thinking pictures or words?

Question

Can you describe how the human mind thinks and solves problems...is it in words or pictures... subconciously or conciously...and also do YOU think in pictures or words?

Answer 1

It definitely depends.

Some people you can just tell them what to do or give them a problem verbally and they can figure it out.

But others they have to do it manually or physically so therefore it's about pictures.

The human mind is a very complex thing. You can't really put the exact words on it, you can't make a final statement about something because there will always be something else to be explained.

There are too many variables.

However humans tend to solve problems consciously, subconsciously means that you don't even realize you're doing it. Like breathing. You don't need to think about breathing or your heart. You don't have to tell it to beat. I myself believe it's all in picture though. Because even people who can solve problems told to them they still have to picture something in their brain (usually) in order to solve it.

Hope I helped!!

Answer 2

With true understanding of words you would be able to get the concept of them - for example I read "red apple" and I get not only the picture of the apple but taste and texture as part of the idea on what an apple is. Take something like thingamahootchie and since I have no concept for that it's blank. This conceptual understanding is something that can be gained in the study of anything with the full understanding of what the words themselves mean.

Answer 3

It varies from person to person. A person in good shape should be able to think (and normally would) in pictures which is to say conceptually. The more serious and solid a person becomes, the more he would think in words.

This is dependent on how many free attention units he has available in his analytical mind, that part of the mind he makes his computations with. And how many attention units are trapped or ties up by the reactive mind, that part of the mind that is below a person's conscious awareness and capable of controlling and manipulating his thinking without his knowledge.

I have personally achieved the state of "Clear" as outlined in Dianetics which means I have become free of a reactive mind and thereby able to use the full potential of my analytical ability. Yes, I think in pictures, unless I choose to think in words...but it is by choice. When I first achieved the state of Clear I did notice a vast difference in my thinking and therefore ability to put thoughts into action. Now, years later it feels just normal to be this way....but I do notice that other people around me compute very much slower than my rate.