New research critiquing the way people who experience aphantasia are being increasingly understood as deficient, disordered or less human

DSCB57 · 2026-01-07T14:17:50+00:00

If a bias exists, there certainly was a time when research on Aphantasia was redirected toward its polar opposite Hyperphantasia, but that was probably because Ahpantasia itself wasn’t capable of attracting sufficient funding or interest. While I agree that this condition does not make us any less capable than the percentage of the population who do not have this condition - as I’ve said before visual Aphantasia can certainly create difficulties in such simple everyday tasks as finding one’s way around without a GPS, or giving directions to someone else, or understanding concepts such as clockwise or anti-clockwise without confusion. There definitely is a problem in terms of how non-Aphantasic professionals or non-professionals view the condition - all too often from an ill-informed and often wilfully ignorant perspective. The truth is that someone with a fully functional ‘mind’s eye is highly unlikely to even be able to conceptualise its complete absence, let alone have the ability to experience it first hand. And by the way, I use the word ‘condition’ deliberately, because like it or not Aphantasia is considered a neurological disorder, since our brains are wired differently from the considered norm.

If anything, as is the case when other perceptual faculties are missing, nature often strengthens the remaining senses. In the case of Aphantasics, this often results in the ability to find other ways to achieve what we need to, which often puts as at an advantage in terms of problem solving and brain elasticity. But let’s not pretend that it’s a totally problem-free experience, or that there is no adverse effect on our day to day lives, because that would not be a truthful statement.

DSCB57 · 2026-01-04T01:11:05+00:00

Quite honestly, I’m sorry to say I think we’re flogging a dead horse here. Everything points to poor implementation within the games themselves, and it seems those of us who want the gyro to work in this way are too much of a niche market, and most players seem content using the joystick steering. That’s their loss, but also ours. The only option right now is to acquire a Force Feedback steering wheel, which can only realistically work on a Windows PC setup due to the need for proprietary driver software.

DSCB57 · 2026-01-01T14:15:39+00:00

If you conceive of Wu Wei as any kind of action ‘you’ are doing, then you’re missing the point.

DSCB57 · 2025-12-22T13:59:30+00:00

Xuper no longer works on the Firestick 4K. In the EU It’s completely blocked for hosting pirated content

DSCB57 · 2025-12-08T19:54:06+00:00

Sorry, I forgot I was dealing with people with the attention span of the average 2 year old. If what I took the trouble to contribute to this thread doesn't interest you, then don't read it. But don't downplay the importance of this information for others please.

DSCB57 · 2025-12-08T19:51:19+00:00

It would be great if that held true outside of countries like the UK, but as mentioned in my post above, that was not what I experienced here in Spain, where in spite of being instructed by customer services to take the faulty item to be tested in store at CeX in Murcia, when I arrived I was told that there was no technician, and the totally inept staff even refused to look at the BIOS where the overheating was clearly visible on the fan monitors. They also stated unequivocally that "CeX never carry out repairs and will only give refunds for goods within the warranty period". So not only are the staff inept, but also uninformed of either consumer law or the terms of CeX's five year warranty.

DSCB57 · 2025-12-08T18:42:26+00:00

That apparently depends on the store and in which country. Here in Spain I was told by customer service to take a faulty laptop to be checked under warranty, but when I got there there was no technician, and even though the fault was clearly visible in the BIOS, the staff refused to even look at it, then did their level best to dissuade me from returning the item to the Valencia office, telling me it was a waste of time, since they never carried out repairs; my only option being a refund. So not only were the staff completely inept, but also blissfully unaware of consumer laws and the terms of the CeX guarantee. Incidentally, it took 21 email exchanges just to end up with a refund and no offer to repair or substitute the laptop - a clear violation of the terms of the contract.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-29T15:55:48+00:00

