Yah, definitely have the inner thoughts bouncing around in all sorts of ways, and it's different depending on where in my head I am... Like as a few have been saying, there's music if I go to that channel, other times it's long philosophical questions I may have tossed around- bouncing back at me. Sometimes it seems like outside of me- technology sometimes beeps or blings in response... That's always an odd one. Staying off Twitter caus it seemed to hit some strange algorithm which links with my brain.. I think it's amazing to meet people who don't have an inner dialogue going, a friend's husband is like that- seriously no thought unless provoked. However it's just as crazy to hear my wife (who is schizophrenic- her conversations don't seem as tangible or linear or cohesive, more confrontational and disturbed.. depending on the personality.) Anyways.. the world is full of all types. My grandma used to say, talking to oneself is a sign of good mental health. Lol.
I'd love to talk to that guy. I'm so curious. Must be super chill to have no thoughts unless provoked. I'm honestly jealous.
I have an inner dialogue -i should maybe get rid of all the cardboard boxes in the hallway. if I push the middle button on that ps4 controller assassins creed will launch -okay then fucker
Thinking about it, maybe it is a bit of a dialogue. I am myself, talking to myself. Sounds so schitzo I talk shit to myself all the time, thinking about it. Friendly banter, but still. Shittalking without comebacks. You suck you dummy Yeah? Well me too pal
I am often at the negotiation table with myself, when I workout f.ex. But also general commentary I am fuckin tired Yes I am Etc
@Goblin_smasher Those cardboard boxes really aren't hurting anything. You'll get to it one day. And look, they even stack fairly stably. They only fall over once in awhile. And you still have room to squeeze by.
Now that you mention it, I don't really think with words, I think in concepts and pictures. I thought everyone did. Since my short term memory is fucked, I struggle with converting concepts to words when trying to express myself, like now. It used to be easy but now my thoughts are completely chaotic and unfocused.
How does that work, can you take me through some example thought patterns? Like, opening the fridge to figure out what you need to buy for groceries? Or what your thought process is like when you have to choose between two movies to watch for the evening? Some day to day stuff, how does your mind work there?
I'm trying to find words for something that I've always taken for granted. I'm not even sure if monologue is the right word. Monologue? Dialogue? Concepts and pictures like Cactus Ed said? Is it just being too self conscious? The closest that I can get is this : Being conscious of your conscience. or Being aware of that little Angel and Devil on your shoulders arguing over your actions/thoughts. I also wonder whether it may be IQ related, does higher awareness mean higher chances of inner monologues? Or is it a necessary component of having a higher IQ? I always have some kind of song playing in my head, but it's sort of like background music. It doesn't dominate, or interfere with the actual conversation or thought process. And like BrassNwood I generally hear older music. I'll be singing Mack the Knife to myself for literally months, then it will switch to Chattanooga Choo Choo for 2-6 months, or Taj Mahal's Ain't Nobody's Business. I also truncate a lot of conversations, but I've learned to do it in my head to avoid pissing people off. I'll ramble in my head as they speak "I knew what you were saying after 5 words, but now your going to take 75 words to tell me, blah blah blah. Ok he's done, I can respond now". Also makes you wonder about the whole NPC theory. Are We thinkers the players and the non-thinkers just the NPC's?
If we think in words does it mean we need words to think? I think with words when reviewing things I've said or what I've heard others say which I think we all do, I call it replaying the Cactus Ed tapes in my head. When reviewing the things I did during the day it's a series of images instead of words, for example if I'd been working in the garden I don't think "I weeded the garden", I simply remember weeding the garden and may get visuals of myself doing it along with my emotional state at the time like perhaps a feeling of satisfaction. It wouldn't matter if I didn't know a language, I'd still know what I did and how I felt about it. When I'm looking in the fridge or cupboards to see what I need from the market or what to make for dinner I don't think in words like "I think I'll make a stew", I see various ingredients which go together for a stew so that's what I make. That's also how I make plans or decisions and how I troubleshoot problems, my mind silently considers possible ways to achieve the goal and comes up with an answer without me being aware of how I arrived at it. I always had trouble "showing my work" in math class. Choosing between movies, I read the descriptions and go with which ever sounds more appealing at the time, I don't talk to myself about the pros and cons of each when making the decision. Regarding politics, my basic values tell me where I stand on various topics, I don't discuss it with myself then make a conscious decision to be for or against abortion, free speech, or whatever.
Took the liberty of organizing your post a bit to answer it, there were a lot of different interesting points here, Duck A) Could be a mix of things, it is for me. It's mostly monologue/dialogue (though I guess a dialogue with yourself can be called a monologue?), though there is concepts, too, like a lot of feeling/belief/conviction/understanding/analysis all happening in a fraction of a second because it's wrapped into some greater 'theme' For instance, you might be on a date, and your date says something that reminds you of someone else. She might mention her main hobby is surfing, and your thoughts will go to your friend who surfs, his culture, his manner of speaking, his ideals, his view on the world, and the general 'surfing culture'. And you'll associate a lot of data with that, but you'll do it very fast. Right? B) I think that's a valid point too. I challenge myself. Should you really have said X? Are you sure you're making the right decision with Y? Why are you so certain about Z? I guess that's sort of like the angel and devil debating. C) I haven't seen any data on that. It makes sense on a gut level, but I don't think it's true. I have close friends from different parts of the IQ scale - some exceptionally gifted, and some very much not so. I don't think there's a difference in how much they think, but more the level of complexity those thoughts occur in. D) I do that too. It was one of my worse traits when I was younger - I'd get really impatient with someone, once I figured out what they were going to say. And sometimes I would cut them off and finish their point for them, much faster. Too often, I was wrong, or missed the point. I've really made a habit of shutting the fuck up and letting people finish. Though, I'm not perfect there. I think I do it sometimes when reading other people's posts on the forum, too. E) I don't think so. I've seen that theory too. I don't know, but I feel like it's a dangerous distinction to make, sort of like humans and biological machines. Seems more to me to be an expression of frustration that some people fall too easily into dogmas. Hey?
A) Good question. Not all thought, obviously, babies think before they can speak, but maybe it restricts what you can think about. Not saying better or worse, just that you get good at a different type of thought than if you think in words. I did a lot of mathematics at university - and I realize now, just as I'm typing, that I never thought in words when I was doing math. It was more a conceptual thing. Very hard to describe. B) Sure, I do that too. It's not only words, thinking about it, nor does it have to be narrated. I.e. your example of thinking about your day. It's more a series of nebulous impressions. C) Well it must arrive at it somehow, whether you are aware of it or not. Maybe some people have different levels of subconscious thought? Your subconscious engine might be more powerful than mine, say, and does more of the 'thought-work', whereas someone like me might have more of that in the more visible conscience? I don't know but it's very interesting D) Might that be a handicap? Can one trust one's 'basic values' to be accurate? We differ greatly on this last point. For me, the more complex things like politics are not served well by listening to instinct, but served better by turning over every stone, weighing every parameter and testing competing ideas against each other. This last piece is just an opinion.
I'm curious, when you're weighing parameters and turning over stones in your mind, are you doing it with words as if you're having a conversation with yourself? I think I can trust my core values, they've been tested and tweaked a little here and there over the years but I suppose whether or not a person is served well by using core values as a guide depends on his core values, eh? I don't think some people have core values, Joe Biden comes to mind. Bernie Sanders does have core values and while I respect that, his values aren't mine. I'm more of an individualist while he's more of a collectivist. My impression is you're a bit of both.