Knowing 'how to think'

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I remember when I was little, if I was asked to make a decision (such as what I would like to eat) I would have such a hard time. It was as though I didn't know how to think/make a decision. I would actually wonder, 'how do I think?' Even now, I still have this problem occasionally, particularly when a decision involves many choices. Has anyone else had this problem?

How should you think? You should think logically and rationally. If you are smart enough to ask who is John Galt then you probably know the answer.

ruveyn

There is a whole industry (e.g. Tony Buzan) producing useful books and software for mind-mapping, prioritizing and choosing. I think that anyone who regularly writes down the question or the problem, and regularly writes meaningfully about potential answers or solutions, will learn how to think more effectively.

I am much more productive if I have a written To Do list every day, a shopping list, and a pending list of unsolved issues, or actions that I have not yet decided when to do.

I can relate to what your saying. I've always had a problem with certain types of cognitive processing. I think it's a 'hard-wired' problem. It sounds like you've managed it well over the years but will always have the occasional problem.

Of course, the people who ask kids what they want aren't really asking them what they want, which is a subtlety that most aspies don't get. They're testing the development of theory of mind in the littlies, which is a subtlety that most adults don't get.

Don't ask me - I got away without getting any of it for the first fifty years or so.

What? All the time? How boring.

To answer the OP; I've always had trouble when faced with many options, I always struggled when people would give me choices.

Hmmmm........I wonder if it's thinking that's the problem, or making a (somewhat arbitrary) preference? I don't have much problem with deductive thought, but to make that kind of preference selection can be another matter entirely. If I perform my music and get asked to do an extra song, I usually have a hell of a time choosing one, even when I have the lists right in front of me. I try to get the answer too perfect, and I don't feel I've really made an intelligent choice, or the best choice, unless I've really considered all the info, but what the audience wants is for me to just get on with it.

Thing is, it's an irrational choice I'm expected to make, with too much freedom in it, whereas when I solve "normal" logical problems, once I've considered all the info, there's usually just one obvious choice that reason compels me to make. Maybe I should take a pin and a blindfold to my performances in future?

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Yes.

The one book I've found which addresses this topic of what does it mean to think/not think/make a decision/not make a decision is a How To (understand) book about ADHD Inattentive by C. Thomas Wild. The book directly discusses topics like paying attention and memory.

Also, in the world of sales - business - teaching sales training - there are a number of basic courses and ideas which address the idea of asking questions such as:

- An open-ended question like: What would you like to eat?

to a simpler, question like:

- An alternative of choice-question like: Would you like one egg or two with your mashed potatoes and bacon strips?

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Words

Decision
Decision Making
Good decision, neutral decision, poor decision
Executive functions
Sensory integration/sensory processing
Memory - Formation of memory - Memory retrieval
Vision - Good vision vs imperfect vision
Hearing - Good hearing vs imperfect hearing

etc.