Do you think in words or pictures?

What is your thought process like?

  • I think in words

    Votes: 26 46.4%
  • I think in pictures

    Votes: 23 41.1%
  • I assign colors to words

    Votes: 1 1.8%
  • I think in rhythms

    Votes: 6 10.7%
  • All of the above

    Votes: 11 19.6%

  • Total voters
    56

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Interesting poll! I think mainly in words but my memories are images and of course smells and songs just take me back to certain specific images.
When I'm having a seizure though and my thinking is muddled I think in sensations which is what I imagine babies must think in.
Scents! I had not thought of that one. When my husband's adult daughter visits, I use a certain perfume in her sheets, I bake gingerbread cookies to conform to the time she will first walk into our house; I shampoo our dog with watermelon scents; the perfume we use is one my grandmother brought from France and I told the adult child, when she was still a kid, that she would sleep more easily if I sprayed that perfume on her pillow. She took this at word value: she never once thought to ask if that grandmother was still living. If she could smell "her" then she must be alive! Now that I understand that marker, I use "her" perfume to calm me when I need it most.
 
I think in images also.But I see and hear words. Maybe because I'm a musician.I've rehearse plays musicals and solos plus my violin solos. So I guess is would be repeditive learning for me. My son sees colors.
 
This topic has fascinated me ever since I found out that most other people don't think the way I do. I mean, their thought process. I was watching a TV show once and one of the characters was thinking, and you can hear the dialogue inside her head, and I remember saying out loud, "I hate when they do that on TV. No one thinks in words like that!" and the other people in the room were like, "Um, I do..." I was so shocked! I've always thought in pictures and feelings and colors. The only time there are words in my head is when I'm planning out something I need to say, or right now as I'm writing this post, or when I'm reflecting back on a conversation I had with someone. Otherwise my thought process is pictures. When people talk to me, certain words bring up a picture in my mind of something associated with that word. Like if they say "dog", my brain flips through snapshots of almost every dog I've ever known. Certain words I just see as a picture of that word, sort of floating in my mind's eye (maybe that's why I'm a good speller). The same with numbers. I also assign certain colors to certain words or ideas.
I asked a writer once if she thought in this way, because she's a visual writer, and she said she thinks in both words and pictures. She told me to read a book called "Thinking in Pictures". I forgot the name of the author, but it's by a high-functioning autistic woman, and there's a whole section about her normal thought process, and it sounded so much like the way I think, except for some of the challenges it caused with language because of her autism.
But anyway, I wonder if the epilepsy has anything to do with it. Just because my brain may be wired differently.
I asked this question to a friend of mine who is very musically and artistically talented, and he said that sometimes he thinks in pictures, sometimes he thinks in rhythms, and sometimes if he's really angry or upset, there are no words in his mind and he can't even speak.

What is YOUR thought process like?

I was going to mention that I read many people with autism think in pictures. I wish my grandson with autism could talk and tell me how he thinks. From watching him watch people, I think he learns by watching. He is 4 years old so I still have hope that he will talk some day. I'm convinced he has taught himself to read but he just can't communicate that to us yet.
 
This is an interesting topic. I have an adult son who has music synesthesia. When he hears music he also sees music in colors for notes. He has always had this and when he was young he thought that was just how it was for everyone. There is also number synesthesia where people see colors as numbers, i.e. a 2 is always orange and will be orange for the rest of their life. You may want to just Google synesthesia, as there are many forms from seeing words to tasting, etc. Sorry I cannot post any links yet. There is also a musical group named Synesthesia, so not to confuse ;)

Synesthesia is viewed by some as having a 6th sense. There is no medical treatment as none is needed. Some feel it is merely an enhancement of their senses. Medically, it appears that possibly when the senses were developing, some got "wired" a bit too close, although not all agree to this theory.

Of course, when he first told me I immediately researched it and found a possible connection to temporal lobe epilepsy, ( which he does not have ) but it does appear the research on this is all over the place, with most only considering it a neurological because it occurs in the brain, but does not appear to cause any medical or psychological deficit, rather the opposite. For my son, he sees it not as a 6th sense, but just part of who he is.

In the past i felt things in color. Of course most people just look at me weird if I tell them so I usually don't mention it. It's been a long time since it happened.
 
The author of thinking in pictures is Temple Grandin. She is the autism guru. ( again, my son has autism. Please let me know if you get tired of hearing it)

I thought of Temple Grandin but wasn't positive.
 
Do I think in words or pictures

Both.I am an avid writer. Oprah has offered me deals. She is really cool.But my son can talk and talk and talk , so we decided to write about epilepsy and other things together.Sorry, I havn't I just got a new computer from my brothers. But Alex is my boy is always on it.
 
I usually think in pictures and when speaking or trying to explain something when I cannot think of the word(s) I have to describe it, like a picture.
Sometime, I need them to spell it out. BTW, I wrote a poem by the same name:
Read my poem: "Spell It Out"
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f44/spell-out-24885/


I was going to mention that I read many people with autism think in pictures. I wish my grandson with autism could talk and tell me how he thinks. From watching him watch people, I think he learns by watching. He is 4 years old so I still have hope that he will talk some day. I'm convinced he has taught himself to read but he just can't communicate that to us yet.

Have you watched the weekly show "Scorpion"? It's about a computer genius and 7 other genius friends. One female friend has a son who is autistic and the computer whiz is the only one who can communicate with him. Supposedly, it is based on a true story.
 
I usually think in pictures and when speaking or trying to explain something when I cannot think of the word(s) I have to describe it, like a picture.
Sometime, I need them to spell it out. BTW, I wrote a poem by the same name:
Read my poem: "Spell It Out"
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f44/spell-out-24885/




Have you watched the weekly show "Scorpion"? It's about a computer genius and 7 other genius friends. One female friend has a son who is autistic and the computer whiz is the only one who can communicate with him. Supposedly, it is based on a true story.

No I haven't watched it. I will check to see when it is on. Thanks Cint. :)
 
Both difficult extracting word fro pic best use bsl.i have 2 jestures I use not nessiccary with e
 
I thought of Temple Grandin but wasn't positive.

Oh my goodness, I love her. Her books on animals are also really excellent. :)

I think I tend to think in words, although it does depend on the situation but even in those situations I've simply learned to adapt myself.
 
I'd like to see images in my head. I can't.

Worst case scenario: I asked one of my students if, when she was reading a Harry Potter novel, if she could see what was happening. Yes! She saw it all, and it came alive for her.

Nothing comes alive for me. I see words. Then, I think about those words' history, etc. This is quite good for me, but I would still like to see some images in my head.
 
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