How do you think?

H

horsebox

Registered Senior Member
Recently I've discovered that not everything thinks in pictures supplemented by the other senses. In fact everyone I've asked about this told me they think by speaking inside their heads which shocked me a bit as I didn't think this was humanly possible. A few people didn't even believe me when I said I don't talk inside my head. How do you all think? For example if I told you to think of a way to get to the core of the earth how do you think devise a method? Heres how I do it.

I see a big tunnel borer, I feel the vertical pull of gravity, I hear the sound of the borer as it drills through the different textures of soil and pummels through rocks, I see a cross sectional image of the earth revealing its core, I smell the earth and finally I feel the heat of the inner core of the earth and the metal of the tunneling machine is melted.
 
And at no point is there any narration, labeling or questioning in your mind?

(I am not at all assuming that there must be. I have noticed that some people do not know their own mental processes, but rather only a portion. sometimes a second 'glance' finds more)

But different minds focus on different senses. Some are more visual, as in your case. Some more auditory/speech centered, some center on kinesthics. I am a mixture. I would definitely

think in images when presented by such a problem. However I would guess there would be junctures with some mental muttering - especially when some problem seemed to come up. I would also, in some mental way, feel the pressure on the hull of the borer.

I doubt I would smell much trying to solve that problem. I have no idea what things would smell like. If, however, it had something to do with the growth of mushrooms and earth, then I would likely smell something, even if it added little to my planning.
 
In a variety of ways depending on the subject.

To the core of the Earth I see a thin red lazer beam. Don't know why it's red, or thin, but I guess it's to cause as little damage to the planet as possible while reaching the core. This I wrote while thinking at the same time. So it's a combination of reasoning in words and visualising images. No smell or temperature "thoughts", but the beam came from outer space. Got me thinking further about eye surgery, that I also though about earlier today, so there's always a certain degree of associations to memories of previous thoughts and events, discussions etc.
 
horsebox said:
Recently I've discovered that not everything thinks in pictures supplemented by the other senses.
Click to expand...

So, if you can only think graphically, how do you think about things that you have not seen, or things that cannot be seen?
 
glaucon said:
So, if you can only think graphically, how do you think about things that you have not seen, or things that cannot be seen?
Click to expand...
Good question. A more specific follow up might be...

How do you think about abstractions?
 
I see words in the mind, sometimes. Sometimes images; representations or graphs. Not always, of course.

Edit: uncommon, all that though.
 
How do you think?
In my case the answer is obvious: superbly. :p
(Oh come on, somebody was bound to say it).

It depends, of course, on what I'm thinking about.
Words in my head (the voices, the voices!) as I'm typing this, but for other things (say an engineering problem or a mathematical one) then it's graphically as often as not - usually the relationships and interactions of the system under consideration. Hard to describe, but it works for me.

Edit: if it helps :p when I do think in words it's usually in English. But now and again it's in French, or German or Russian.
 
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The original posts asks for method. This quest can be observed in three points:

1. The question itself: "How do you think?"
2. The quest raised in the post:"...how do you think devise a method?
3. The example given by OP.

And in particular, OP asks for a material reality (earth), it doesn't matter, because no one can see earth as a whole: If you are on the surface, you can not see the entire planet; if you are looking at it from outer space, you can not see what's going on on the surface. In any case one must apply some representations (a round object, land and water, a map, whatever) the earth during the thinking process. Yet it doesn't change the fact that earth is a real object.

Gloucon realized this side of the original quest and tried to "philosophize" the question:

So, if you can only think graphically, how do you think about things that you have not seen, or things that cannot be seen?
Click to expand...

However, this is nothing to do with the main quest (-method of thinking-) of the original question. And my question is this:

Why is this post under the "General Philosophy" section? Shouldn't it be investigated under the "Human Science" section? What is the philosophical point in here? How does thinking method (neurological and/or cognitive process) become a subject for philosophy?
 
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I think in pictures, but mostly I think in something that is neither pictures nor words.
I can think in words ('spoken' language) if I force myself to, but it seems unnatural to me.
 
Having no "inner voice" is becoming frequently highlighted, and there is research along the lines that this might be a cause / contributory factor in dyslexia.

