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| Do you think visually or verbally? |
| Verbally |
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28% |
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| Visually |
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71% |
[ 65 ] |
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| Total Votes : 91 |
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Absquatulate
Butterfly
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 15
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 Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:34 pm Post subject: Do you think visually or verbally? |
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Today I learned that some people think in pictures. I had no idea that this was even possible until this morning when I was having a conversation with my NT boyfriend about how animals think.
"They think in pictures" said he.
"They do what?" said I.
"They think in pictures."
I was baffled.
"Do you think in pictures?"
"Yes."
Well, I can't. I can *only* think in words. He asked me to try to visualize a duck and I couldn't do it, my brain just started listing a ton of attributes. I thought perhaps it had nothing to do with having asperger's (I was diagnosed first when I was seven and re-diagnosed recently for university) but then I started looking into the matter and saw that Temple Grandin has a book "Thinking in Pictures" in which she asserts that people with autism think only in pictures. Clearly this isn't so if I can only think in words. I think it may have something to do with autism vs. asperger's or left brain vs. right brain.
What about you guys?
Oh and hi, I'm new here. |
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Cassia
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jun 29, 2009
Posts: 49
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are.
_________________
Eccentric, with some quirks that are autistic-like, but probably not enough to be diagnosable. However, I and three of my good friends have independently thought I might be on the autistic spectrum, which seems more than coincidence. |
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Absquatulate
Butterfly
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Cassia wrote: | | I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are. |
See, I don't get that. To me a thought consists of words and only words. What is a thought for you? |
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NowhereWoman
Blue Jay
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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Verbally, except I get sort of visual "shadows" when I remember certain things...however, it is VERY hard for me to get a really clear visual, even when I'm trying.
The exception is days of the week and months of the year...I do physically see those, as numbers going along sort of a...rollercoaster. Don't ask. |
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NowhereWoman
Blue Jay
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Absquatulate wrote: | | Cassia wrote: | | I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are. |
See, I don't get that. To me a thought consists of words and only words. What is a thought for you? |
Well, but...you don't actually "hear" the words? |
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Absquatulate
Butterfly
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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| NowhereWoman wrote: | | Absquatulate wrote: | | Cassia wrote: | | I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are. |
See, I don't get that. To me a thought consists of words and only words. What is a thought for you? |
Well, but...you don't actually "hear" the words? |
Err... uhm.. no I'm not schizophrenic. But I it seems like everything in my brain comes around as words that I hear.. but with my brain not my ears. I imagine it's similar for visual thinkers, they "see" things but they don't see them. |
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NowhereWoman
Blue Jay
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Absquatulate wrote: | | NowhereWoman wrote: | | Absquatulate wrote: | | Cassia wrote: | | I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are. |
See, I don't get that. To me a thought consists of words and only words. What is a thought for you? |
Well, but...you don't actually "hear" the words? |
Err... uhm.. no I'm not schizophrenic. But I it seems like everything in my brain comes around as words that I hear.. but with my brain not my ears. I imagine it's similar for visual thinkers, they "see" things but they don't see them. |
Oh, no, I didn't mean hearing other people talking to you or something! Okay, I don't know how to explain this. When I think a word...I...um...(pausing) (thinking) It's as if...as if I'm saying it aloud to myself. Not as if someone else is in the room, LOL. Or beaming in the information via tin-foil hat.
Actually, "hearing with (your) brain but not (your) ears" is pretty much exactly how I'd describe it...and is pretty much what I meant.
VERY hard stuff to describe. |
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Soopervilin
Snowy Owl
Joined: Apr 01, 2007
Posts: 156
Location: Oklahoma
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:01 pm Post subject: |
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| I have two ways of thinking. My first and most natural way is, for lack of a better term, sensory images. Some of it is pictures, but for the most part I think the same way I experience, through my senses. For instance, if someone describes how something smells, my "mind's nose" creates it for me, if it can. Unfortunately not much translates into sensory input like that, so my second way of thinking is with words and pictures. I don't see or hear the words, they're just there. |
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Absquatulate
Butterfly
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:01 pm Post subject: |
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| NowhereWoman wrote: | | Absquatulate wrote: | | NowhereWoman wrote: | | Absquatulate wrote: | | Cassia wrote: | | I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are. |
See, I don't get that. To me a thought consists of words and only words. What is a thought for you? |
Well, but...you don't actually "hear" the words? |
Err... uhm.. no I'm not schizophrenic. But I it seems like everything in my brain comes around as words that I hear.. but with my brain not my ears. I imagine it's similar for visual thinkers, they "see" things but they don't see them. |
Oh, no, I didn't mean hearing other people talking to you or something! Okay, I don't know how to explain this. When I think a word...I...um...(pausing) (thinking) It's as if...as if I'm saying it aloud to myself. Not as if someone else is in the room, LOL. Or beaming in the information via tin-foil hat.
Actually, "hearing with (your) brain but not (your) ears" is pretty much exactly how I'd describe it...and is pretty much what I meant.
