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What’s it like to live without a mind’s eye? A closer look at aphantasia

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episodeHow does your brain perceive the world?

When you read, do you visualize the story? Alex Rosenthal does not. He has a condition called aphantasia where he can’t see pictures in his mind. Here’s what it’s like to see life through his eyes.

About Alex Rosenthal

Alex Rosenthal is the editorial director of TED-Ed Animations. He also leads TED Games and has earned the nickname, TED’s “puzzle wizard.” His first board game, Pandora’s Legacy, is a hybrid between a jigsaw puzzle/escape-room-in-a-box, which got its start on Kickstarter.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Katie Monteleone with help from Phoebe Lett and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Web Resources

Related TED Bio: Alex Rosenthal

Related TED Talk: The joyful, perplexing world of puzzle hunts

Related TED Video: Can you solve the riddle of Pandora’s box?

Related NPR Links

Forum: Living without a mind’s eye

Hidden Brain: You 2.0: The Mind’s Eye

TED Radio Hour: How your brain creates your sense of self

Copyright 2026 NPR

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Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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