How Do You Think?

[deadred]

I tend to think in a circular fashion, with much comparison. I'm pretty much equally right and left brain balanced and somehow I've learned how to combine logic with a kind of free-style intuition. In ways, my thinking is like diagramming a long and complex sentence. I am unafraid to think outside of the box, and love to find inventive, novel ways of looking at things, just to see what shakes out. I have a strong artistic side and imagination combined with great persistence and concentration, so I tend to "chew on things" until they're pulp. I've learned how to use deductive and inductive thinking interchangably, and try to draw conclusions in a balanced fashion. I seek to combine broad thinking and deep thinking in the search for inclusiveness. Precision is very important to me.

 

[Cecilff2]

Most things I think about are auditory at first, and then I give them shape or structure. This structure then grows outward spanning all sorts of paths and shapes. Most of the time I'm not even actively thinking about it and let my Ni run the thinking for a while. Sometimes both auditory and visual happen at the same time. If I'm trying to recall an event in memory it's usually both, but the auditory part is a lot clearer.

 

[OshunsDaughter]

Simple question really: How exactly do you think? Do you think in words? In pictures? In feeling tones? In physical sensations?
/QUOTE]
I think in pictures and physical sensation at the same time. Which makes for very interesting conversations if sex becomes a topic. I have to control my body while trying to explain what I would do in a hypothetical situation. And in case I have to spell that out because you (general) might not understand; think injecting yourself into a porno and being able to imagine yourself there and FEEL it too. Thank goodness I am now adept at dodging having someone ask me about that topic.

 

[AUM]

I am very much an auditory learner, supplemented by visual.

Same here.

My thinking style is quite weird to say the least. My mind is able to grasp and understand complex concepts without me even trying. I notice that when I read something or am in a lecture, I absorb the relevant data without taking notes and while I think that I've forgotten the material, my brain stored the information somewhere that is inaccessible until the time comes when I needed again(tests, life-threatening situations). I have a horrible memory but I tend to remember important information forever, even if I don't ever need it again.

In addition, this information that has gotten absorbed is always evolving more and more. Data feeds this framework and makes abstract concepts out of it, which is why I understand things well.

The drawback out of this is that I have a really terrible time explaining things to people. Since my mind is usually abstract and really personalized, sometimes I can't find the words to describe what's going on with me. In addition, if I encounter new information that had never been processed by my mind, it takes a while for it to mold into my framework. In this case, I need to retreat and withdraw in order to grasp all the information needed and understand it fully.

 

[sassafras]

Simple question really: How exactly do you think? Do you think in words? In pictures? In feeling tones? In physical sensations?

My stream of conscious is usually an abstract jumble of auditory and visual information that I bring into line with a verbal narrative. I'll be thinking, thinking, thinking, and then before those thoughts get too big or branch out to infinity and beyond, I'll pause, and go back and dissect these thoughts. I'm primarily oriented by the questions of "Why?" and "How?" And once that gets filtered through analysis, the next order of business is usually, "what does it mean?" This part of the analysis is chiefly verbal/auditory. I can hear the voice in my head and it always addresses me as "you" ( I can't, for the life of me, figure out why that is).

Then rinse and repeat.

I experience my feelings physically first. I usually don't realize I'm upset until I feel like there's a two-ton elephant sitting on top of my chest and it's constricting my airway. Or my scalp is tingling. Or I'm tearing up for no damn good reason. That's when I have to pull those emotions in and take them apart. My friends always know I'm upset before I do, which has made me a bit self-conscious about it. I'm always monitoring for what I know has upset me in the past and I try to "prepare" myself in a cerebral manner so I'm not caught unawares.

I process a lot of things in the background too, usually without realizing it. And it drives the more structured part of my brain crazy when I come across an insight and can't really explain my thinking. I operate under the pretense that I don't really understand something until I've seen all the steps that lead up to it. Unfortunately, I often can't account for my leaps of logic and so I'm stuck with the sense that I'm skating through life on beginner's luck instead of a solid foundation of knowledge. On the upside, that, if anything, makes me especially good at bullshitting right on the spot...as long as the analysis part of my brain doesn't decide to kick in when I'm doing it!

 

[Nixie]

Has anybody seen the movie Dreamcatcher? The guy talks about his memory warehouse. In a lot of ways that is how I process things. I recall things very fast and I think of it as a filing system inside my head. When I think in the present, I first sift every relevant fact that I can recall on the subject from my memory. I analyze the current situation or thought and round out my understanding with the sifted information. I add any new insights and determine the best course of action or whatever action is needed at the time. As for learning I tend to do well with either visual or auditory. Sometimes I find it very amazing the amount of crap I have in my head but some things have to go. I tend not to remember extraneous information like people's names or phone numbers. Tell me some piece of information though, and I will remember it long after I have forgotten your name.

 

[88chaz88]

Am I the only one who has absolutely no idea how they think?

 

[Melkor]

I think the flaw with this concept is that to know how one thinks in relation to others, you have to know how others think first hand, which is impossible.

Thus, what Chazz said.

 

[Nixie]

I think the flaw with this concept is that to know how one thinks in relation to others, you have to know how others think first hand, which is impossible.

Thus, what Chazz said.

Unless you live in complete isolation or are completely unable to connect to other people, average contact and primary school are usually enough to give one insight into other's behavior and to note differences in thought processess. However if you are only, say 19, you are still really growing as an individual and perhaps are less confident about who you are.

 

[Rough]

I think fast, sometimes even too fast that I even can speak normally or write.

 

[Bird]

Am I the only one who has absolutely no idea how they think?

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