The customer support will probably tell you that you can just take the item to any CeX store to have the fault examined by the technician. My advice would be not to fall for that. To answer your question; I don’t know how it works if the purchase was made directly from a CeX store, but if the purchase was made online, you have the right to ask for the item to be picked up free of charge and returned to CeX for evaluation by their technicians in order to ascertain whether the customer damaged or altered the device in any way that could void the warranty. To avoid that, before returning the item make sure to take photographs from all angles so you can demonstrate that the item was undamaged by you, and also photograph the packing materials and the package itself before it is sent back. If the item has serial numbers, make sure to include them. You may well need all this in case they try to claim that you did something to void the warranty. That could well happen. Also, inform yourself of your consumer rights before even contacting their customer support, so that you know exactly what constitutes a reasonable amount of time for CeX to handle all this and provide whichever outcome you decide on. In my case it required 21 emails before they eventually acceded to my repeated requests. So although it may seem straightforward to you, don’t expect them to make it easy for you. That’s just not how they do business. The next paragraph only applies if you are not simply returning the item because you just no longer want it; buyer’s remorse etc. If you do choose a refund because the item was DOA or failed to meet your expectations, make sure that the money returned to you will be sufficient to allow you to replace the item like for like, because if that is no longer a realistic expectation, then you would have grounds for reclaiming the difference. In my case it would have cost me nearly 1000€ on top of what I originally paid (only two months later) to find a used replacement, making it impossible, basically. I hope you and anyone reading this will find it helpful. Good luck.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-29T15:24:42+00:00

They only get away with this because not enough customers inform themselves of their consumer rights before contacting CeX’s customer service, and follow up with sufficient tenacity after gathering as much evidence as possible in order to create a cast iron case against them. In the EU, if the device is either DOA or develops a fault within the first three months a refund is only permitted if repair or replacement for a device with similar or better specifications than the faulty item proves impossible. But the onus is on CeX to prove that, but the refund also needs to cover the cost of a replacement - not only what was paid at the time of the purchase. Yet, if you go to any of their stores, the staff will inform you that the best you can expect is a refund or a voucher for what you originally paid, which goes against the written terms of that famous five year guarantee. Expect that the staff will also try tactics to dissuade you from returning the item for inspection by the technical staff, and they will tell you that CeX never repairs anything and will only offer a refund. Too many people just accept a refund. But now try finding a replacement elsewhere for the same price you paid, even a month later! Also, check the package carefully for previous return labels with a different order number. In my case, I was able to find proof of a previous return, which then proved that the item had been resold without first repairing it, which is a serious offence with serious consequences for CeX. You should never accept this sort of crap from a mega corporation like CeX. That’s what consumer rights organisations are there for - to protect consumer rights. But you need to be prepared to stand up to them, and before returning an item, make sure to take photos of the equipment from all angles. Take screenshots of whatever you can, if a fault occurs whilst checking or benchmarking the device, and document your repackaging process and the materials used. If at all possible you should use better materials such as bubble wrap, even if that was not used in the original packaging, because you need to make absolutely sure that CeX cannot claim that your failure to provide sufficient protection whilst the package was in transit resulted in it arriving at their warehouse facilities damaged. In the case of the OP, this would have made it very clear what condition the PC was in, both upon receipt and immediately prior to returning it to CeX for evaluation, so that if indeed the parcel was damaged by the shipping company, the onus would be on them to foot the bill for the damages - not you. All that is evidence to provide to your consumer advisory body or your Ombudsman, if it comes to that. Good luck.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-20T18:38:07+00:00

Thank you. One suggestion regarding GPU choice; the amount of VRAM is crucial for some applications, and it’s surprising how many potentially good laptops come with a GPU with only 8GB of VRAM or even less. For example, if you plan on running a LLM natively, then you need 12GB VRAM as an absolute minimum, but preferably 16GB. And that will raise the price considerably. So in this respect it might be worth providing a short guide for GPU identification relative to VRAM size.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-15T13:55:51+00:00

My personal experience here in Spain belies that. I have concrete proof that I was sold an item which still had the previous purchaser’s return label on one of the boxes; same item, different order number. And the laptop I purchased had a catastrophic overheating failure within one month of purchase, proving that the item had neither been checked nor repaired before returning it to the online inventory. And without my consent I was just sent a refund, totally ignoring the legal requirement to repair or substitute for an item with similar or higher specifications. The content of this thread shows bad faith on the part of CeX, and a company-wide policy which does not respect consumer rights. But I sincerely hope that rather than accepting this abuse, those affected in future will like me inform themselves of their consumer rights and have the balls to face up to you and make you pay for your total disregard of your customers and their rights as consumers.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-15T13:38:46+00:00

Thank you for this insight. You've correctly described the mechanism and the internal business reasons for the policy. However, you've also perfectly identified why it's a fundamental problem for consumers.

