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Verbal thinking

Deleted User

I discovered this fascinating video earlier today. Basically a chap realising most people have an internal monologue and he doesn’t, and then launching into a philosophical discussion with himself about the nature of consciousness and identity. I love this stuff.

Anyway, it got me thinking. I’ve said before on here that i don’t think in words, but in complete atomic, non-verbal, non-visual thoughts that I need to deliberately convert into words if I want to share them.

And what I’m now wondering is if everyone’s brain works this way but my neurodivergence just makes me aware of an earlier stage of thinking that most people don’t notice. I’m aware of a part of thinking that in most people is part of the unconscious.

Does anyone else experience this?

Parents

  • I'm definitely a primarily verbal thinker - which is partly why I think I lag behind with processing in terms of processing conversations with NTs who seem to instantly convert my side of the conversation into a 'got that - next?' moment, whereas I'm trailing behind with a buffering element making me lose whole 'data packets' or whatever the appropriate term would be. Anyway, I do like being the way I am - I think it give me, with time, space, and solitude to do it, the opportunity and innate tendancy to think deeply, fully, comprehensively about things others might gloss over. Or unpack and postmortem in ways most don't, over hours, days, weeks, returning to and refining thinking around matters both weighty and (on the surface) frivolous. Because it's kind of real-time verbal thinking, I'm slow but thorough. And it explains why I was very good at essays at school but atrocious in exams. That 'atomic' thinking you mention, A, is something I think that I occasionally glimpse 'under the hood' as it were, but it's there as the inceptual seed of the next bit of real-time inner monologuing or, sometimes, dialguing - and argument with myself. Which may explain the 'we' that creeps into my default 'what now' moments of thinking aloud. 'OK, what are we doing now?' I've asked other people occasionally if they have that 'we' thing when formulating a mental to do list and articulating it so the brain processes what's ahead... and not one person has yet said they do. Maybe they think I'm trying to be a bit Royal! :-)

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  • I'm definitely a primarily verbal thinker - which is partly why I think I lag behind with processing in terms of processing conversations with NTs who seem to instantly convert my side of the conversation into a 'got that - next?' moment, whereas I'm trailing behind with a buffering element making me lose whole 'data packets' or whatever the appropriate term would be. Anyway, I do like being the way I am - I think it give me, with time, space, and solitude to do it, the opportunity and innate tendancy to think deeply, fully, comprehensively about things others might gloss over. Or unpack and postmortem in ways most don't, over hours, days, weeks, returning to and refining thinking around matters both weighty and (on the surface) frivolous. Because it's kind of real-time verbal thinking, I'm slow but thorough. And it explains why I was very good at essays at school but atrocious in exams. That 'atomic' thinking you mention, A, is something I think that I occasionally glimpse 'under the hood' as it were, but it's there as the inceptual seed of the next bit of real-time inner monologuing or, sometimes, dialguing - and argument with myself. Which may explain the 'we' that creeps into my default 'what now' moments of thinking aloud. 'OK, what are we doing now?' I've asked other people occasionally if they have that 'we' thing when formulating a mental to do list and articulating it so the brain processes what's ahead... and not one person has yet said they do. Maybe they think I'm trying to be a bit Royal! :-)

Children
  • in reply to Shardovan

    Hi Shardovan, you make some interesting points there.

    Firstly, about being primarily verbal and buffering. If you are primarily verbal, wouldn’t you be faster at it?

    I get the buffering point though. When people are talking to me I spool off some asynchronous threads that process what they’re saying. Sometimes the results come back in the wrong order, too late or get lost altogether! I also unpack over hours and days afterwards.

    Re your “we” - I have often felt like there are two agents in my head and wonder if these are the unconscious source of my thoughts and the conscious part of me looking at them as they arise.