Primary mode of thought?

Post Reply New Topic

I've tried this in mixed groups and in a specific writing group to see how the samples compared, and now I'd like to try it here and see if the results are any different (if maybe I'm less of an oddball!).

I seem to be an odd one with the way I think, when I've done this poll with a very wide sample, and I wanted to see if it would change in a group that is mostly non-NT.

The question is this. When you think, what is the primary method in which you do so? In many cases that later translates into speech, and for some of you into sign or another method, but before the communication actually gets "out" of you, how does that thought first come to you?

In my own case it's writing. I suspect I know why it is...when I was little and learning to talk, my grammar was pretty severely messed up--stuff like not differentiating between a question and a statement, wrong pronouns, and other things. My mom's theory--and she majored in early childhood education, so I think she knows what she's talking about--is that my ADHD was so bad when I was little that I could not hear complete sentences. She recognized this very early, given her specialized knowledge, and started teaching me how to read at age 2. Once I started to read, my grammar got a lot better. (I remember a specific book called He Bear, She Bear that helped a lot with gender pronouns.) I think I didn't really "get" language until I saw it in writing.

Everything I think comes into my mind as written words first, only then does it get "voiced" in my mind or aloud. (And that isn't exactly real "voicing"--it's more a physical sense in my mind of mouthing the words.) I remember it was a real shock when I got to school to realize that others did not think this way. Spelling tests were always easy because a teacher had only to speak the word and it was there in my mind. Missing a question was extremely rare, and I thought the whole subject was an incredible waste of time.

So...how do you guys think, before it gets translated into your preferred output method? I THINK I have most of the common options on this, but if it's something else, do elaborate.

When I'm thinking through something very complex I often resort to "written" language, scrolling behind my head, but generally now I hear rather than "see." I do know what you mean though. As a child I remember writing a constant narrative of my life as it was happening... it was how I translated what was going on around me. I remember how upset I was one time when I was cross with my Dad and "stormed upstairs to her room, slamming the door." That's how I thought of it as it was happening. And in my head that was the end of the chapter, till my Dad stormed in and said, "don't slam the door on me!" That wasn't part of my narrative, didn't he know I'd just finished a chapter?

I'm also the only person I know who has dreamt in subtitles. (Normally subtitles are in English, but one time I was dreaming in French with subtitles in Russian, and felt understandably exhausted when I woke up.)

Ha! Oh, yes, I still do the narrative thing in my head sometimes...comes in handy for my writing.

I voted spoken BUT my way is a bit weird.

WHen I am just thinking normally, I hear my thoughts spoken with me, but I also have a visualization mode where I think in complete images that overlay over what I see in real life. It can come in handy because I can rotate stuff without physically having to and stuff like that. Also tend to make for entertaining daydreams sometimes.

I think in a combination of spoken words and images.

"Other"

My thoughts actually come to me in almost every form you can think of. They are usually spoken word or melodic lyric combined with semi-abstract imagery always natural in content (as in nature - or real life situations. It could be me or someone else walking down a street or skipping trough a field, or a bird flying, a river flowing - pretty much anything "real world" - though sometimes it could be cosmic - galactic, stellar or nebulous images). The imagery always either follows a path of connected imagery, or forms patterns - both of symmetry and chaotic. The words may begin as semi-literal descriptions of the imagery, but usually develop into something else the imagery might be symbolic of. There is almost always cadence, musical ambiance and/or harmony, and always meaning, even if I don't immediately "get" the meaning.

When it isn't as the above, it's monologue, almost always spoken aloud, and almost always only when I'm alone. These thoughts are usually be kept to myself as a means of "working" something out, or exploring an idea. I'm usually imagining someone (either someone I really know, or an imaginary composite of people I've met), responding, anticipating responses, and formulating my responses to the anticipated responses. Once in a great while, but usually not, some of these "monologic" conversations actually become real ones in time. Or, they become posts on the Internet.

"Alone" doesn't happen for me too much anymore so it's usually the former scenario, musical sort these days.

When I think in words, they are typed in Dick and Jane font - Century. But that's only if I'm thinking in words and they appear very rapidly, one word at a time. When I'm relaxed, there are no words - that's when the tension in my head eases.

They come in differant ways for me. Most the time when Im talking words just come out. There are no thoughts. It seems to me like I just talk without thinking and even if I try to think first I forget what Im going to say. Almost everything I do seems automatic.

