STEM and abstract thinking

Aphants reporting that programming, engineering, and abstract maths feel native — sometimes even advantaged — without mental imagery.

What people actually say

"I think it helps" — programming as a fit

The most common claim is that aphantasia is neutral or actively useful for programming. Posters describe reducing problems straight to concepts rather than pictures.

"Also a programmer and honestly I think aphantasia helps. It's so much easier to think like a computer in terms of objects, data and process when you rely on images and have to reduce it all to concepts." 2018 · t1_e5k9rzw ↗

"I think having aphantasia makes me a better programmer. While other people try to break down a problem into something they can visualize I can just think about it conceptually and it seems like I understand the concepts easier than my classmates." 2018 · t1_e7vj7rv ↗

"Game developer for 30 years. I am a better programmer than anybody I know. I consider aphantasia a stone-cold advantage." 2018 · t1_e7vj7rv ↗

Maths without pictures — "what's there to visualise?"

A second cluster pushes back on the assumption that maths needs visualisation. For many, mental arithmetic runs as a non-visual background process; abstraction is the point.

"Math was super easy. Even on academic level. You don't need to visualise anything, to be good at math." 2019 · t1_eouszyc ↗

"Abstract thinking, on the other hand, is necessary to do any kind of math, and without visualisation, abstract thinking is the only way I can think about world around me." 2019 · t1_eouszyc ↗

"Most mental math just autocompletes in my head with no concious effort, like if I had an excel spreadsheet as an background process." 2025 · t1_n9qofex ↗

"Math is an abstract, why waste time making visualisations? Just do mental math." 2026 · t1_nyoxy8m ↗

Engineering and abstract systems

Engineers and systems thinkers describe a "quieter" mental workspace — fewer extraneous details to manage, easier grasp of structure.

"I can think about abstract concepts easily. Many people with aphantasia get into science and engineering. I feel like my brain is a lot more quiet and I can think about things without a ton of extraneous detail." 2022 · t1_i2d5fvh ↗

"At work I can intuitively understand complex systems and know how to solve a problem without thinking hard about it." 2022 · t1_i2d5fvh ↗

"computer engineer here with zero visualization. absolutely not a problem, perhaps even a strength given the purely abstract nature of so many aspects of engineering." 2019 · t3_d1z4xh ↗

Where it bites — 3D, rotation, mental arithmetic

Not everyone reports an advantage. The same threads collect minority complaints — geometry, mental rotation, and (for some) basic mental maths are harder, sometimes much harder.

"3d geometry is a real bitch without visualisation however. I have no idea how i'd do it without." 2024 · t1_l0uqgca ↗

"The only things I found difficult were those mental rotation things, which I have to solve using logic instead of visualising" 2025 · t3_1m7at0q ↗

"I am pretty bad at mental math though and I find it frustrating. Maybe it would be easier with the ability to visualise." 2023 · t1_keykfh1 ↗

Across the years

The pattern is remarkably stable across 2018–2026. The earliest chunks (2018, 5 chunks) already frame programming and engineering as advantaged or neutral, and 2026 chunks (2) repeat the same framing almost verbatim. Volume is heaviest in 2018–2020 (5, 7, 6 chunks) when "what careers do aphants have?" threads were popular; the question recurs but with diminishing novelty in 2021–2024 (3, 3, 1, 1). The 2025 and 2026 entries (2 each) shift slightly toward maths-specific posts rather than career-survey posts, but the underlying claim — abstract reasoning works fine, and 3D / mental rotation is the consistent weak spot — is unchanged.

Volume

Cross-references

• Related sub-theme: themes/career_chosen_avoided.md
• Related sub-theme: themes/phenomenology_thinking_in_concepts.md
• Related sub-theme: themes/education_school_struggles.md