Visualizing Space

I recently read an essay here, about a geologist who enhanced his visual skills through hallucination. To analyze the underlying geological features on a planet or moon, planetary geologists rely on images taken from spacecrafts. Landforms in space cannot be understood unless they are perceived in three dimensions through stereo images - paired photographs taken from slightly different angles to mimic depth perception. Most people use mechanical devices to judge depth from stereo photos, but this geologist relies on his own visualization skills instead of these machines. And what enabled him to do this?

In his words, "one evening we smoked some especially potent marihuana, purely for pleasure. I
amused myself by looking at a pair of stereo photographs that had been left in the room. Suddenly the two pictures merged into a single three-dimensional view."

He retained this ability after his high ended, and it's an essential part of his career.