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I've really enjoyed using AI to generate images. For example, Long time ago, I read an amazing five-book saga called Riverworld, and I used AI to recreate many

I've really enjoyed using AI to generate images. For example, Long time ago, I read an amazing five-book saga called Riverworld, and I used AI to recreate many scenes, places, and ideas from the story. Seeing the books come to life through hundreds of images was a great experience. Definitely one of the coolest things to enjoy in 2026. Try it with your favorite books.

Starlevel004 8d ago
[flagged]
- RobinL 8d ago
  I wish I could do it better. There seems to be a lot of variability. This episode of radiolab on the topic is fascinating: https://radiolab.org/podcast/aphantasia/transcript?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://radiolab.org/podcast/aphantasia/transcript?utm_sourc...
  - andai 8d ago
    The apple scale: https://www.reddit.com/r/HelloInternet/comments/f0wuej/are_you_a_1_2_3_4_or_5_in_this_apple/ https://www.reddit.com/r/HelloInternet/comments/f0wuej/are_y...
    - alstonite 8d ago
      Wow I haven’t thought about HI in years!
- fsloth 8d ago
  Not all people can!
- SirMaster 8d ago
  I feel like the reason I dislike reading or find reading boring is because I can't. But it's just a theory. Meanwhile I absolutely love movies.
  - dinfinity 8d ago
    This is quite common if you have full on aphantasia. I have a friend who only reads fiction for which he's seen the accompanying show first because he otherwise has no visual reference for the characters and environments.
    - Semaphor 8d ago
      > This is quite common if you have full on aphantasia. Is it? I’ve never really researched common aphantasia behavior, but I’ve seen many mentions of aphantasia in fantasy/scifi subreddits where those of us with it still love reading. I can imagine (heh) it, but I wonder if there’s some kind of data regarding it?
      - dinfinity 7d ago
        I don't know. I speak mostly from my own experience and that of my friends. For me personally reading is still interesting and can be very engaging, but due to the logic of the story, characters, and universe; for lengthy descriptions of the appearance of the environment or the characters I quickly glaze over and get bored because they just don't do much for me (unless the appearances have some semantic significance in the story).
        Semaphor 7d ago
        Yeah, it's the same for me, but luckily those are very rare
  - Semaphor 8d ago
    FWIW, there’s a famous(-ish) fantasy author with aphantasia (Mark Lawrence), and I also have aphantasia, yet I absolutely love reading and if I would have to choose only one entertainment for the rest of my live, it’d be reading. But I can’t stand elaborate descriptions (it’s almost always landscapes, rarely do authors feel the need to describe anything in as excruciating details as landscapes), which might be related to those descriptions not building up to some kind of image in my head.
- meerita 8d ago
  I did it as well. But it was fun to imagine it through another type of eyes.
yawnr 8d ago
One man's treasure is another man's trash
- squidbeak 8d ago
  One man's cliche is another man's hacker news comment
ActionHank 8d ago
[flagged]
- throwup238 8d ago
  We’ve outsourced everything else.
- deleted 8d ago
  [deleted]
- Escapado 8d ago
  I just finished the 2nd book of the Stormlight Chronicles by Brandon Sanderson. Sadly I have had aphantasia all my life and therefore I can not visually imagine things - I do have a very loud inner monologue though and can imagine the voices of the characters. I just tried out the new version of ChatGPT to generate images for the main characters in a concept art style and for me it makes the story come to life a bit more. I also run a Pathfinder Campaign every other week and have found great pleasure visualizing scenes in this way for myself. Sometimes I share them with the players and so far the feedback on that has been very positive. I wish I could picture things in my mind but at least now I have something that can help me with my handicap!
- meerita 8d ago
  Outsourcing re-imagination.
- TiredOfLife 8d ago
  About 300 million people literally can't imagine.
  - deleted 8d ago
    [deleted]
- hirvi74 8d ago
  Why is that such a bad thing? Imagination is not truly useful for anything without skills to complement it, at least not in my experience.
Razengan 8d ago
[dead]

Starlevel004 8d ago

[flagged]

RobinL 8d ago
I wish I could do it better. There seems to be a lot of variability. This episode of radiolab on the topic is fascinating: https://radiolab.org/podcast/aphantasia/transcript?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://radiolab.org/podcast/aphantasia/transcript?utm_sourc...
- andai 8d ago
  The apple scale: https://www.reddit.com/r/HelloInternet/comments/f0wuej/are_you_a_1_2_3_4_or_5_in_this_apple/ https://www.reddit.com/r/HelloInternet/comments/f0wuej/are_y...
  - alstonite 8d ago
    Wow I haven’t thought about HI in years!
fsloth 8d ago
Not all people can!
SirMaster 8d ago
I feel like the reason I dislike reading or find reading boring is because I can't. But it's just a theory. Meanwhile I absolutely love movies.
- dinfinity 8d ago
  This is quite common if you have full on aphantasia. I have a friend who only reads fiction for which he's seen the accompanying show first because he otherwise has no visual reference for the characters and environments.
  - Semaphor 8d ago
    > This is quite common if you have full on aphantasia. Is it? I’ve never really researched common aphantasia behavior, but I’ve seen many mentions of aphantasia in fantasy/scifi subreddits where those of us with it still love reading. I can imagine (heh) it, but I wonder if there’s some kind of data regarding it?
    - dinfinity 7d ago
      I don't know. I speak mostly from my own experience and that of my friends. For me personally reading is still interesting and can be very engaging, but due to the logic of the story, characters, and universe; for lengthy descriptions of the appearance of the environment or the characters I quickly glaze over and get bored because they just don't do much for me (unless the appearances have some semantic significance in the story).
      - Semaphor 7d ago
        Yeah, it's the same for me, but luckily those are very rare
- Semaphor 8d ago
  FWIW, there’s a famous(-ish) fantasy author with aphantasia (Mark Lawrence), and I also have aphantasia, yet I absolutely love reading and if I would have to choose only one entertainment for the rest of my live, it’d be reading. But I can’t stand elaborate descriptions (it’s almost always landscapes, rarely do authors feel the need to describe anything in as excruciating details as landscapes), which might be related to those descriptions not building up to some kind of image in my head.
meerita 8d ago
I did it as well. But it was fun to imagine it through another type of eyes.

yawnr 8d ago

One man's treasure is another man's trash

squidbeak 8d ago
One man's cliche is another man's hacker news comment

ActionHank 8d ago

[flagged]

throwup238 8d ago
We’ve outsourced everything else.
deleted 8d ago
[deleted]
Escapado 8d ago
I just finished the 2nd book of the Stormlight Chronicles by Brandon Sanderson. Sadly I have had aphantasia all my life and therefore I can not visually imagine things - I do have a very loud inner monologue though and can imagine the voices of the characters. I just tried out the new version of ChatGPT to generate images for the main characters in a concept art style and for me it makes the story come to life a bit more. I also run a Pathfinder Campaign every other week and have found great pleasure visualizing scenes in this way for myself. Sometimes I share them with the players and so far the feedback on that has been very positive. I wish I could picture things in my mind but at least now I have something that can help me with my handicap!
meerita 8d ago
Outsourcing re-imagination.
TiredOfLife 8d ago
About 300 million people literally can't imagine.
- deleted 8d ago
  [deleted]
hirvi74 8d ago
Why is that such a bad thing? Imagination is not truly useful for anything without skills to complement it, at least not in my experience.

Razengan 8d ago

[dead]