So – pretty much like every other human trait. Further, cognitive preferences are a result of genetics, environment, development, and current context all influencing each other. It occurs along a spectrum (not a dichotomy where you are either one or the other), and most people are lumped toward the middle where they use a combination of several cognitive styles. They can be just as creative as others, and simply use alternate cognitive styles to achieve their tasks.ĭespite all the drama online – this neurological/psychological feature of humans is boringly typical. People with this “condition” (if it can be called that) do not appear to suffer any consequence. They are far to the visual end of the spectrum.Īt the other end of the spectrum there is “aphantasia” – which is a complete lack of the ability to bring an image to mind. There are those who essentially have no verbal inner monologue. I have known for a long time that other people (at least those close to me) do not do this nearly as much as I do, and I have also learned over the years of my neurological study and science communication that, generally speaking, there is far more neurodiversity than we naively assume. So I would say, rough estimate, I am 60-40 verbal-visual, but again that may be because of my writing and lecturing. When I think about abstract concepts, I tend to give them some verbal or visual representation. But I can also be very visual when the task calls for it, bringing to mind detailed images, schematics, or spatial relationships. People who know me well even “catch” me doing this, because I may talk with my hands or throw in the occasional gesture or facial expression while doing so. I definitely practice lectures and conversations entirely in my head. If anything I may be biased toward verbal inner monologue, but that may be an artifact of the fact that I write every day and give lots of lectures. Do you actually “hear” a virtual voice in your head? Do you think mostly in pictures, or in the abstract? Or is the mode of your thought very context dependent – depending on what you are thinking about or what task you are trying to complete.įor me, I think I do everything. The episode brings up a few interesting points, the first of which is the core question – how do people think? If you have never considered the question, consider it now. It was not a variable they thought could differ among people. The post was intriguing to many people mostly because they had not considered that other people may be different in this respect than they are. Recently a Twitter post has triggered people to consider their inner voice, and whether or not they have one. When you think all to yourself (not engaging with others) do you hear an inner voice, do you conjure images, or do you just have abstract feelings? For most people the answer is, yes.
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