abstract thinking

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Joined: 31 Dec 2015
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06 Apr 2018, 2:50 pm

I systematically intend to convert concrete information into abstract thinking, patterns.

I am however unable to convert abstract information into concrete thinking because the abstract is never precise enough.

apus apus
Blue Jay

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06 Apr 2018, 3:53 pm

Nonsense wrote:

I have always been drawn to thinking in abstracts, concepts, structures, connections, patterns etc. The problem is that it often takes a lot of time and dedication to express verbally things that I already seem to know in my mind.

It's the same in my case. This is a real struggle sometimes!

strings
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06 Apr 2018, 4:43 pm

I have aphantasia, which means I have no mental imagery at all. As far as I can tell, all my thinking is done by having an "inner conversation" with myself. So language is essential for me, and I have no idea what I did as an infant before I learned a language. Maybe it is no coincidence that I have no memories of times before I learned a language.

I seem to do OK in my career, which is in theoretical physics. But I don't feel I do much abstract thinking; I depend on writing down the equations.

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07 Apr 2018, 2:02 am

LaetiBlabla wrote:

I am however unable to convert abstract information into concrete thinking because the abstract is never precise enough.

This. In school I always understood but could never translate the fact that I could understand and even surpass everyone else's understanding

Meta ideologies or concepts were not difficult, no matter how complex but describing it on a micro level was difficult even if understanding it and developing it wasn't.

It's why I write poetry and find myself making abstract art. Because my abstractions end up making more sense than anything concrete anyway. Even if only a few can relate. It's unfortunate that in mt creative circles abstract art or thinking isn't very popular.

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Dear_one
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07 Apr 2018, 7:26 am

hiphop wrote:

I had a boyfriend who studied philosophy and he would explain to me very complex and abstract concepts and ideas and I would understand them almost immediately, he was shocked because even some of the smartest students would get completely mind-boggled by the ideas they would be taught. <snip>
So I am wondering, are there any other people who think in this way?

One time, I got collared to be a test audience for a guy rehearsing a presentation. He wanted to argue that Solar storms are the cause of periodic earth changes, through magnetism affecting the spin of our core. I interrupted his hour-long talk after two sentences to ask if that's where he was going.

I can do a useful approximation of finite element analysis in my head, just by imagining things made of half-cooked pasta. Even modern history seems to make more sense to me than to most people.

Don't worry about how fools try to describe things they will never understand, except for how their stories fool others.

ToughDiamond
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07 Apr 2018, 1:08 pm

I can usually understand an idea much quicker if there's a (concrete) example given. The general (abstract) explanation can be much harder to take in, yet once I've worked through the example, I usually get the general idea from that, though it might not be easy to explain it clearly. But example is a well-established teaching tool, suggesting most people benefit from it, so I'm not sure if my preference for the concrete is stronger than that of the general population. Maybe it's just measuring social status and education?

ResilientBrilliance
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07 Apr 2018, 4:14 pm

Oh wow...Autistic people struggle with abstract thinking? I guess I'm not autistic after all and I have something else entirely. I have no problems with abstract thinking. I am very, very, VERY good at abstract thinking. Not trying to brag or anything, I'm just emphasizing that it's one of my strengths. Another one of my strengths is verbal language. But I kept seeing commercials for "The Good Doctor" that said people with autism struggle with verbal language which is confusing...I might have NVLD, I've been meaning to look into it more. Either that or something that hasn't been identified in psychology yet. Which isn't far-fetched. They change the conditions in the DSM all the time.

hiphop wrote:

I find it funny that so many articles are claiming this when [b]I am constantly frustrated by most neurotypical people's attempts at understanding abstraction, to the point where it actually makes me lonely. It seems for them they need to be taught it, and people at university age are still grasping concepts that I could understand at I was 14!

I know exactly what you mean by the above quote. Have you ever heard someone say, "College teaches you how to think?" I used to wonder, "Why does an adult need to be taught how to think...?" I'm not one to feel lonesome, but I do get kinda lonely when I remember that most people need to be taught how to think. It's like they're a different kind or something...Quite frankly, my abstract thinking abilities are far above average. You're right, most NTs really struggle with abstract thinking. We could just be "gifted" in this particular ability. And it's quite possible that "gift" has to do with autism(I thought Aspergers was no longer a thing?). Kinda like how some autistic people are exceptional at math or computer science, but those subjects aren't easy for me. I struggle with mathematical thinking. I'm downright terrible at visual thinking. I'm better at philosophy, memorizing facts, analyzing theories, hypothetical scenarios, coming up with analogies, science(except computers and physics), and puzzles.

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07 Apr 2018, 8:11 pm

LaetiBlabla wrote:

This is me, too. How I think and how I learn are two very different processes. I can think very abstractly--visual thinking leads to this. I have a very, very difficult time following abstract ideas from other people, though, because there isn't enough information to make a picture in my head for me to think about.

P192
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09 Apr 2018, 12:52 pm

NLDer here and very good at abstract thinking and pattern recognition. It's mostly concrete and visual thinking that I suck at. My Fluid Reasoning is in the gifted range while Visual Spatial is dull normal. As for research into it, I've seen mostly mixed results. Autistics usually do well on the Raven's Progressive Matrices Test which measures abstract thinking so that contradicts the stereotype of ASD individuals being weak at it.

