Lack of Imagination

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My son has an very strong imagination. His special interests often revolve around imaginary characters and scenarios. He writes science fiction stories and comics all the time.

What he does not do is to put himself in the role of someone else, or make a doll/toy do things in the same way as a typical nt. He'll build a scene out of Lego and ask me to play with him. Then, he'll take one of the little people and begin to narrate, "Pretend I've just come out of my time machine and you're seeing me for the first time. You see that I'm carrying something that looks like a birthday cake."

It's a little different that what I've seen most nt kids do, but you can't tell me there's no imagination there. It's nothing BUT imagination! EDITED to clarify: I'm not suggesting that you, the OP, are telling me that. I mean "one can't tell me".

I spend a ton of time in my own little fantasy world, and even posted my Lego movie on the introductions board. It may be silly, but it certainly took imagination! (Of course, I'm not dx with anything. It may turn out that I'm not AS but merely inept and weird. I sure relate to people on WP better than nts, though.)


(Has anyone ever watched "The Yellow Submarine"? Ringo is starting to worry about the fact that a yellow submarine seems to be following him all around, and he guesses that it must be a figment of his imagination. Then he says, in his Liverpool accent, "But I don't have an imagination." I think of that every time someone talks about imagination. )

Aside from the anime characters, this applies to me also. Copyright-infringing, very apt!

If you don't mind my asking, what kind of characters do you have in your imagination if they are not from anime?

This was worked out elsewhere in private.

First point... you not understanding what that *NT" targeted phrase means is precisely what it means

Think about that for a moment.

How are you? Not comprehending what the NT is saying is taken as lack of imagination. Stupid person for not knowing the obvious... to an NT. (it took me 40+ years and reading something to finally understand that classic, how are you?)

Not the same thing as we are meaning by imagination. It has to be taken indirectly and we are bad at indirect.

Get it? No, ok. :-)

Seen recently

"Are you human or robot?"
"Answer using one word."

And your immediate reaction?
Mine was, confused, think, Yes, engage brain, not what they meant.

My imagination is not very visual. It more consists of 'ideas' rather than images. I do not really imagine or think of people visually very easily at all (I easily get confused between two different characters if they have similar hair, or fail to realise the same character is the same character if they have different hair styles when watching tv for instance). If I do have a visual image of someone, it's someone I have seen (I cannot 'imagine' facial characteristics or body shapes I have not seen) very often, and it's usually not their facial features that I (very fleetingly) glimpse in my mind, but rather some accessory they always wear, or maybe a sense of the outline of their hair, the brief impression of the way their bangles move, with a fleeting impression of the arm mannerisms.

Most of the characters who populate my imagination are from books and have no visual element at all really. A couple of exceptions (like Asterix the Gaul and friends when I was a child) do exist, but I've always read a lot, and without seeing a lot of images of a person, I could never form a picture of what they look like at all. My sense of most people and things is not very visual. I cannot visualise anything I've not seen, and I cannot 'hold' a visual image long enough to even be quite sure what it 'looks' like.

I think that's true for me. I'm not sure what kind of thinker I am, but it's not visual. That makes it hard to shop for things like furniture or home decor, because I can't picture the room where it will be used. I can picture tiny bits of things, like an extreme close-up glimpse of a friend brushing her hair out of her eyes, or the texture of the sofa upholstery, but not the whole friend or the whole sofa in the room. And, like you, the image doesn't stay.

That sure sounds like me!

Less a product of imagination and more a product of LSD, but still yes,that line is spot on. Well quoted.

I think that I do have an imagination, but sometimes some of the things I imagine are based upon the things I have read or seen years ago.

I sometimes see something, then adapt it in some way into another thing. Is that imagination or is that just creating a derivative work ?

Wtf...My imagination is crazy, if you got into my head you might be surprised.

Imagination and Creativity are different things. Imagination is the concept, creativity is getting the concept out.
I do have a limited imagination. I'll imagine I'm in Tron or Doctor Who, or put elements of lots of things together. I have am REALLY creative when it comes to getting them out though. Being creative can cover up your lack of imagination and vice-versa.

I would say I'm one of the ones who does have a limited imagination. If I'm given the literal or metaphorical building blocks, I can put them into a pleasing arrangement, but I have quite a lot of difficulty creating from scratch.

That has to be the number one misconception that annoys me!

funny, i always loved pretend play...especially if i got a group of kids and made a pretend activity where i controlled what was going on, and lead the story along...like we were all on a spaceship or something and i was the captain...lol...i always loved acting in little school plays too, and dressing up! ^.^

i don't think we lack imagination...i do however think we lack flexibility of thought at times...

the reason i get so nervous before gigs or before meeting someone new is that i'll imagine a million little details about what it's gonna be like...which brings on an expectant, nervous streak in me...imagination = yes, flexibility = not really! x

I think the 'imagination' in question is really meant to refer to the process of being able to 'imagine' how real-life interactions,especially social ones,are going to develop.Not surprisingly it gets misinterpreted to mean a lack of ability to apply creative thinking in general which isn't true.

The study that I linked several posts ago was about imagining pictures, improvements in toys, etc., not about social interactions.