Stolen from linguaphiles

[conuly]

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/031226.html

I'm not sure which is worse, the assumption that people can't think in sign language, or the one that nobody, ever, can think without having language. I'm edging towards the first, though, since it's just blatant stupidity.

Comments

[deceptica]

Oh, the question... I don't know. It does seem to imply that people can't think in sign language, but I think what's more important is that the person admitted that she didn't know and so she asked. So I don't see the point in coming down on her for making a wrong assumption while asking. Besides, from the way the question was worded I got the impression that that girl was rather young.

Okay, I didn't know there were people thinking in pictures. I should read up on that. :-) The point is that it must be somewhat limited in comparison to thinking in words because you can't picture everything. Unless you make up images for abstract concepts that you can't picture, in which case you'd have something similar to a sign language anyway...

[conuly]

My thoughts are very word-based. I do know people who don't think in words, though (though they don't necessarily think in pictures). You'd have to ask them to know how they think. I doubt that words can adaquately convey the experience, though. Here's one example of an essay written to describe somebody's non-conventional thoughts. And Here's another one, this time describing the infamous "thinking in pictures".

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Very interesting essays; thanks for the links.

It's fascinating to discover others with the same thought patterns and abilities. (I have the same habit of clearly visualizing the end result, which has the same side effect of producing lots of arguements with people who "don't believe it will work that way.")

To further clarify my above statement... After further reading and some more thought, the reason I said that I thought in text rather than words is just that--I think of a word or concept and remember reading it, and the image that comes to mind includes the font used.

[conuly]

1. No problem.

2. I do that too sometimes. I see the words when I hear them. So if you're talking to me, aloud, I'll see the print. But when I'm just thinking, it's not visual at all, though it is, oddly, in the third person.

[deceptica]

Whew, finally got around to reading these. Very interesting, especially the second one. I think I can only use vague-generalized pictures in combination with words to think.