Having no internal monologue

This has been going about the internet because it is pretty fascinating. That we do not comprehend that other people’s brains fundamentally do not work the same way ours do.

I knew, for example, we all learn differently. I am book smart. I remember every damn thing I read. Sometimes I even remember how the page itself looked… so a bit of a visual learner as well. But I am Not an auditory learner at all. We all learn differently. I knew that. Simple fact. Makes perfect sense to me.

Then I happened upon this blog Inside my Mind– Where the blogger discovers not everyone has an inner monologue of thoughts in words.

My day was completely ruined yesterday when I stumbled upon a fun fact that absolutely obliterated my mind. I saw this tweet yesterday that said that not everyone has an internal monologue in their head. All my life, I could hear my voice in my head and speak in full sentences as if I was talking out loud. I thought everyone experienced this, so I did not believe that it could be true at that time.

Inside my Mind

Based on a meme that states “As in, some people’s thoughts are like sentences they ‘hear’, and some people just have abstract non-verbal thoughts, and have to consciously verbalize them.” from twitter account @KylePlantEmoji

And this did blow my mind. I don’t know if I learned this before and forgot it or I just never knew this. I don’t think I ever knew this because it would have really weirded me out. I cannot fathom not thinking in this monologue of thoughts I ‘hear’. A constant ‘stream of consciousness’ that never ends. And flows from one topic to another.

I do visualize things, of course. I am a writer. I visualize worlds and characters. But I do it intentionally. More often than not, I play with dialogue interactions. There are times when i Engage my imagination like a Tool I Utilize. Not as a normal function of my brain. I do not think in images. I use them when I want to imagine something specifically. Or daydream.

Hell, my brain doesn’t even shut the hell up at night. Thinking, thinking, thinking… constantly stream of thought chatter going on in this brain. Sometimes louder… like now as I type. Sometimes in the background. Sometimes when I am thinking hard about something it is far more clear and obvious as I work through ideas and discard others.

But not all brains are like mine. Some are visual. Thought brainstorming charts. Images. Visualizations. Seeing words.

I find this… hard to imagine because I find it hard to imagine I could have the same complexity and speed of thought with images as I do with my stream of thought chatter. But they must. I just cannot conceive of how because that isn’t how my brain functions. I cannot see it because that just isn’t how my brain rolls, man.

But it Would be weirdly quiet. Almost zen in there. But very distracted visually.

And I imagine they would be better at meditation… because my brain doesn’t shut the fuck up during meditation and it has taken me a very long time to get it to be even moderately quiet-er.

And I imagine less insomnia… or at least Not insomnia due to the incessant chatter of ones thoughts. I mean, STFU already!

Also, I imagine better at some things. I imagine I would be a better artists if I thought in images all the time… just a lot more to visualize I think. Or better thinking Spatially.

Or is there any difference at all in how we think… it is just a different way at getting at the same thing? I think there would be unique differences that could mean we could come up with the same answer in unique Ways. Or unique answers to the same problem. And that is pretty cool when you think about it.

Nevertheless, I find it weird I never knew this.

I want to have a real time actual talk with one of these visual thinkers. And compare notes. I want to really dig into it. I need to Know some things. I need to get this Down. I have a deep Fascination with this. I always Assumed consciousness was a stream of thought chatter that just doesn’t stop. And it isn’t.

Here are some of the things people said about having image/visual based thinking

“I’ve always been jealous of people who can hear their thoughts. Verbalising abstract though is so hard and makes me feel dumb. It’s a skill you have to learn.”

“Being a non-verbal thinker it annoys me that I have to almost speak out what I’m writing and reading. But I love the silence and imagining mathematical theorems.”

“I don’t have an internal monologue. I think if I had to listen to myself talk in full sentences all day I would stick a whisk up my nose and scramble my brains until there was nothing left.”

LadBible

So those quotes provide some fascinating insight into the brain of image/visual thinkers. The complications verbalizing their abstract thoughts for one, because translating from the way you think into words may not be as easy as it seems. The issues with writing and reading… but the Imagination of abstract thoughts Visually… intrigues me. And again this mention of the silence, and how not having it would be unpleasant… I get you man, it is noisy up in here.

Random opinions

IQ seems flat without an influx of creativity
Time travel probability pondering
Colour is all in your head