How Do You Think?

[samsonite2100]

A recent conversation with my girlfriend got me thinking about this deceptively simple topic.

I always assumed that other people's minds worked the same way mine does--I almost exclusively think in terms of a sort of inner voice. Most of my reasoning, decision-making, and even emotional responses are essentially verbal.

I recently discussed this with my girlfriend, and she said she tends to think visually. That is, her thought process tends to involve a series of visualizations of different scenarios. When she's confronted with a tough decision, she kind of "pictures" her way through it, while I "talk" my way through it.

So, SMPers, how would you describe your thought process? Do you tend to think verbally, visually, or in some other way?

[luckyme]

[ QUOTE ]
That is, her thought process tends to involve a series of visualizations of different scenarios. When she's confronted with a tough decision, she kind of "pictures" her way through it, while I "talk" my way through it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Definitely more like your gf, I have great difficulty lining up my thoughts so they can be expressed verbally. It's like trying to explain an interesting video of a basketball game. where would you start, which actions of the many interactions going on at once should occupy that moment of the talk.
By the time I say, "Jones is dribbling down the center, Hause is blocking" I can't say that Mirts is setting up the return because he's not doing that anymore, he's now blocking Tomkins and , cheeesh, now Jones isn't dribbling.
oh, fergit it. I'll My space it.

A shifting interactive web of inputs ranging from highly influential to mildly connected, with long tangential tails on many of them. Trying to make them linear is brutal.

luckyme

[johnnyrocket]

i go by inner feel, yea everyone thinks differently, thats what makes the world not as boring

[samsonite2100]

[ QUOTE ]
i go by inner feel, yea everyone thinks differently, thats what makes the world not as boring

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'm glad everyone thinks in different ways, no doubt. When you say "inner feel," what exactly does that mean?

[PairTheBoard]

Most of the time I go through life as if in a dream. I get verbal when you guys force me to explain myself.

PairTheBoard

[Taraz]

Do you guys really think in one mode or another? I feel like it depends heavily on what I'm thinking about. I think visually in terms of sports, verbally in terms of logical arguments, etc.

I will say that my natural inner monologue is more of a verbal thing though.

[arahant]

That's funny...I recently discussed this with your gf myself. Tell you what...I just want to go to sleep after, but she will NOT shut her yapping until you humor her.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
A recent conversation with my girlfriend got me thinking about this deceptively simple topic.

I always assumed that other people's minds worked the same way mine does--I almost exclusively think in terms of a sort of inner voice. Most of my reasoning, decision-making, and even emotional responses are essentially verbal.

I recently discussed this with my girlfriend, and she said she tends to think visually. That is, her thought process tends to involve a series of visualizations of different scenarios. When she's confronted with a tough decision, she kind of "pictures" her way through it, while I "talk" my way through it.

So, SMPers, how would you describe your thought process? Do you tend to think verbally, visually, or in some other way?

[/ QUOTE ]

If I had to come up with some realistic metaphor to explain my thinking through problems, it would probably be that I arrange what I know on some sort of 3D grid, maybe like a globe, and navigate around what I know and how all the facts and ideas connect to each other. This is pretty much how it always seems to me, whenever I am trying to recall something or figure out some new problem that I know is only a few steps away. When I'm learning, I similarly hang items onto my globe, and try to connect them to as many things as possible.

So, when I go in to take an exam, for example, I read the problem, and immediately bring up the 4 or 5 items relevant to the problem and their specific geography on my globe. Then I literally turn the globe left and right, zoom in and out, and so on, trying to find or remember or figure out what I'm missing.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you guys really think in one mode or another? I feel like it depends heavily on what I'm thinking about. I think visually in terms of sports, verbally in terms of logical arguments, etc.

I will say that my natural inner monologue is more of a verbal thing though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I won't say that my thinking metaphor is universal, but it makes up the vast majority of the time I am trying to solve any intermediate-difficult problem. This holds true over different types of information, be it sports, logical arguments, medicine and so on.

