Julia Thomas

@juliathomas

Joined 5 months ago

Professor Julia Thomas FLSW, FRSA. Specialist in word and image, illustration studies, and mental imagery. Cardiff University, UK. Author of The Victorian Mind’s Eye (Oxford University Press, 2025)

Posts

Julia ThomasArticle3 days ago

Discovering Aphantasia in History

Many assume that everyone can picture scenes in the mind’s eye—but history reveals otherwise. This article explores nineteenth-century writers and scientists who recognized readers without mental imagery—what we now call aphantasia. From George du Maurier to Francis Galton, it traces the surprising origins of today’s understanding of aphantasic readers.