Topic: Spatial thinking ...

I just discovered alexithymia last week and was really amazed about how many of quirks and aphorisms of self this helps explain. It was an extraordinary discovery for me and got me thinking about how it might be related to other aspects of my personality/quirks.

One in particular I was wondering about is spatial thinking. The alexithymia article on Wikipedia (let's face it, there doesn't seem to be a lot of literature out there available), suggests one of the defining characteristics is a "constricted imaginal processes, as evidenced by a scarcity of fantasies". I don't feel like I have a deficit of fantasies, though mine are exclusively of the pragmatic kind, i.e. where am I going to go for dinner tomorrow or what kind of boat would I buy if I won Powerball and never the, "I'm going to ride a mythical pegasus over the rainbow." type. I do, however, have a definite lack of ability to visualize spatial descriptions. Someone giving me driving directions, after the first turn or maybe two, might as well be saying blah, blah, blah. The same goes for describing something spatial like how a room will look if the furniture is moved. I'm not able to visualize the description until I see it. The same thing happens if someone is describing the function of a machine or system or parts and how they interact together; mind goes dead blank!

I'm curious to know of others here experience this and can relate or if that might just be some quirk unrelated to alexithymia?