bit of time because I keep losing track of where I was since I can't visualize it. I'm sure if I practiced more I could find a way to compensate.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

OP here...I find this all quite puzzling. My ds who does awesome with geometry and copying patterns with blocks cannot see things in his mind. He also has a poor sense of direction. My ds who finds geometry and copying patterns on the difficult side can see things in his mind. I am so confused:confused:

 

If anyone can explain this I'm listening!!

 

My mom is like this, too. She can't picture things in her mind. Geometry was very difficult for her. And she is horrible with directions! She can't remember which way to turn out of a parking lot, even if she just pulled in 5 minutes before.

[Hunter's Moon]

My mom is like this, too. She can't picture things in her mind. Geometry was very difficult for her. And she is horrible with directions! She can't remember which way to turn out of a parking lot, even if she just pulled in 5 minutes before.

 

I'm very good with directions. It isn't so much a visual thing for me as memory. I can remember directions some place if I am driving because I am doing. Otherwise, I'll most likely forget.

[Mommyof4ks]

My mom is like this, too. She can't picture things in her mind. Geometry was very difficult for her. And she is horrible with directions! She can't remember which way to turn out of a parking lot, even if she just pulled in 5 minutes before.

 

This is me! Going to new places scares me, because I know I will get lost. Even getting out onto the highway going the right direction is a huge challenge. :( We won't talk about my math skills.

[acablue]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

I did the same thing. I actually "read" a lot of children's books and stories out of my head to my kids.

 

But yes, I can picture objects, maps, words etc. in great detail.

[Embassy]

My mom is like this, too. She can't picture things in her mind. Geometry was very difficult for her. And she is horrible with directions! She can't remember which way to turn out of a parking lot, even if she just pulled in 5 minutes before.

 

Yes, I think that is how it is normally but my boys seem to be backwards. Geometry is easy and he does really well at copying block patterns, but he cannot visualize. :confused:

[garddwr]

OP here...I find this all quite puzzling. My ds who does awesome with geometry and copying patterns with blocks cannot see things in his mind. He also has a poor sense of direction. My ds who finds geometry and copying patterns on the difficult side can see things in his mind. I am so confused:confused:

 

If anyone can explain this I'm listening!!

 

I answered that I could see the camel but it is fuzzy--and even then, I have to basically "draw" it--make a head for it, and a body with a hump. I can't just think "camel" and have an image. I don't see movies of books in my head either, nor can I easily see words or numbers--again, I have to build up an image bit by bit, and it's never very good. I think I am in the minority though. When I read a book, I say all the words in my mind, while many fluent readers are apparently not even aware of individual words at all. Maybe that's why I've never struggled with grammar and language--I am a very verbal thinker!

[LaxMom]

What camel?

 

Duh, I didn't see the actual poll question. Let's all sit back and appreciate the irony, shall we? :lol:

[swellmomma]

I can not see pictures in my mind. I see words and numbers not pictures

[swellmomma]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

I can do this but that is seeing the words not seeing pictures, and I can replay lectures in my head but can not see pictures.

[myfunnybunch]

I can't see a picture in my head, not like a movie or a photograph, anyway. However, I can describe a camel. I can also describe the exact location of something in the refrigerator, the location of a picture on the page, and which information comes from the first, second, third paragraphs on a page I've read. Weird, I never thought of it before. I've got the spatial sense without the actual image.

 

Cat

[Scuff]

Fuzzy. I can picture where things are on a page, so i know where to find them, but I can't read the page. (that sounds great!)

[garddwr]

Whoops, I posted before I was done writing out my thoughts. Regarding geometry skills: I suspect that geometry requires good sequencing and reasoning skills, which are more closely linked to verbal (sequential) ability than to visual ability. Geometry as my favorite part of math, and as I said I am very verbal. Certainly the sequential reasoning is critical for geometric proofs! Visualization is more a big-picture-all-at-once type of activity, not so good for breaking things down into parts and seeing how the parts relate to each other.

 

--Sarah

[Celia]

When I close my eyes, all I see is the back of my eyelids!

[WistfulRidge]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

This. It drives my DH crazy that I don't ever need to mark my place in a book or even check the page I stop on... I can just visualize the shape of the words on the page I was reading when I stopped.

[Robin M]

I see a full clear camel. I'm a very visual person and if I can't see in my head what someone is talking about, I can't get it. My hubby now draws diagrams of his designs so I can get what he's talking about.

[Mommyfaithe]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

My ds could do this too. He would close his eyes and I would see them moving back and forth. I asked him what he was doing...and he told me he was reading....:001_huh:

 

This was the part of his brain that was affected by the Lyme disease. The last year has shown a marked improvement in his memory. I am going to have to ask him if he can picture pages in his head anymore....

[freesia]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

Yes, me too.

 

I also see everything anyone says to me as a movie in my head. I was shocked when I learned everyone doesn't do this.

 

I just polled my kids and was surprised that my oldest ds said "fuzzy." I shouldn't have been surprised bc I figured out early on that he learned in a completely different way than I did.

 

FWIW Geometry was the only math class I struggled in and I actually felt my heart start to race when we hit the geometry chapter in pre-algebra this year. I excelled in all other math.

[mommymilkies]

It depends. Most things I see in full detail, but my memory is getting fuzzier as I get older. If I think back to a specific fact, I can "see" it in my head like a snapshot of the page it was on or the show it was on.

[Mommyfaithe]

I can't see a picture in my head, not like a movie or a photograph, anyway. However, I can describe a camel. I can also describe the exact location of something in the refrigerator, the location of a picture on the page, and which information comes from the first, second, third paragraphs on a page I've read. Weird, I never thought of it before. I've got the spatial sense without the actual image.

