POLL: Do You Think Primarily in Words?

Miscellaneous General
1

The most vigorous debates here generally revolve around semantics. People have different definitions, and people are pretty often confused by words themselves. I was reading a psychology textbook the other day and it implies that most everyone thinks in words. I myself do not, and never have. For me, words are just convenient placeholders in thought-space that aid my short-term memory. Fundamentally, I’m not thinking in words; they’re outside the thought process and are attached after the fact, if at all.

Can I get a show of hands for all the word-thinkers out there?

Anyone else NOT use words to think? If you use words, can you remember if you did when you were around 3-7 yours old?

2

How do I know if I think in words?

3

I sometimes think in English words, other times in Croatian, and sometimes my thoughts are purely conceptual, and don’t manifest themselves as words. I’ve had this same thought pattern since I was 3, but oddly enough, I didn’t start speaking until I was 4.

4

When I was 3 to 7 Hindii was still my most fluent language. I’m surprised psychologists can find out what language we think in, or whether we think in one at all. I’m truly not sure if i do, whenever I try to focus introspectively on what I am thinking however, I am definitely doing it in English.

I don’t think every facet of our thinking is in words however.

5

Sometimes.

I think I’m more likely to think in words on forums or in conversations. When I’m by myself and hear say the noise of a lawn mower, I don’t think in my head “oh that’s a lawn mower” I just recognize what it is…if that makes sense.

6

You’ve never thought in words? What does that even mean if you say they are placeholders? I don’t think you can make such definitive statements even about your own thought processes, and certainly should at the very least be quite skeptical that you are the exception to how most people think. If you’re one of those math or memory geniuses, then that might be a different story.

7

Somebody in my head tells me what to say…I think it is my id. [:P]

8

I only think in numbers.

566234345891934972953243825972

9

Interesting responses. To clarify, say when you’re reasoning something out and making “leaps of logic” from one conclusion or tentative conclusion to the next, do you have to specify the nature of the conceptualizing in words, or do you visualize it or just “feel” it?

I basically think in pictures, shapes, colors, sounds, etc. and pure concepts, with words peppered in when they’re useful. In particular, major leaps of logic are sometimes represented by these sort of lily pads floating in space. If I’m in deep thought and my eyes are open, I’ll often stare at an object or small part of an object, and make a sort of ad hoc mapping of logical relations onto that shape. Then I’ll usually discard that shape after a while, when its utility as a memory aid is finally outweighed by its limitations as a fixed object, at which point I’ll go into my imagination to create a more useful visual (or purely conceptual) representation of the situation.

If most people really do think in words, why is it so hard for people to explain themselves? Why don’t they just transcribe their word-thoughts?

I noticed there is a sort of pressure to think in words because of the need to express oneself in words, but I’ve always resisted that. I’ve come to see language as a sort of mind-virus that takes over people’s thinking style because it’s easier to remember and easier to explain in the real world. Of course it’s not all bad, because as long as one’s thoughts are limited by words, one will have a much easier time expressing one’s thoughts to others, which confers social advantage. When I was a kid, I prioritized quality of thought over socializing (but not anymore), so I think that’s why I continued thinking without words.

I can certainly do both, and always find myself drawn toward thinking straight up through words, but my best thoughts by far have always been the ones that use pictures or just concepts (after all, pictures even in the mind are essentially limited as memory aids by just being 2D and 3D representations). They are much harder to keep hold of, recall, and explain, but insofar as you can codify them into words afterward, they often turn out to be very valuable ideas because they are not limited by the vagueness of words.

10

Can I at least get a link that answers my question?

11

you can experiment with your thinking processes…

http://www.freebookspot.in/Books-Using%20Your%20Brain%20-%20For%20A%20Change.htm

12

Think about how you’d explain to an alien why the statement “The cat is white” makes any sense. The alien may raise some objections:

  • The color is more of an off-white
  • The cat is not all white; its paws are pink and eyes are brown
  • What if the cat’s hair were shaved off?
  • Why is the color determined by the exterior surface of the case? Isn’t the cat really more of a red (blood) color volume-wise?
  • If a cat’s color is indicated by the approximate color of most of its fur (if it has fur), why is a red car covered in brown mud still called a “red car”?
  • How can you possibly think using such vague and arbitrary words?

I personally suspect - but cannot prove (yet[;)]) - that everyone does think without words, it’s just that words follow so closely after, and are so much easier to remember, that they effectively overwrite the thought data.

13

Anyway, this would explain why 90% of the debates I’ve seen revolve around definitions. Words have ceased to be servant; they have become master.