Great post on LessWrong that has several great points. Among them:

There’s some evidence that the usual method of interacting with people involves something sorta like emulating them within our own brain. We think about how we would react, adjust for the other person’s differences, and then assume the other person would react that way. This method of interaction is very tempting, and it always feels like it ought to work.

But when statistics tell you that the method that would work on you doesn’t work on anyone else, then continuing to follow that gut feeling is a Typical Psyche Fallacy. You’ve got to be a good rationalist, reject your gut feeling, and follow the data.

He discusses specifically that some people are unable to “imagine.” That is, unable to experience qualia based on verbal descriptions. If that’s true (and it seems reasonable based on the evidence), it has rather profound impacts on storytelling.