Are you a big picture thinker or a details thinker?

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I used to think that I was completely a "big picture" thinker, but lately I've noticed that I get very bogged down in the details. When I'm thinking about history or politics or psychology, say, I'm really into general trends, with details just for support. But when it comes to thinking about something concrete, like putting out iced donuts by 6am for work, I get caught up in the details (are they in the correct, alternating order?) sometimes to the point of overlooking the main point - just get iced donuts out there for customers!
Also, if I start thinking about something in my general, big picture way, and a detail catches my mind, that one detail can become all-consuming until I realize what I'm doing and jump back to the big picture.

One thing I find most fascinating is how things relate to one-another, and how that relationship relates to other things - I've always thought of this as big picture thinking.
I'm also known for "nitpicking", and you'd better get your details right, darn it.

BTW, I'm INTP, so I "should" think big picture.
I didn't answer the poll; there was no "I think big picture, but details derail me".

Definitely a detail thinker. I am a bit crap at gestalt thinking.

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I bent the meter needle on the Baron-Cohen systemitizer test. I am a seeker after patterns.

ruveyn

Ultimately, it's the big picture I'm after, so I voted that way (I'm also INTP). But it's tough for me to see the big picture because I require so many details and it's so easy for me to get lost in them! But I think once I finally DO see the big picture, I understand it a lot better than neurotypicals, even if it takes me longer to get there.

What's the point of taking things apart and understanding the individual pieces if you aren't going to put the whole thing back together?

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unquestionably, a details thin ker.

I'm a detail/system thinker. When I look at picture, I see one element first and later I see the whole picture (very quickly). Or I see how the pictures is organised and later what it is.

It depends. I've noticed from time to time that I do get bogged down by the little, unimportant details. As soon as I notice this, though, I remind myself to step back and look at the big picture, and life's perfect again.

Details.

I'm very visual, and also don't assimilate information or input very well at all through auditory means.

Both. It depends on the task.

ruveyn

I focus on the details. I consider it to be an advantage, because it makes my drawings look better (with a lot of detail).

Definitely details, as with most people with Aspergers.

See, this is one of the questions I hated on the tests.

When I have an idea, or am given a problem to solve, I need to know the whole situation, and every detail I can conceivably discover about the situation, in order to come up with the best solution I can. By then I usually have a good idea where I need to start building the solution, and I begin working on the details. Often, details that aren't easy to solve stop me for a while, and sometimes neccesitate a return to the big picture for review or alternate solutions.

So I usually need to have the big picture understood, in detail, before I can begin working.
But I'm very detail oriented.

I know I'm in a forest with 15% of the grownth being old wood, and 7 fires currently burning on the north end (or so they say), but I'm more interested in the trees, squirrels, and pinecones I encounter along the way...

OMG. I was going to go scavenge walnuts off that tree a week ago.
5am. I should go do that before I forget again.