Personally I have a never-ending flow of verbal diarrhoea going on, but that's usually the decision-making part... with pictures being used to aid recall.
Usually.
Using the OP example, I would recall a picture I'd seen of a cross-section of the earth, and then another picture of a drill-bit, and then see a shaft being drilled on the cross-section. All pictures. But all based on my inner voice going "Well, the obvious way is to just drill a hole..." The pictures then help me remember what my voice is going on about.
Sometimes the pictures form without the need for any "inner voice" and sometimes it is voice without pictures.
Both seem very natural - especially the combination.
 
Sarkus said:
Having no "inner voice" is becoming frequently highlighted, and there is research along the lines that this might be a cause / contributory factor in dyslexia.

Personally I have a never-ending flow of verbal diarrhoea going on, but that's usually the decision-making part... with pictures being used to aid recall.
Usually.
Using the OP example, I would recall a picture I'd seen of a cross-section of the earth, and then another picture of a drill-bit, and then see a shaft being drilled on the cross-section. All pictures. But all based on my inner voice going "Well, the obvious way is to just drill a hole..." The pictures then help me remember what my voice is going on about.
Sometimes the pictures form without the need for any "inner voice" and sometimes it is voice without pictures.
Both seem very natural - especially the combination.
Click to expand...

What is this inner voice? Is it like hearing yourself talk?

For example:
When you want to know what the time is.. do you think, "What time is it?"? Do you actually hear that in your head?
Personally, I just know I want to know the time and then I look what time it is. There are no words involved.
 
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Things like wanting to know the time and looking at a clock / watch are more subconscious actions - and I'd do those without any "inner voice" or pictures.
I think the "inner voice" etc is really only for conscious action / thought. Sometimes it only needs pictures, but generally my conscious thought process is via the "inner voice", reinforced with pictures.

If I consciously need to know the time then I will hear my inner-voice asking what the time is... and if I think I'm late for something then it will generally start with an expletive! It may be followed or preceeded by an image of a clock.

When not consciously doing anything it's more like there's a cauldron of images swirling around (often inspiring thought or ready to offer a picture to emphasise the words I hear) and the "inner voice" is most likely humming the last tune I heard on the radio.
 
I don't think the original poster is being true to himself. Everybody thinks in words sumplemented by pitures. Language is the key differentiator between humans and animals. You can't worry, hate , love etc. in pictures. That's why animals do none of these things. The only humans who can only think in pictures are deaf and dumb from birth and have never been taught a language. They would be the most interesting to investigate but without a language to communicate in this would be impossible.
 
Doreen said:
And at no point is there any narration, labeling or questioning in your mind?

(I am not at all assuming that there must be. I have noticed that some people do not know their own mental processes, but rather only a portion. sometimes a second 'glance' finds more)

But different minds focus on different senses. Some are more visual, as in your case. Some more auditory/speech centered, some center on kinesthics. I am a mixture. I would definitely think in images when presented by such a problem....
Click to expand...

No narration or labelling no, I only label things with words when I'm learning them because its helpful to know what things are called so I can google them and communicate them to others. Yeah the smell part of it wouldn't really be of much aid in devising a solution for me either. I do it out of reflex. I also taste things but I wouldn't taste the dirt in this scenario because it has nothing to do the process of boring through the soil whereas smelling it does as soil being heated tends to have a distinctive smell. How do you think about philosophy? For me it seems to be mainly images and emotions.

Bebelina said:
In a variety of ways depending on the subject.

To the core of the Earth I see a thin red lazer beam. Don't know why it's red, or thin, but I guess it's to cause as little damage to the planet as possible while reaching the core. This I wrote while thinking at the same time. So it's a combination of reasoning in words and visualising images. No smell or temperature "thoughts", but the beam came from outer space. Got me thinking further about eye surgery, that I also though about earlier today, so there's always a certain degree of associations to memories of previous thoughts and events, discussions etc.
Click to expand...
Yep this is what I'm talking about. Often the images in my head are highly abstract and wouldn't really mean anything to another person but they make sense to me. Like your red laser beam I'm guessing in your mind that represents a direct path to the center of the earth.

glaucon said:
So, if you can only think graphically, how do you think about things that you have not seen, or things that cannot be seen?
Click to expand...
Gimme an example. Abstract things which there are no pictures for I have to create my own pictures and this is what makes learning chemistry really hard for me because theres so much abstraction in chemistry. Physics and biology on the other hand can all be visualized. Heres an example to answer your question. Magnetic fields are invisible but in my head I see them as a hazy purple transparent energy field. Electric fields are light blue. Gravity is yellow.

