The Giants Shoulder

#118 - Meet The MIT Philosopher Proving Aphantasics Have Unconscious Imagery

May 7, 2026
Guest
Matthias Michel
Matthias Michel, MIT philosopher and co-founder of the MIT Consciousness Club, outlines Perceptual Reality Monitoring. He explains how the brain separates perception, memory, imagination and noise. He discusses unconscious vision and blindsight, whether fish see consciously, and the provocative idea that aphantasics may have unconscious imagery their minds use without phenomenal access.
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ANECDOTE

Hollow Face Study Separates Perception From Action

  • Michel describes the hollow face illusion study where conscious perception is fooled but action metrics are not.
  • Mel Goodale's 3D test showed manual flicking avoided the illusion while distance estimates showed it, separating streams.
INSIGHT

Sensory Horizons Explain Why Fish May Lack Conscious Vision

  • Water limits 'sensory horizons' so aquatic animals often only see a few body lengths ahead, favoring fast unconscious vision for action.
  • Michel cites Malcolm McIver's models showing diffraction and visibility reduce ecological need for conscious vision in many fish.
INSIGHT

Conscious Vision Evolved For Planning After Leaving Water

  • Conscious vision likely evolved to support model-based planning when sensory horizons expanded on land and neck mobility increased.
  • Michel suggests animals that need planning (e.g., octopus, reef fish) might be exceptions due to clutter and specialized behavior.
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