How do you think??

[rolmops]

I have always wondered how people actually think.What senses do we use and how do we process the information?<br />Do we talk to ourselves in our heads,or do we imagine moving images?<br />And moreover,what tools do deaf or blind people use in the thinking process? Sight means nothing to a blind person,nor does hearing to a deaf person.Does anybody on here have some knowledge to share and sooth my curiosity??

 

[NathanY]

Re: How do you think??

I do what the voices in my head tell me to.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: How do you think??

rolmops, when you are either deaf or blind your other senses kick in a little higher such as smell and taste.<br /><br />A deaf person might not hear but they can feel vibration. I have a deaf friend that will play his stereo's real loud and can dance like a fox cause he feels the vibration of the music.<br /><br />A blind person's hearing is beefed up you might say so they can hear better than a regular person does.<br />Their sense of feel is increased also.<br /><br />It's wild how the human body real make up for it's downfalls.

 

[achris]

Re: How do you think??

rolmops,<br /><br />Basically we 'think' in 3 different ways.<br /><br />1. Visually. When someone talks to us, yes, we see pictures in our mind. Most technical people use this one predominantly.<br />2. Aurally. These people focus on the meaning of the words. Usually sales types fit this category.<br />3. Tactile. These people tend to 'feel' the meaning in what's being said. As much as I don't like to pidgeon-hole people, this group is usually the liberally, social worker types.<br /><br />Having said all that, most people use all 3 methods to 'think'. Just that we tend to be more dominant in one than the others, and just because a person is a tactile thinker, doesn't mean that he/she can't be a technician, or sales rep. <br /><br />This also, for me, explains why some people learn more easily than others, or some people teach 'better' than others. It's all about teaching, and learning, in the method predominantly used by the student or teacher.<br /><br />There are a couple of simple 'tests' to see where a person usually thinks.<br /><br />1. Listen to how they respond in a conversation. You'll hear (basically) 3 phrases. <br />--a. I see what you're saying<br />--b. I hear you, and<br />--c. I feel I understand.<br /><br />2. (real quick and easy to use, but not always conclusive)<br />Ask the subject if they have heard the saying "A tiger can't change its spots." You'll probably get a few different responses.<br />--a. They could say something like "A tiger doesn't have spots", this would indicate a visual thinker. Why? Because as you made the statement he 'saw' in his mind a tiger. Tigers have stripes.<br />--b. They could say "No, it's a leopard can't change its spots". Aural thinker. Why? He sees the phrase in his minder and knows that the words are wrong.<br />--c. Looks at you blankly because liberal lefties think everyone can be changed. <br /><br />Also, just because a person is blind or deaf doesn't mean they can't use visual or aural 'thinking'.<br /><br />Chris.............

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: How do you think??

IMO it goes deeper than that Chris. As children, as our brains develope we start to make soft connections (soft as in not permanent), as we grow those connections become hard wired. The two main contributing factors are diet and enviroment. A person who is born blind is simply wired differently, their other senses dominate and they 'see'. It's a whole different ball game for someone who becomes blind later in life - very difficult (if not impossible) to rewire. Try learning a new language as an adult - bloody hard, but kids are capable of learning multiple languages easily, their wiring ain't finished yet.<br /><br />My wife had a brain tumor removed 2 years ago, the area that was affected was her left leg. Next time you take a walk try and figure out how many messages your brain has to send to your legs just to be able to take one step. It's about 35 - 35 electrical pulses just to take a step. Now rip the wiring out, you still 'think' you can walk - but nothing happens. You need to make new connections.Took my wife 18 months to get out of a wheel chair, I saw kids with similar problems walking after one week.<br /><br />The same principle applies for people with varying skills, technical often doesn't go with practical. A mathamatical genius wouldn't know one end of a hammer from another, a brillant woodsmith is still trying to work out what the h*ll pi is. Most of us are somewhere in between. Because we're wired that way.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[snapperbait]

Re: How do you think??

How do you think??<br /><br />I try not too... Makes my head hurt...<br /><br />Kidding aside, This kinda goes with what Dunaruna stated in his last paragraph... <br /><br />My Dad knew a guy who worked for Bell Labs... This guy was some kind of electronics genius or something to that effect...<br /><br />Bell had to send a car to pick this guy up for work everyday, because the guy could'nt drive a car...