[Pauwl]

I've always mostly thought as an inner dialogue, but the dialogue is faster than I can speak. Since I was younger, I always wondered how a deaf and blind person would think. Most people use a combination of visual and auditory thinking, but if both of these are unknown to you, how are your thoughts presented to you?

[Subfallen]

Notice this question is deceptive, because the question everyone really answers is, "How do you think you think?" Consciousness is actually a pretty post facto affair; most of the mental processes we're aware of are actually interpretations of effective mental events...rather than the effective mental events themselves.

If you don't believe this immediately, just consider memory. We constantly have conscious memories triggered by environment without conscious effort. Yet often, no matter how hard we try, we just can't remember the name of the girl who got her throat slit in Braveheart. Or whatever.

But, anyways, personally I think linearly and linguistically. Which is probably why I never solve any interesting problems.

Edit- Lol, it's been bothering me why on earth I chose the Braveheart girl as my forgettable factoid. I have no idea.

[Roland32]

I have been thinking about this lately as well. I am a 1l law student so have been trying (for the first time unfortunately) to learn how I learn, in order to become more efficient.

I used to say that I think in pictures or motion. But the more I have though about it, i don't think that is entirely true. I do have an inner monologue, I think through things verbally as well.

My current conclusion is that I actually think in terms of relationships. SO most of the time I visualize relationships, and the imagery I use has nothing to do with reality, but just interworkings of various facts, theories, events, etc. This I determine has a few effects in terms of how I learn and how "show" what I have learned.

In terms of learning, I have realized that I need to see the forest before I study the trees. Meaning I need to have a general canvas, or mold to place additional information in, otherwise I will not be able to remember, or achieve an understanding of the topic. So basically, I am now learning how to most efficiently "shape and reshape" my mental imagery as new information comes in.

Secondly, in terms of demonstrating an understanding, or basically test taking, this current conclusion explains my trouble with essays but my ability to do well with multiple choice.
The reason for my trouble with essays, is trying to verbalize my mental imagery. The imaggery is not an organized linear "thing", so an order to explain on paper it often comes out a mess, or as my tort professor called it "disorganized and loose language" before docking me down from an A to a B. (I was about 5 pages longer in essay than the 2nd longest essay.)

in terms of Multiple choince though, I have an ability to test well even if I do not know a subject well. Ths is because the facts are provided, I do not need to verbalize anything or state a definition verbatim, or even know the definition. Instead if I know the relaitonship, I can figure out the right answer regardless of my detatiled knowledge of specifics.

I hope that makes sense, I have feeling quite alot of others think this way, so I hope it helps or is atleast interesting.

[samsonite2100]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you guys really think in one mode or another? I feel like it depends heavily on what I'm thinking about. I think visually in terms of sports, verbally in terms of logical arguments, etc.

I will say that my natural inner monologue is more of a verbal thing though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I certainly switch modes if I'm trying to, for example, do some kind of spatial reasoning problem. But even then, my thought process is heavily verbal, with a constant running commentary about what I'm trying to reason out. Which probably explains why I'm not great at spatial reasoning stuff.

[samsonite2100]

[ QUOTE ]
I've always mostly thought as an inner dialogue, but the dialogue is faster than I can speak. Since I was younger, I always wondered how a deaf and blind person would think. Most people use a combination of visual and auditory thinking, but if both of these are unknown to you, how are your thoughts presented to you?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a great question. Maybe they would think in a more tactile way, involving the perceived shapes of objects, or something? I don't know, hard to imagine.

[ QUOTE ]
Notice this question is deceptive, because the question everyone really answers is, "How do you think you think?" Consciousness is actually a pretty post facto affair; most of the mental processes we're aware of are actually interpretations of effective mental events...rather than the effective mental events themselves.



[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this 100%. I wonder to what extent the way we consciously think about things mirrors the way our subconsious works. I would imagine that someone with a very chaotic inner monologue would have a fairly chaotic subconsious thought process, too. But that could be totally wrong.

[chezlaw]

I don't think visually and never have.

Don't know if its a skill I never developed or there's something important about it. It must be an advantage to be able to think both ways but I guess many who can visualise easily don't fully develop the non-visual skills. I wonder if I had the reverse situation of being able to think non-visually easily and never developing the visual skills.

