John Green shared the 'apple visualization scale' on social media, and his followers are 'baffled': 'It blows my mind'

Author John Green is blowing minds on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, since sharing an illustration that shows how the process of imagination can look to different people.

The graphic didn’t originate from Green and actually first went viral in 2020 on the platform. It’s sometimes referred to as the “apple visualization scale” and features five different silhouettes of the human head against a black background with a range of depictions of apples in each one. It’s all part of an exercise to show what people “see” when asked to imagine something in their minds.

Inside the first head is a red apple shown in great detail, just as it would look in real life. The second is slightly less realistic but still colored in. The third apple is drawn in black and white, while the fourth is only the outline of the apple. The last head doesn’t have anything in it at all, which apparently is what Green experiences when asked to visualize an apple.

“It’s baffling to me that some of y’all see stuff in your mind,” The Fault in Our Stars author posted on Oct. 1. “You SEE it? The way your eyes see? I always thought ‘visualize’ meant thinking of the words/ideas/feelings associated with a thing, not actual visuals. I am such a total 5 on this scale I didn’t know 1-4 existed.”

What Green is describing is known as “aphantasia,” when the brain doesn’t form or use mental images as part of the imagination process. And apparently, he’s far from the only person who thinks this way.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, aphantasia isn’t defined as a medical condition, disorder or even a disability. It’s actually more of a characteristic, similar to being right- or left-handed. It simply means that your mind works differently.

Green’s post has since received more than 16.3 million views and has prompted many people to test their own minds against the scale.

“I’m a 1 and it blows my mind that anyone can be a 5,” wrote @TerribleMaps.

“Does that mean you can’t picture what your own family members look like?” they asked Green.

“I’m a 1,” added @AutumnK2022. “I’m also one of those that, when I read a book, I don’t see the words. It plays out before me like a movie.”

Plenty of other people landed somewhere in the middle of the scale, but a handful said that, just like Green, they also see nothing when asked to imagine an image or scenario.

“Aphantasia. I have it, too,” shared @DBCWriter. “Discovered about 5-6 years ago. Very surprised, but also explained a lot about my experiences learning, reading, and writing. It is a disability in some ways.”

“Most of the time I am 5,” wrote @TonFTP. “If I try very hard I can maybe get a partial 3/4. I would describe it more as feeling/sensing the object and thus getting the words to describe it. If I am describing a contour in something, I can “feel” the curve, but I in no way ‘see’ it in my mind.”

People love to self-diagnose on the internet, which is probably why the apple visualization scale is capturing everyone’s fascination. That said, it certainly isn’t the first time something like this has gone viral.

Back in 2020, people were also momentarily fascinated by the concept of not having an internal monologue after someone posted about the phenomenon on X.

“Fun fact: some people have an internal narrative and some don’t,” wrote @KylePlantEmoji. “As in, some people’s thoughts are like sentences they ‘hear,’ and some people just have abstract non-verbal thoughts, and have to consciously verbalize them.”

“And most people aren’t aware of the other type of person,” the user added.

The post earned over 36,000 reposts and prompted a similar discussion among X users who’d never considered this as a possibility.

In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News — follow us here!

The post John Green shared the ‘apple visualization scale’ on social media, and his followers are ‘baffled’ appeared first on In The Know.

More from In The Know:

TikTokers are filming people with substance use disorder to 'raise awareness' -- but is it ethical?

Woman reveals she's been nicotine/vape-free for 1.5 months after 7 years of vaping

Creator shares video ‘gentle parenting’ herself to be more productive