 

Cat

 

This is more like me . I can describe things in detail. I can "see". Where I put down my car keys or where I last saw my sneakers. I can know what is in the fridge and what we have on the shelf at any given time....I can remember where in a book I am, because I just remember....

 

But, I have so much trouble actually picturing.....even WITH diagrams and drawings. I can't read a 2d diagram....floor plan thing...which made building our house torture. Dh would get so frustrated with me...I just couldn't picture what he was showing me...mostly top view drawings....GAH!

 

Yep, I definitely have some spatial sense.....but lack image. Did I mention my eyesight is really horrible? I have very little depth perception and find looking at things exhausting. Even reading is becoming quite the chore...thank God for electronic readers where I can adjust the font.

[mommymilkies]

I have great spatial sense in my head-3D and all. I can close my eyes and rotate an image and take something apart. IRL, though, I run into walls and drop my cups in my lap. :lol:

[nono]

I can do this but that is seeing the words not seeing pictures, and I can replay lectures in my head but can not see pictures.

 

Well, I beg your pardon, but you aren't allowed to tell me how it works in my head! :D I saw the complete page, and then would zoom in and reread. I've also built 2 houses, and the 3D finished product is exactly like I thought it would be from 2D plans. Is that "picture-y" enough for ya? :tongue_smilie:

 

I believe you that in your head you are not seeing pictures, but seeing words and hearing lectures.

 

 

P.S. For those who are interested in this for their children, try reading Upside Down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner by Linda Kreger Silverman. It was a neat read!

Edited May 28, 2012 by nono

[Gingerbread Mama]

When I read, I see it like a movie playing in my head. Also, I can look at two dimensional house plans and "walk" through a 3-D house in my head.

 

I can also envision how something will look when it's changed. Like, I can "see" how a room will look when it's finished before I even start remodeling it.

 

:iagree: with both of the above. I can also "age" or "regress" some people in my mind fairly accurately. Not everyone, though, sadly. That might be a lucrative career if it worked 100% of the time.

 

I have great spatial sense in my head-3D and all. I can close my eyes and rotate an image and take something apart. IRL, though, I run into walls and drop my cups in my lap. :lol:

 

Yup, me, too.

[mommymilkies]

I saw the complete page, and then would zoom in and reread.

 

That's also what I see. I can see everything from the color of the paper, to the dog eared page on the other side to the type of font. I can see what color ink and in which notebook it was if it was from my notes, too. It's a picture that I can zoom in on. I can't do this with everything, but most of the time. If dh asks me something about a book, I can flip through until I see the page that looks right and point out the reference.

[ereks mom]

Same here except I couldn't always see the page clearly. But, if I'm searching for something (like the mustard in the fridge or a certain can in the pantry) I can close my eyes and tell people exactly where it's at based on the picture in my mind from when I was last in the pantry, fridge, whatever. Same with my messy desk. ;)

 

Me too!

[Pamela H in Texas]

Not only can I *see* it, I can really get the sense of it. It isn't a coloring picture, for example. I can see the texture, grasp the smell, "feel" it. Just thinking of a camel, for example, includes a feeling deep in my throat because of the smell and dirt around and such. I wish I could explain as well as I can experience.

 

This is the same with pictures I can see. A picture of Jesus' baptism has me hearing the water, feeling the air, hearing the birds, etc.

 

Too bad it really just makes me want whatever food I am experiencing in my head even more.

 

Also, unlike others, I can't verbalize things as well as I experience them. So I know just where the X is and can give a general description of where it is; but I may fall short in that my descriptions may not be nearly as helpful as my visions.

[FO4UR]

Yes I can. When I was younger, I could also picture the textbook pages with the answers to the questions on the test I was taking. So I could just reread the page in my head. It really cut down on the amount of time I had to study. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Me too. When I take notes in a lecture I use strange organization and write in different fonts to facilitate ease of visualization. This is how I did so well in high school and college without actually having to learn much of anything.:tongue_smilie: (That and a bit of logic in the process of deduction....multiple choice anyone?)

 

 

I once botched an exam on cat dissections...there was a different cat laid out on each table in the classroom, with little flags labelled 1, 2, 3, 4... As I did the exam I totally messed up the order of the labels (I started at #1 instead of the actual #s on the cat I started at.) I had about 10-15min at the end of the hour to fix my mistakes but we weren't allowed to go back through the cats. I visualized the entire exam in my head, and got a near perfect score.

 

 

When I'm reading, I see a movie. If I don't see the movie, I'm not really comprehending. If I'm watching a movie or listening to a lecture that doesn't really interest me, I can tune it out and start a more interesting one in my head. When I was a kid, I was a *major* daydreamer. (Hey, it's more fun than counting cows as you drive cross-country...)

 

 

Driving directions? If you tell me directions, I will be lost. If I'm riding along and not paying specific attention to landmarks and signs, I will never find my way on my own. It takes me a while to learn my way around a new town b/c I *have* to visualize it or it's foreign to me.

 

I cannot follow most sewing patterns and other crafting directions very well b/c I often cannot visualize from the directions. I can, however, visualize a simple dress, cut and sew without any pattern at all. If I can see it, I can do it.

 

 

I cannot figure out HST+ b/c I cannot, for the life of me, see what in the world I'm doing....I type in stuff and it disappears into the 'puter.:willy_nilly: I can, however, visualize how the day needs to run. I have my own personal planner in my head and I usually visualize how the day needs to go before I set foot out of bed. (Again, if I can't/don't visualize it...it doesn't exist/happen.)

 

 

If you asked me to describe something, like a camel, I would probably close my eyes and see it and give a perfect description.

 

 

I'm a vocalist, and I use visualization to fix technique issues.

 

 

I wonder where my kids get their VSL tendencies from???:lol: