Be Excellent To Each Other

Sound thinking.

...

How do deaf people think? I mean, when I think, I think in words. Do you think they think the same?

Do you think in words, or do you just think you think in words?

I dunno. I think I think in words. I have conversations with myself in my head about what I'm doing and stuff.

Do you think in word sounds though? Or words without the actual sounds those words make?

Oh the irony!

THANK YOU!

See, now I have had this conversation with many people through the years... I know when I think (which is rarely, I admit) that i think in full sentences and in my own voice - I hear myself in my thoughts, and it is how I sound when I am speaking out loud. As I am typing this I can hear me saying the words in my head, and if I suddenly have a thirst I hear in my head myself say 'time for a cup of tea'.

Now, I first asked a question about this when I was very young and at a school where everyone else in my class was bilingual, and I asked what language they thought in: do they always think in the same language, or was it dependant on the situation (mother tongue at home, English at school), etc. Nobody could answer as they didn't know what language they thought in which I thought bizarre. I asked the same question of some friends at university, and still nobody could actually say, which I have always thought rather odd.

I've had conversations with Russell, friends, many other people about how they 'hear' themselves think, and nobody seems to really know if they do, whereas I am completely and utterly certain that I do, so then I started to wonder if I was just weird and thought in a different way to other people or if nobody else noticed how they thoughts, or something else.

They can read, so would know the words, just possibly not the sound of the words.

I have spoken to multilingual people about this too, and they have all said they usually think in the language they are using, unless it's something that would either be more convenient in their native language or is just complicated.

I think in words and sentences too. Not very visual, me.

Oh, that's interesting. I wonder why we each got such different responses? Maybe it is because (apart from the couple of people I spoke to at university) they would have been children I spoke to, and perhaps it was too much of a consideration, or I hadn't asked in a way that they could quite grasp my question.

Awesome to hear that others have thought and asked the same thing, though

I think thinking is like reading aloud in your head.

Which reminds me of this alarming revelation

See, you don't really. You think you're hearing yourself thinking. But you could still be thinking that if you didn't know how the words actually sounded.

Still can. Haven't for a while, though. When I time myself I tend to run slower than the film, which is odd.

Well, you might not think I do because perhaps that isn't how you think, but I am really quite sure that I do. I assume that I would think in some other manner if I were deaf/bilingual, or perhaps just had a different mode of thought. Despite being quite creative, I am not a very visual person, unless it is in my own imagination. By which I mean I can't learn by watching something. I actually can't stand it: write the instructions down, however, and I can visualise from those. When I design something I can plan and chart the entire thing in my head, and then just make it and write the instructions in a way that others can interpret as I go. The reverse is true: If you put a knitting pattern for a discernible shape in front of me I can read it to tell you what it will make (I think this is similar to how some people can read sheet music and hear the tune in their head).

Similar to Grim... I can also play entire favourite films (not many, but things like the Princess Bride) in my head and recall things I have seen if I close my eyes for a bit. Yet other films I watch once I cannot even recall having seen, maybe just a few days later: I seem to wipe them out if I have 'finished' with them. The number of 'I've not seen that film' conversations I have had with Russell where he will reply :We watched that last Tuesday, together!'. In the same was I remember being asked in a meting why I closed my eyes to recall a few things, and it was because I know that the information came in an email and the way I can remember what the information I needed was to close my eyes and just read through it: It depends if I thought the information was useful at the time.

I'm sure that makes sense to some people and absolutely no sense to others, but I think that people's brains might just work in a different way. I know that Russell and I have spent the last few years kind of taking into my account my panic reflex in my speech, which he does not give me a hard time for at least: If I'm tired or stressed, or especially both, and I feel under pressure to speak I will just start saying words. Often it will be the think that I am looking at: microwave, table, Xbox, jellyfish, but sometimes it's where something has jumped into my thoughts and so I go for a word with the same sound at the beginning: lavender/lavatory, parmesan/party... whatever.

Once when I was a bit stressed and looking for a word I was searching with the familiar 'ummmmm' sound and panicked and finished with 'brella'. It's not something I did when I was younger and I think stems from stress a few years ago, but we have learned to smile at it now without any fear of any nasty response, but (and some of you may have noticed) sometimes if I am in a group and a bit tired, or it's very noisy and loud you may find I go a bit quiet, and that's usually because I 'lose my words' as I think of it, and just need some time to catch my thoughts back up.

The same happens in my head when I am tired. I hear my voice and the wrong words creep in: I know that they are teh wrong words as soon as I hear myself saying them, and sometimes I catch myself shaking my head at my inner 'wrong words' to try and work out what it is that I am thinking.

I only think like that when planning words and stuff to say.

Or when doing logic stuff that hasn't deconstructed itself into thinkable units.

Interestingly, despite my assertion above, I can also do this - not just with Aliens either, but with most other films that I've seen multiple times.

You think you hear yourself hearing too, and that works quite well

Some things I think in English (most things), and some in French and some in German. Mostly as the phrase is shorter in foreign than English, or sounds better. Other times I think in the shower

I'm still perplexed as to why you would think in a language at all unless you were needing to communicate with someone (be it someone else or your future self). Having thoughts constrained with all the rules of language and the like, or thinking about concepts that weren't found within a language, be they structural or particulars... I'm just not sure I see the benefit.

I don't think there's a benefit as such. I don't think you get to choose how it is that you think. I can't think another way.

'S like, if something happens that isn't good, my brain'll think "triste". Or if I decide that the time has come to hop on the ol' 'oss and get me out a there, my brain'll say "on y va". If I don"t care for something, i'll mutter "ganz egal" in the gray matter (contraction of "es ist mir ganz egal" which is "all the same to me"), or "entweder oder" (either or) if there is a choice or simply "Hobson's" if there is not.I tjink I have just chopped the bits of language up and maybe they are not words anymore just an expression of sentiment in the lowest energy state, constructs to get a meaning 9ver (Eminem describes this fabulously in The Art if Rap, how he views language as building locks to get a feeling across) It also means it is harder for them to know as maybe they only speak English but you cannot be too careful.

I wonder sometimes whether my dogs has thoughts in his head. Sometimes he thinks about things but I'm not sure whether he's thinking in any language or just a range of emotions that he understands.

Why have I still not seen the Art of Rap!? Someone remind me when I've got the pooty on to acquire this.

It's better than 'Rig'.

How many pooties does it take to make a Private Cloud?

Its hard to determine whether the windows are hard to see through due to the level of shit smeared on them or easy because they've been so cleanly licked.

Windows 10 isn't that bad, is it?

Watch it. It is super interesting.

...............................

Stop disrupting this thread.

I want to watch Straight Outta Crompton, but no-one wants to go with me.

That's because it doesn't exist!

AHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Yeah, that's right, I totally burned you because of a typo. Who is King of the Internet now, aye? Me, that's who.

PS. I'd go with you.

I'll go with you dude. You can even cuddle me in the back row..

Seriously though? I want to see this too. I remember dragging my poor mother to HMV in London so I could get the album on CD. Absolutely epic album..

...............................

If it's not Kendra On Top, I'm not interested.

...............................

Time to buy! Seriously, if dripping money in month by month, then this is fine. If you're retiring in the next year, squeaky bum time.

Me and my brother's portfolio has dropped in value by over £6000 in the last few days

Annoying thing is, we were planning on selling in the very near future

I've not looked, but I'm sure it doesn't make good reading. But I remember my dad saying he was worth half what he had been the previous day in the early 90s, but it came back up (and way beyond). If you can hold on, do that (obviously).

...............................

Hi. On a number of occasions now, people have complained that you're being very...well, just annoying. Not controversial, not rebellious, just really irritating. I don't know why you've suddenly decided to think of yourself as some hard done by martyr of the forum, but it's wearing really thin and frankly most people have next to no time for it. So here's an idea - stop being a dick. I'm pretty sure it's no real skin off anyone's nose if you stop posting here, so either find a way to stop being a pain in the arse, or just find somewhere else to do it. Also note that the amount of times we've had to send a message like this to people in the entire history of the forum is about 3 times - so no, it's not us, it's you.

Cheers.

Cras & the Mods.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually I disagree, it IS some of you (not all).

Goodbye, I'll disappear like all the others, most of which left in disgust without having to receive a warning. Make sure you realise this isn't a "flounce" this is being chased off. Number of times I've received a warning of this nature is 1 (now) so I know where I think the issue is.

And for the politically correct, the right wing & the humourless types, have a very boring life.

MODS - do one decent thing in your life, close this thread.

With a glad heart.

Discussion of this PM can happen in B&B if anyone is interested.