 

[Homerr]

Re: How do you think??

I let the Wife do the thinking... <br /><br /><br />H.

 

[JB]

Re: How do you think??

I think 80% visual, 15% aural and only 5% tactile.<br /><br />Uncle Sam carefully measured this during a screening process. <br /><br />No idea what that means in most situations, but they liked it for what they wanted me to do.

 

[Barlow]

Re: How do you think??

How do you think??

OUCH!!... it hurts just to think about it

 

[achris]

Re: How do you think??

No argument with anything you said Aldo, just that I answer the question about 'how we think', not 'how we learn to think'. What you said about language is so true. At 44 I can't learn more than a few words of a new language. It frustrates the b-jesus out of me! I am currently involved with a nice lady from Kamchatka and would love to be able to speak to her in her language, but about all I can say at the moment is 'privet', 'spasiba', 'pejasta' and 'das vedanya'.<br /><br />Chris..............

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: How do you think??

Originally posted by achris:<br /> but about all I can say at the moment is 'privet', 'spasiba', 'pejasta' and 'das vedanya'.<br /><br />Chris..............

"Where's my dinner woman?", no hang on, that comes later, it must be "no dear, it doesn't make your butt look big". <br /><br />My parents are italian, I've been trying to become fluent for years but no luck. My daughter listens to my mum talk maybe 2 or 3 hours a week, when she speaks you would think she was born there - go figure.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[jtexas]

Re: How do you think??

I think language is a big part of thinking. If you put a name to things, you can organize 'em, remember 'em, communicate 'em.<br /><br />I learned to speak American Sign Language. Interestingly, it's got a different syntax from English. It's really a different way of thinking. They've got the same jokes as hearing people, but in addition they have puns based on words that are signed similarly. The signs themselves become part of poems & songs as much as words & music for the hearing. Gallaudet University (in Wash. DC, for deaf students) has a football team that uses a bass drum on the sidelines as a substitute for the quarterback calling signals.<br /><br />Babies can learn sign language a year or so before their brains & mouths are mature enough to generate speech. A baby that knows a few basic signs (food, mommy, more, again) spends a lot less time crying out of frustration.<br /><br />Where I work are people from all over the world - sometimes I ask 'em if they think in their native language and translate to English, or think in English. Mostly, after a few years of total immersion they say they are thinking and sometimes dreaming in English.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: How do you think??

Originally posted by JB:<br /> I think 80% visual, 15% aural and only 5% tactile.<br /><br />Uncle Sam carefully measured this during a screening process. <br /><br />No idea what that means in most situations, but they liked it for what they wanted me to do.

Might have kept you alive JB! or maybe you shoulda been a fighter pilot. Chuck Yeager II

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: How do you think??

I don't have to think. I am married, and have 2 grandaughters to that. I just cut the grass and spend $$ on my boat. Is there anything else??

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: How do you think??

There are entire books written on this subject. People get PhD's in this stuff. NO ONE is going to explain it in a small post on iboats...<br />For example, my wife's PhD is in curriculum and development. If I were to ask her this question (and I have), she would go on for hours and still only brush the subject.

 

[one more cast]

Re: How do you think??

This got me to thinking.... If a deaf child uses foul language do you wash his mouth out with soap or do you wash his hands?

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: How do you think??

Interesting question.<br /><br />I think in words and have silent conversations with myself to work things out, but pictures come in too like when I'm working out how to build something.<br /><br />One thing that intrigues me is that I can "feel" thinking going on in my head. Is that because I can really "feel" it there or because I know my brain (or its small remnant) is there?<br /><br />Like this ain't gonna invite some predictable comments!

 

[achris]

Re: How do you think??

Originally posted by Tinkerer:<br /> <br /><br />Like this ain't gonna invite some predictable comments!

Oohhhhh yeah!!!

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: How do you think??

Very interesting question "How do you think?", its is i'm sure a process that is different for everyone, even though at times the same solution may be acquired.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: How do you think??

I'm with Homerr on this one.