There was a digression in another thread about this a little over a year ago, which was where I first learned of people-without-mental-imagery:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9280134" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9280134</a><p>Notably, ~gwillen there pointed out Francis Galton&#x27;s 1880 study of the matter – where he started with the idea that mental imagery was a hoax, as he himself did not experience it. His surveys convinced him that it was instead common, and that only ~3% of people lack it entirely – very close to the 2% estimate Ross passes along from a 2009 study.<p>So: still surprising people, but known for quite a while.