I can't (or well not well). Like "close your eyes and imagine an apple" might (*MIGHT*) get me "circle, red, stick out the top" (otherwise, just the black of the inside of my eyelids.
On the other hand, ask me to draw a shape that'll fold into a cube, and I'll whip that up right quick (plus tabs for glue, etc). Likewise, stuff like "will this bookshelf fit on that wall" type things can usually be generalized to a "yeah, probably" or "notta chance" by eye.