VERY hard stuff to describe. |
Exactly! I'm engaged in almost constant dialog with myself. It's like talking but without moving my lips. |
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Cassia
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jun 29, 2009
Posts: 49
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Absquatulate wrote: | | Cassia wrote: | | I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are. |
See, I don't get that. To me a thought consists of words and only words. What is a thought for you? |
It's very hard to describe and even to notice. I have two kinds of evidence for it.
1. On very rare occasions (I only remember identifying about 3 in my life, though there have likely been others I didn't identify), there's a thought I don't want to think, and I catch myself beginning to think it, and stop myself before it gets turned into words.
2. To express a thought in a sentence in my mind, I need to have some idea where the sentence is going to go before I actually get there; therefore the thought, or at least the rudiments of it, must precede the formation of the sentence, even if I can't notice it. Otherwise the words would be undirected and not come into a coherent sentence. At least that seems logically necessary to me.
_________________
Eccentric, with some quirks that are autistic-like, but probably not enough to be diagnosable. However, I and three of my good friends have independently thought I might be on the autistic spectrum, which seems more than coincidence. |
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Brittany2907
Self-Proclaimed Animal Lover
Joined: Jun 10, 2007
Age: 18
Posts: 4365
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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Whenever I think of something it seems to appear first as an image, and then things that are associated with that image start coming into my mind as well. Like an above example - if I was to think of a duck I would first see a very basic duck, then a duck swimming in the water and then maybe a bridge that I'm standing on looking down at this duck. Usually it's only after I have the images in my mind that I start thinking of words associated with them.
_________________
I = Vegetarian!
Animals = Friends.
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Floyd
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 31
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 10:12 pm Post subject: |
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it's leftbrainer v.s. rightbrainer
while one half of the brain works with words, logic and facts the other part works with images, sounds and abstract-chaos.
The fun thing is that people that can not picture a duck in their head can picture a triangle, circle, square etc as these are part of logic....
You must keep in mind that if there's a thought you don't want to think you must think it anyway, otherwise this will lead to panic attacks.
| Quote: | | I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are. |
Before the thought is translated into words it comes up in the form of nodes that are connected. For example (a cluster of nodes):
Grass is Green (Grass is connected to Green)
Green is a Color (Green is connected to Color)
Grass has a color. (Grass is connected to Color)
Grass is a Plant (grass is connected to Plant
Plants are alive (Plant is connected to alive, grass is connected to alive)
There is also apples that are green (apples are connected to green)
Sometimes grass is not green but yellow brown dry grass. (grass is connected to yellow brown and dry)
Grass grows from sand. (grass is connected to grows, grass is connected to sand, sand is connected to grows grass)
a cluster of nodes pops-up in your mind and then you say the words: "Grass is Green" as these were the words you were looking for. All the other nodes are not translated into words but are both electric patterns and molecular patterns that are in your brain. |
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Absquatulate
Butterfly
Joined: Jul 02, 2009
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Floyd wrote: | it's leftbrainer v.s. rightbrainer
while one half of the brain works with words, logic and facts the other part works with images, sounds and abstract-chaos.
The fun thing is that people that can not picture a duck in their head can picture a triangle, circle, square etc as these are part of logic....
You must keep in mind that if there's a thought you don't want to think you must think it anyway, otherwise this will lead to panic attacks.
| Quote: | | I put that I think verbally, but I actually think that the words are a clarification of a thought that exists on a level before words - I can't grasp hold of a thought without putting it into words, but the thought is there before the words are. |
Before the thought is translated into words it comes up in the form of nodes that are connected. For example (a cluster of nodes):
Grass is Green (Grass is connected to Green)
Green is a Color (Green is connected to Color)
Grass has a color. (Grass is connected to Color)
Grass is a Plant (grass is connected to Plant
Plants are alive (Plant is connected to alive, grass is connected to alive)
There is also apples that are green (apples are connected to green)
Sometimes grass is not green but yellow brown dry grass. (grass is connected to yellow brown and dry)
Grass grows from sand. (grass is connected to grows, grass is connected to sand, sand is connected to grows grass)
a cluster of nodes pops-up in your mind and then you say the words: "Grass is Green" as these were the words you were looking for. All the other nodes are not translated into words but are both electric patterns and molecular patterns that are in your brain. |
Yes, I figured that possibility was the most likely. Gradin associates thinking in images with speech delay in regular autism. I was ponder, then, are all (regular) autistic people left brained while people with AS are split 60% left brain 30% right brain?
y |
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lionesss
The Queen of not your typical kind of jungle
Joined: Aug 22, 2008
Age: 34
Posts: 1578
Location: not anywhere near you
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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| I think in pictures 100%.... if I learn a new word which I cannot associate with a picture, I tend to spell it in my head and visualize the letters. |
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Cassia
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jun 29, 2009
Posts: 49
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Floyd wrote: |
Before the thought is translated into words it comes up in the form of nodes that are connected. |
How do you know this?
_________________
Eccentric, with some quirks that are autistic-like, but probably not enough to be diagnosable. However, I and three of my good friends have independently thought I might be on the autistic spectrum, which seems more than coincidence. |
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