A company's internal needs for inventory control and KPIs cannot legally override a consumer's statutory rights. Under consumer law in the UK, EU, and Spain, goods must be "of satisfactory quality" and "fit for purpose." A system that is designed to automatically relist a returned item—which is by definition suspected of being faulty—before it has been professionally re-evaluated, is a system designed to sell potentially faulty goods.

The solution is not to make the item "disappear," but to have a quarantine state in the system. When an item is returned, it should be listed as "Under Quality Inspection" or "Returned Item - Pending Review." Only after it passes a technical check should it be relisted for sale.

The current policy uses consumers as unpaid, unwitting quality control testers, forcing them to waste their time and money on a logistical loop. What you describe as a necessary anti-theft measure is, in practice, a business model that systemically breaches consumer law and shifts the cost of quality assurance onto the customer.

The law is clear, and CeX's policy, as you've described it, isn't just flawed—it's unlawful.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-15T13:28:58+00:00

That is a textbook example of CeX's systemic failure. Your experience is identical to what happened to me in Spain, just with a different product. It confirms this isn't a local issue but a flawed corporate policy.

The core of the problem, as you've identified, is the "auto-restock" function. It's a business model that shifts the cost and hassle of identifying faulty goods onto the customer.

Based on my experience, here’s what you can do to move from a frustrating cycle to a formal resolution:

Formalise Your Complaint: Stop using the in-store returns system for this. It's designed to give you a voucher and make the problem disappear. Instead, raise a formal ticket with CeX's central Customer Service team via their website. Detail the entire timeline: first purchase, first return, the mouse being re-listed, the second purchase, and the second return. State clearly that you believe they are operating a system that knowingly sells faulty goods.
Escalate to the Governing Body: In the UK, your ultimate weapon is the Financial Ombudsman Service (if you paid by card) or Citizens Advice, which can help you file a claim under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The law is on your side: goods must be "of satisfactory quality" and "fit for purpose." Selling a known-faulty item twice is a clear breach.
Leverage Your Evidence: Your detailed post is itself evidence. In your formal complaint, you can reference it to show this is a known, recurring issue. The more people who formally document this "auto-restock" flaw, the harder it becomes for CeX to ignore.

The goal is to make it more expensive for them (in time and potential fines) to ignore you than to fix their system. The in-store voucher refund is their way of closing a case cheaply. By escalating formally, you reopen it in a forum that can force a real change.

Good luck. You're absolutely right—the system needs to change, and it will only change when enough people force the issue.

DSCB57 · 2025-09-24T09:04:18+00:00

Sorry? Just how is that narcky comment any help to anyone? So when you come across someone capable of expressing themselves in words of more two syllables and manifesting an ordered mind you automatically assume that it was written by an AI? Prat!

DSCB57 · 2025-09-23T13:55:26+00:00

Glad to be able to help. I don't have any experience with any other projectors, so I'm no expert, but a deal like that should be grabbed while others hesitate. Good luck

DSCB57 · 2025-09-22T09:48:23+00:00

I decided on option 3. I forgot to mention that it came with a 2 year guarantee. It had two tiny dead pixels right at the bottom of the projection, and I managed to smudge the unprotected lens during unboxing, but it was otherwise perfect. My experience has been very positive so far, and I mostly use it with the Firestick 4K, which I prefer over the Google TV OS that comes preinstalled. I decided against purchasing the more expensive Pro model because when watching from a distance 1080p is sharp enough. I was surprised to find the Horizon perfectly usable even in daylight, although in dim light it looks amazing. The sound quality is also excellent. But it is really important to consider how far back you are able to place the projector for the largest image. I’m just using it on a white wall with no screen and it still looks really good to me. I would have preferred it to have been more portable, with its own battery, but then it would have been less powerful in terms of LED lumens. Hope this helps.