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25 Apr 2018, 12:43 pm

Images associated with 'abstract thinking' - images of spirals pique my interest.

https://www.google.com/search?as_st=y&t ... =itp:photo

Gallia
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04 May 2018, 4:08 pm

I'm very good at it but i do need to be able to visualise the concepts before i can digest them mentally. i really struggled with calculus at school mainly because i couldn't relate to the 'why' of things and couldn't visualise the rules. in my school maths was taught as a sequence of things to memorise and being unable to contextualise it put me off. I used to get Fs in all my papers until i found a teacher (who was kind of a mathematical genius) who in a matter of a couple of lessons showed me how to visualise some simple mathematical problems in terms of geometry and then i eventually managed to get a B. i wish i had had more teachers like him to make me more passionate about maths. id like to go back to it one day

they say people with ADHD have good abstract/ visual thinking and i think that's probably why though i am also good with patterns and remembering details once digested in my internal library (which is a bit messy atm and in need of a good tidying up).

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PearlsofWisdom
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08 Jul 2018, 6:56 am

hiphop wrote:

I have been researching different ways of thinking, I came across a lot of things talking about how autistic people are visual thinkers or pattern thinkers, I think visually but not as much as thinking in abstract, it's hard to explain as it is not something I could put visually or with words, it is far more translucent and intangible. One of my greatest strengths is to think abstractly, because of this I have been able to excel at university, I study fine art and it requires a lot of philosophical thought. I excel in understanding connections, my special interest is psychology and I am able to map out the mechanics of thinking and behaviour in my head, I can do the same with philosophy. My brain does not stop analysing abstract ideas, the abstract qualities of everything I see is amplified, and often I can miss a lot of obvious things. It's like I live in another dimension that is not visible, and often unexplainable.

however I typed into google 'abstract thinking and asperger's, and up comes hundreds of articles claiming that asperger's people are completely unable to think abstractly. I have been looking at asperger's long enough to see that most of the information spewed about it is made up of misunderstandings and often downright false. I find it funny that so many articles are claiming this when I am constantly frustrated by most neurotypical people's attempts at understanding abstraction, to the point where it actually makes me lonely. It seems for them they need to be taught it, and people at university age are still grasping concepts that I could understand at I was 14!

I understand why there is a lot of talk about aspies not being able to think abstractly, and I am sure that a lot can't, I have come across them myself, however I feel that this way of thinking IS related to my brand of asperger's.

So I am wondering, are there any other people who think in this way?

Depends on what you deem to be abstract. An abstract thought can be mirrored by irroconceivable differences, when the facts are either misconstrued or mirror themselves to shape.
You see a false thought is someone trying to gain the upper hand and gaining advantages and seeking various approval schemes until they come up with the right answer, whereas an abstract thought is entirely random and gives no clues as to a persons behaviour. I'd have love to learn the topic in more detail, but then I guess the abstractedness or funny distractedness of a situation would in hindsight be more telling just by linking up the y's and crossing the t's.
Asperger's people often have misguided concepts and ideas, which they try to challenge and manifest by repetitive routine destructible behaviour with or without anyone's help and autistic people are collectively in doubt about minor details, which must be why getting a diagnosis wasn't the easiest thing on the planet to obtain.

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08 Jul 2018, 9:48 am

I am an extreme visual thinker/learner, but can also do abstract thinking almost as well. Pure verbal thinking is not one of my strengths though. (I struggled with grammar classes growing up.) It is very hard for me to think in words alone. When I write papers, I have a mental concept map that I automatically do, rather than to think about each word/sentence in the document. It used to take me a long time to write papers until I unlocked this ability.

PearlsofWisdom
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19 Jul 2018, 8:00 pm

I guess you can manage concepts by instigating concrete maps inside your head and paint around your whole environment, but instead of bringing a cure, it automatically creates a hangover, whereby nobody can retain enough information just to let the day slide by, without malpractice being brought to attention.
It's confusing not to manage your own repetitive behaviour or diagnosis, as nothing is completely concrete in any literal sense or meaning, and dividing a complex situation to control a dividing factor or cause only makes the information harder to retain or absorb.
I guess you can remain a friend of a friend, but in hindsight the obligation remains the same as the stats, so nothing really changes, just mirrors everything a person has or hasn't been saying by reactive rationale. Abstract Thought.
Abstract thoughts vary in people, they can either be brought on by fear, memories or programme dump of some insubordinate clause. Someone with hidden potential, probably with a fear of the unknown, inadvertently tries to access their clauses to abstract an acute definition or reasoning that commutes with an unwanted definition or hidden truth.
Do the facts sometimes hide the truth for fear of bringing up an unwanted definition? or fear of sussing out the truth in the first place. All I know is it highlights and enriches a person, by finding out the reason a fear factor is being implemented in order to filter the abstract truth which, only instils more repletion and fear for enhanced definition complimented by philosophical awareness in the first place.

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20 Jul 2018, 1:32 am

League_Girl wrote:

I have a hard time with abstract thinking, that was one of the reasons why school was hard for me. Even children are abstract so I have troubles too as a parent. I also could never learn algebra. I was worse as a kid though so my mom had to learn to teach me and how to punish me so I was learning the right lesson and not thinking I got in trouble for being hungry and that was out of my control so therefore the adult was stupid and unfair and I learned nothing from the punishment.

I don't get abstract thinking either & couldn't grasp algebra at all. I only passed cuz the teacher curved my grade cuz I failed every test. I wish my mom would of learned how to punish me cuz I had those problems & I just resented her for punishing me.

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