I interviewed Kirsten Carlson, a PA Student at Francis Marion University, who is one of the few people that do not have an internal monologue. She does not h...
I do not have an internal monologue or the ability to clearly visualize images/audiolize sounds in my head. I don't think in words or images or sounds. The part here where they're talking about reading is very much like my experience, except I love reading. But otherwise she seems to visualize stuff internally in a way I don't.
Thoughts are just thoughts! They have no real world analogue for me. There's no internal framing device. Just thoughts!
I had no idea it was unusual until 2 or 3 years ago, and even still I'm skeptical how much of this actual cognitive differences vs. differences of description/semantics.
It's definitely not a difference in semantics, for example, as I am typing this post, I can hear a voice in my head (my voice, though it can change if I want it to) dictating the words as I type them, speaking at the exact same pace that I am typing, and when I read your post, the same thing happened. There are serious differences between how different people process information.
Is that inherently how you always engage with text? How similar is that sensation to actually hearing speech? Is there something sensory? (This is only one question btw)
Does all your thinking operate with an internal monologue? Every thought is linguistic?
Is that inherently how you always engage with text?
Usually, yes. if I'm looking a table of data it's a bit different. But anything that's mostly text I engage with like that.
How similar is that sensation to actually hearing speech?
It's much more similar to talking. Because It's "my" voice and I can mostly control when I start and stop it. unless I'm having trouble sleeping or feeling really emotional or something. then I might "argue" with my self inside my own head or "rant" inside my own head and I have a little less control over that.
Is there something sensory?
My brain "hears" while my ears don't. So the volume of the voice in my head is never overwhelming. I'd say there's something quasi-sensory to it but it's not really "sensed" overtly the way external phenomena are.
Does all your thinking operate with an internal monologue?
No. A lot of it does though.
Every thought is linguistic?
No. Sometimes I just "feel" things. But I think I verbally process a lot of emotions so my brain "talks it out." a lot.
I do not have an internal monologue or the ability to clearly visualize images/audiolize sounds in my head. I don't think in words or images or sounds. The part here where they're talking about reading is very much like my experience, except I love reading. But otherwise she seems to visualize stuff internally in a way I don't.
Thoughts are just thoughts! They have no real world analogue for me. There's no internal framing device. Just thoughts!
fascinating. thanks for sharing!
I had no idea it was unusual until 2 or 3 years ago, and even still I'm skeptical how much of this actual cognitive differences vs. differences of description/semantics.
It's definitely not a difference in semantics, for example, as I am typing this post, I can hear a voice in my head (my voice, though it can change if I want it to) dictating the words as I type them, speaking at the exact same pace that I am typing, and when I read your post, the same thing happened. There are serious differences between how different people process information.
Ok, two questions:
Is that inherently how you always engage with text? How similar is that sensation to actually hearing speech? Is there something sensory? (This is only one question btw)
Does all your thinking operate with an internal monologue? Every thought is linguistic?
i'm going to answer it like it's 3 lol
Usually, yes. if I'm looking a table of data it's a bit different. But anything that's mostly text I engage with like that.
It's much more similar to talking. Because It's "my" voice and I can mostly control when I start and stop it. unless I'm having trouble sleeping or feeling really emotional or something. then I might "argue" with my self inside my own head or "rant" inside my own head and I have a little less control over that.
My brain "hears" while my ears don't. So the volume of the voice in my head is never overwhelming. I'd say there's something quasi-sensory to it but it's not really "sensed" overtly the way external phenomena are.
No. A lot of it does though.
No. Sometimes I just "feel" things. But I think I verbally process a lot of emotions so my brain "talks it out." a lot.