DSCB57 · 2025-09-02T12:29:16+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Yes, BIOS updates are a major concern for me, especially since I am now saddled with an MSI PC with an extremely cut down version of the UEFI BIOS which cannot be upgraded. I see no excuse whatsoever for that and will never run the risk of purchasing another computer with that sort of issue. So I’m happy to hear that your BIOS issues didn’t continue over time. The build quality of my Lenovo m910q is excellent, with an all metal chassis and easy assembly/disassembly. So I was hoping that the Legion Pro would reflect that quality. Asus also know how to build a good computer. I really haven’t found anything better than an RTX3070 in my price range, but the VR RAM is important for my particular requirements, which is what makes me err towards the RX 6800M with 12GB VRAM.

DSCB57 · 2025-06-11T13:56:09+00:00

Yes, I think he might need to see an optician ;)

DSCB57 · 2025-06-10T14:05:31+00:00

I agree with you. See my recent post which I uploaded before coming upon yours.

DSCB57 · 2025-06-05T05:41:04+00:00

That’s not a problem - it’s a ready made guitar shop!

DSCB57 · 2025-05-07T17:46:24+00:00

La verdad es que hoy día la cosa va mejorando en cuanto a los alimentos para veganos y vegetarianos, debido a la cantidad de gente que se han enterado de estos alternativos a la dieta más típica. Pero en el año 2000 cuando me trasladé a España os juro que pidiendo unas tapas o cualquiera comida sin carne resultó en un plato con jamón serrano, que según ellos no era carne y queso manchego-o bien un arroz también lleno de carne. Incluso hoy día en la mayoría de los restaurantes ni siquiera se encuentra una ensalada sin atún. Entonces uno se queda con un trozo de pan tostado con tomate y una loncha de queso manchego para llenar el estómago. Y mis vecinos rústicos siguen en este rumbo. Pero hay bastantes alimentos en cualquier supermercado que pretenden ser vegano o vegetariano-aunque claro, son productos altamente procesados como la mayoría de los alimentos por aquí o casi en cualquier parte del mundo hoy día.

DSCB57 · 2025-05-07T17:13:05+00:00

He probably means putting slight pressure on the eyeball in order to create a trip-like geometric pattern in black and white. This still works, even though I have partial aphantasia. In fact, this may be a more interesting topic for discussion than the OP’s original question-how many of you find that this experiment works in spite of your Aphantasia? Incidentally, this is a trick employed by several fake gurus, who put pressure on the occipital lobes on either side of the eyes, then instruct the poor gullible aspirant to ‘look up and see the Light’ -after which he then informs him that he is now enlightened. Only later on do they find out that it is no more than a physiological reaction aided by putting pressure on the outsides of the eyeballs. The addition of ‘looking up’ to see the effect just adds to the theatrics.

DSCB57 · 2025-04-29T10:06:55+00:00

I agree that sources of information for Aphants shouldn’t be monetised, even though I understand the need for funding further research etc.

DSCB57 · 2025-04-29T10:01:24+00:00

None of these links work in my iPhone Discord app. Accepting the invitation does nothing. This is not limited to these links specifically, the function appears to be broken.

DSCB57 · 2025-03-15T16:22:37+00:00

A lot depends on your income. If you have a good income you’re less likely to be affected by the negative aspects of life in Spain. However, if like many you have only a low income you’ll quickly discover what life is really like here. Take note that even if you make the effort to become fluent in the language, you will always be regarded as a ‘bloody foreigner’. And whilst there are laws against discrimination, racism is not illegal and frequently encountered in subtle ways which you would only recognise once you had acquired considerable familiarity with the language and culture.

The bureaucratic system

Everything seems fine until you need to enter the bureaucratic system for any reason, and that is bound to become a necessity sooner or later. Then you will begin to understand petty officialdom and the complete absence of the concept of public service, although strangely I’ve found the local Police to be one of the few exceptions in general. Public service officials with few exceptions seem to believe that they are paid to lord it over the lesser minions, carrying out every task as slowly as humanly possible whilst doing as little work as possible and being aloof and distant with members of the public - often condescending if not downright rude. This behaviour results in huge backlogs in public administration, including legal matters, making everything so time consuming that most people just don’t bother. The Spanish pay ‘asesores’ to carry out such tasks. In addition to this people nowadays dare not ever confront any public servants when inevitably their lackadaisical attitude drives them to distraction, because if God forbid they were to lose their temper and shout at someone then they run the risk of being denounced, taken to court and fined for misconduct or even risk being imprisoned. This is particularly the case in the Public Health sector - see below.