Doreen said:
Good question. A more specific follow up might be...

How do you think about abstractions?
Click to expand...
The concept of a metaphor for example I see normal but semi transparent landscape and behind it I see a metaphysical strange landscape and the shapes of both these landscapes align so that through the first landscape which represents the ordinary concept, one can arrive at the unusual metaphysical landscape which represents the metaphysical concept. The more abstract the concept the stranger my mental images become and its not easy for me at first because I have to create my own mental images and I can't just use any old image they have to have the right proportions, sizes, shapes etc. for them to actually mean anything. Took me a really long time to learn the words "analogy, metaphor, allegory" because nobody ever showed me a picture for them I had to make up my own.
 
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Sarkus said:
Having no "inner voice" is becoming frequently highlighted, and there is research along the lines that this might be a cause / contributory factor in dyslexia.
Click to expand...
Probably shoulda mentioned that I'm autistic. According to the psychiatrists at least. That may have something to do with my thinking style. I'm up the high functioning end of autism though I can function in society and all that.

Just Curious said:
I don't think the original poster is being true to himself. Everybody thinks in words sumplemented by pitures. Language is the key differentiator between humans and animals. You can't worry, hate , love etc. in pictures. That's why animals do none of these things. The only humans who can only think in pictures are deaf and dumb from birth and have never been taught a language. They would be the most interesting to investigate but without a language to communicate in this would be impossible.
Click to expand...

Wrong I think without words. Its funny this, you're not the first person to tell me that nobody does something I've been doing my whole life. How do you know how other people think? You don't know you just assume they think exactly the way you think and I ignorantly made that assumption my whole life too. Yes you can worry, hate and love in pictures the idea that those things are products of words is insane. Something I'm a little worried about right now is my chemistry test coming up as I haven't studied as much as I should have. There are no words at all I just see myself from a 3rd person perspective and feel negative emotions. You don't know what animals do and don't do inside their own heads. Deaf people is a good example. If we can only think in words why do deaf people have the same mental capabilities as the rest of us? This is ridiculous what your saying. We can communicate to deaf people using sign language. I find it very hard to believe deaf people think in sign language lol.

Heres an interesting thing to ponder. If you think in words how do you think about that which you have no words for? How do you contemplate what those strange shadow balls that we all see when we're sleep deprived are? I'll attempt to communicate what I think of them. If they are not just some kinda of optical illusion caused by abnormal processes in our visual pathways, I like to ponder paranormal potential explanations such as them being shadows or footprints of things outside the scope of that which we can directly perceive, these footprints are hidden from sight when we are fully sober because since birth our minds have been conditioned to not see them i.e. we suffer from negative hallucinations caused by popular delusions. That is not even 5% of what I was actually thinking that was just my feeble attempt to translate it into words. Honestly we can and do think without words you've just fallen under the illusion that you need words to think because you've been wording out your thoughts for as long as you can remember.
 
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baftan said:
This is exactly what you are talking about:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds.html

And some alternative insight on how brain works:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/oliver_sacks_what_hallucination_reveals_about_our_minds.html
Click to expand...

Nice one thanks a lot. Those TED talks are brilliant. I heard of Temple Grandin but I didn't know she did a TED talk. Interestingly enough when I start hallucinating after staying up too long on speed I don't see things, ironically I hear voices lol.
 
horsebox said:
Recently I've discovered that not everything thinks in pictures supplemented by the other senses. In fact everyone I've asked about this told me they think by speaking inside their heads which shocked me a bit as I didn't think this was humanly possible. A few people didn't even believe me when I said I don't talk inside my head. How do you all think? For example if I told you to think of a way to get to the core of the earth how do you think devise a method?...
Click to expand...

I am more spiritually influenced. I try to keep my mind on Jesus Christ. I ask Him for advice and talk to Him in my head much of the day. I think in pictures less than most people. This freaked some of my college professors out because I was nothing like they had ever seen. I did think in pictures when reading the 'core of the earth' question. That one requires visualization. Much of my day is spent problem solving and I do not think in pictures for most of that. Keeping the right/good thoughts in my head and the negative ones out is a work in progress.
 
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