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thinking without words
Monday, November 24th, 2008 09:43 pmI was walking along, lost in thought. And I realized that I wasn't paying any attention to the world around me. And I thought, squirrels don't do that, scampering around lost in their thoughts, do they? My thoughts are in words - I hear words in my head. What would it be like, if I had never learned a language - if I had never heard any words? Would I still be able to think? What kinds of thoughts would I have? What would word-less thoughts be like? Is that how it is like, to be a squirrel?
I can stop thinking words for a while, while walking, and still *know* where I'm walking towards... a part of my brain is still directing me in which direction to walk, even if I don't consciously think words while doing it. When I drive home, I don't consciously think of which streets to turn on... it is automatic, while my mind thinks other thoughts. Whereas if I'm driving somewhere unfamiliar, then I do think words, like "I need to turn right on so-and-so street".
But what would it be like, to not have words in one's brain? What is it like for deaf people, who speak via sign-language, and who have never heard words? Do they think in sign? Do they see hands moving in their mind? Is their thought image-based as opposed to sound-based?
If my thoughts are sound-based, why is it easier for me to understand things when I read them, than when I hear them? And yet, when I read them, I hear the words in my head.
What is it like to be a squirrel, to not have words which let you plan for the future and think other abstract, distant thoughts? What is it like, to live in the present, all the time, only reacting to the things you see, hear, smell, feel?
My memories are not word-based, for the most part. I remember images, emotions, smells, not words.
Do squirrels sometimes sit around lost in thought... remembering experiences they have had? Day-dreaming about the perfect acorn?
I can stop thinking words for a while, while walking, and still *know* where I'm walking towards... a part of my brain is still directing me in which direction to walk, even if I don't consciously think words while doing it. When I drive home, I don't consciously think of which streets to turn on... it is automatic, while my mind thinks other thoughts. Whereas if I'm driving somewhere unfamiliar, then I do think words, like "I need to turn right on so-and-so street".
But what would it be like, to not have words in one's brain? What is it like for deaf people, who speak via sign-language, and who have never heard words? Do they think in sign? Do they see hands moving in their mind? Is their thought image-based as opposed to sound-based?
If my thoughts are sound-based, why is it easier for me to understand things when I read them, than when I hear them? And yet, when I read them, I hear the words in my head.
What is it like to be a squirrel, to not have words which let you plan for the future and think other abstract, distant thoughts? What is it like, to live in the present, all the time, only reacting to the things you see, hear, smell, feel?
My memories are not word-based, for the most part. I remember images, emotions, smells, not words.
Do squirrels sometimes sit around lost in thought... remembering experiences they have had? Day-dreaming about the perfect acorn?