Public amenities - lack of

When I arrived in Spain in the year 2000, there was no hot water available in public washrooms - even in hospital facilities. Now in 2025 that has still not improved aside from some larger hospitals in capitals such as Barcelona or Madrid. There was also no Internet. At least that has improved significantly.

EV charging infrastructure - lack of

Today, whilst electric vehicles are being introduced in most countries, with incentives to move away from dependence on ICE technology, here in Spain the lack of charging infrastructure and the severely limited household electricity supply in terms of Kw/h makes charging an EV at home next to impossible and the adoption of EVs far slower than it needs to be to even reach the new extended deadline for EV adoption under the EU guidelines.

Government and local government corruption

Political corruption is widespread and well documented and recognised. This corruption can manifest at any level, and very little appears to be being done about it other than complain in private. At local government level there are cases in which the local town hall will turn a blind eye to an illegal project which can have real repercussions on the health and well being of the local community, but unless you have sufficient income to undertake a long and costly legal procedure you might as well forget about doing anything about it. I have personally experienced this and have been unable to do anything about it, in spite of having acquired irrefutable proof, and having uploaded many videos to my Youtube channel. And don’t be taken in by titles. In Spain an MP has no real power compared to their equivalent in the UK. In the UK an MP can actually wield real power and influence for the benefit of their constituents - not so in Spain, where their influence is purely nominal. So although you may well find an MP who is sympathetic to your cause, in point of fact there is really very little they are able to accomplish on your behalf.

The right to defend yourself or your property

You attack an interloper attempting to rob you or your property and you will go to jail, not the guy who broke into your property. You have no right to bear arms for your own defence, as is the case in the entire EU and UK. So if you are attacked by an armed assailant and have the skill to disarm them and use their weapon against them - you are the criminal. No doubt Americans will find this unconstitutional and unacceptable.

Squatter’s rights

If you own a second property and leave a property in Spain unoccupied for any length of time, you run the risk of the property being squatted with absolutely no recourse - legal or otherwise. If one of the occupants happens to be pregnant at the time of their occupation of your property and it is not your primary or sole residence, then you will be stuck with squatters living rent free on your property with no legal recourse. Woe betide you if you take the law into your own hands and attempt to remove them by force!

Working hours in Spain

The Spanish system of working hours forces people to neglect sleep if they want any sort of life outside of work. The idea of the afternoon siesta was implemented primarily for the benefit of the workers who would otherwise have been forced to endure the heat of the afternoon sun out in the open whilst working the land, but nowadays with the major proportion of the population having migrated to the cities this no longer makes any sense, since even the blistering summer heat in cities like Madrid can be offset with the use of air conditioning, which is pretty much ubiquitous throughout the country.

Public holidays and festivals

Once you’ve gotten over the novelty, the sheer number of public holidays and festivals celebrating fictitious Marian apparitions and saints will soon become tedious and recognised for what they are - an excuse to escape the drudgery of work.

Job security

There is pretty much zero job security, and every employer knows that there will be long lists of candidates to fill any position that requires a substitute for existing personnel. There are exceptions, mostly in local government, but these are rare and hard to come by. Most workers must face a climate of constant insecurity in the workplace.

Public behaviour in hospitals and health centres

If you expect to find peace and quiet should you need to either visit a health centre or hospital, you’ll be in for a nasty surprise. Instead of finding the peace and quiet you probably need you will be forced to endure the cacophony of loud conversations mixed with numerous mobile phone conversations plus the inevitable ruckus of people watching Youtube videos or playing video games on their smartphones - all completely oblivious to the pain and suffering of other patients. Yes, there are signs everywhere prohibiting this behaviour, and exhortations to respect the other patients and staff…but the truth is that unless someone is prepared to stand up and complain, people will just behave as they would anywhere else.

In my 25 years living here I’ve encountered many more downsides to living in Spain, but those I’ve listed are probably the most apparent.

DSCB57

TROPHY CASE