Interesting so far...looks like I'm still an odd duck, but that's typical of me. (<--This laughing emote weirds me out.)

_________________
Official diagnosis: ADHD, synesthesia. Aspie quiz result (unofficial test): Like Frodo--I'm a halfling? 110/200 NT, 109/200 Aspie.

Mix of seing words, 'hearing' them and images. I can memorize texts very efficiently because I see the words in front of me combined with being able to hear them as well. For images I use a visual approach as opposed to breaking the image down to words. Planning, reflection, feelings, realizations,. structured and analytical thoughts usually take the form as an inner dialogue. When my brain is not thinking about anything specific, my brain usually goes into a visual mode - I see colors and structures almost like like a painting yet not static. I'm not sure what the purpose of these thoughts are, it's almost like a rest- mode, but my brain use just as much energy (if not more) . It's the prize you pay to have visual strenghts, I guess. Words are easier to break down and understand than pictures, so while in a visual mode I don't get the same feeling of thinking about something productive. Seeing words is for me combined with word association - when I hear certain words or numbers they pop into my head. They're on a white canvas, not always in the same font but they're very clear it's almost like reading from a book. Some facts, emotions or other info which has something to do with the word also pops up usually vocal or visual (like a video if its an event or skill that I know how to do).

I'm a mix. About equal parts verbal thoughts, feelings and nothing. sometimes I hear the words first. sometimes it's a feeling and other times I'm not aware of anything I just talk (this usually means I say the wrong thing). My regular thoughts also include visuals but not so much when I talk unless I'm talking about a thing (which I'd picture in my mind). I can do the rotate in my mind thing. For example at one time I recall going over how to make something. Say tie or untie knots and I could see it very well in my mind and how all of the strings went but I could not (and haven't tried as I know it would be fruitless) I could not do the thing for real.

Note I am not yet diagnosed with anything except Cerebral Palsy at the moment but I am work toward a metal diagnoses.

I think in spoken words, not in a narrative sense though. A lot of times I spell things out or move my feet like I'm 'typing' the words (with my feet, lol), though, but that's not how I think.

I think in pictures, just like Google search. I think Temple Grandin thinks the same way, so at least I know I'm not totally out there. She does a lot better with spoken language than I do, though.

I don't know how I think. I've never been able to notice. I don't notice myself thinking when I'm just thinking and if I try to notice myself thinking, I get the observer effect, that is, I know I'm trying to watch myself think so everything goes all cattywhompous because I'm paying attention. So I stop doing that and go back to just thinking again, but I don't know how I'm doing it and if I try to pay attention again, it all goes scattered-upa nd funny.

I know that when I *type*, I "hear" the words in my head before I write them. And, like carltcwc, sometimes when I talk, words just come out and I have no idea what I'm going to say and am often surprised by what comes out.

And I know that sometimes when I'm knitting a lace pattern, my head will be saying things like "one two three over one two over together together" and not knit or purl like I'm actually doing. I abbreviate up what a pattern is doing and count it. Like the pattern I'm working on now has:

yo k yo k yo k yo k yo k yo k2tog k2tog k2tog sl k psso sl k psso sl k psso k yo k yo k yo k yo k yo k

but when I'm knitting it, my head is actually saying:

one two three four five one two three one two three and one two three four five

because I've remembered what the stitches are and I'm just counting where I am.

But the part of my brain that knows what the stitches are that I'm counting? I don't know where it is and I don't know how it's thinking about those stitches. If anything, I think I might be thinking about them as a "muscle memory" like how when I memorize a piece on the piano and play it, I'm not seeing sheet music when I play, I'm remembering how my body moves to make the song.

But other than muscle memory kind of thinking in specific situations like that, and other than hearing words as I type them, I have absolutely no idea how my brain thinks and I'm in awe of people who do know how they think, because I can't even imagine how somebody would know that.

"Cattywhompus"! !! I thought I was the only person who used that word! And now, in my head, you have the honor of giving me an official spelling! Once there, it's in for good!

I can feel myself thinking the whole time I speak...sometimes my words come out less clear than I would like, but I think that's because I'm trying to translate from "book-speak" to "the way people actually talk."

_________________
Official diagnosis: ADHD, synesthesia. Aspie quiz result (unofficial test): Like Frodo--I'm a halfling? 110/200 NT, 109/200 Aspie.