Used to have heavy conversations about maths with fellow students and it was very clear that communication about how we solve problems between the visualisers and the rest (me) was very awkward. Only the fact that we got the same answers proved we were thinking about the same things in some way.

[Was once told that by an educational expert that anyone who can't visualise is incapable of doing degree level maths. Its not his fault, I had a low opinion of 'experts who can't explain why' long before I met him.]

chez

[Metric]

I have often wondered how a person's primary language affects their "inner dialog" when reasoning something out... Perhaps different first languages predispose people to being able to solve different types of problems?

[MegaloMialo]

Very interesting topic.
Don't we all use both?
i am confused.
When i am picturing myself exercising any kind of sport its always in a visual way. I see my self doing different things.
When i am talking and thinking of different things it's like someone mentioned a globe of knowledge that automatically appears when needed.

You say that you girlfriend pictures her way through a tough decision, does that not depend on what she is thinking about?
It can't be visual all the time? Would that not make her very slow? How many images can the brain put forth and process at the same time?

[surftheiop]

I know whenever i read it basically turns into a movie inside my head of whatever is happening (math,science,fiction,non-fiction- doesnt matter).

I thought this was how everyone read until a couple months ago when i mentioned it to someone else and was suprised to hear they didnt read this way.

[MegaloMialo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That is, her thought process tends to involve a series of visualizations of different scenarios. When she's confronted with a tough decision, she kind of "pictures" her way through it, while I "talk" my way through it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Definitely more like your gf, I have great difficulty lining up my thoughts so they can be expressed verbally. It's like trying to explain an interesting video of a basketball game. where would you start, which actions of the many interactions going on at once should occupy that moment of the talk.
By the time I say, "Jones is dribbling down the center, Hause is blocking" I can't say that Mirts is setting up the return because he's not doing that anymore, he's now blocking Tomkins and , cheeesh, now Jones isn't dribbling.
oh, fergit it. I'll My space it.

A shifting interactive web of inputs ranging from highly influential to mildly connected, with long tangential tails on many of them. Trying to make them linear is brutal.

luckyme [/quote



This does not make sense.
Where do you start in a basketball game?
Your starting point would be with the person holding the ball because that's where our main focus lays.
Same with thought and opinions. We normally have a main focus when speaking.
Sounds like your thoughts travel much faster then your tongue.

[samsonite2100]

[ QUOTE ]
You say that you girlfriend pictures her way through a tough decision, does that not depend on what she is thinking about?
It can't be visual all the time? Would that not make her very slow? How many images can the brain put forth and process at the same time?

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's an example of what I gleaned from our conversation to try to clarify. If both my GF and I knew we had to do some errands later, she would probably picture herself going to the bank, the grocery store, etc.; I, OTOH, would tend to "know" it more through my interior monologue and saying to myself "bank, grocery store, etc." There's a visual component, too, but it's hazy and the running verbal commentary tends to usually overshadow it, except when I'm thinking about things that are overtly visual in nature. Even then, I'm not great at visualization.

[ QUOTE ]
I know whenever i read it basically turns into a movie inside my head of whatever is happening (math,science,fiction,non-fiction- doesnt matter).

I thought this was how everyone read until a couple months ago when i mentioned it to someone else and was suprised to hear they didnt read this way.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to work really actively hard to visualize what's happening in books that I read. I tend to get much more out of dialogue and abstract thought in novels than I do from scene descriptions or action, and for that reason am heavily biased in preference against genre fiction sci-fi, horror, etc. (which I only just realized, thanks to your comment).

[soon2bepro]

I'd say both, but it depends on what I'm thinking about.

When I'm thinking about abstract, rational ideas, I picture things visually and use verbal thinking to connect them.

When I'm thinking about how I'd feel about something, I picture things mostly visually and a bit verbally, and then use the feelings those provoke to connect them.

Of course, all of this is probably a load of bs. We can't really tell what's going on in our minds, we can but guess, and then try to explain this intangible idea to others using a limited language.