Two and a half years ago

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 24 November 2006 14:54:14

I was asked how I thought.

It had been explained that many people think non-verbally and then put that into words in order to express themselves, and, on the other hand, some people think with their mouths - like the person who says "How should I know what I think until I've heard myself speak?". The quote sounds absurd but it actually summarizes how my mind works a lot of the time - only by putting something in words, and saying it out loud can I actually discover whether I think it or not. I suppose that's why I have a (mostly suppressed) tendency to talk to myself. But recently I've discovered that my thought processes are not always like that. Sometimes, evidently, I think in a completely non-verbal way. Then I find myself saying things which require explanation and discovering that I'm completely unable to supply the explanation because the supplying process can only be done through words. So when I told someone how those supermarket queues that are only for nine items or fewer were a perfect manifestation of the Thatcherite destruction of society and they just looked like I'd gone mad and waited for an explanation, well, my brain started to explain by sending the right words to my mouth but then it realized that it didn't actually have the words - it knew it had the thoughts somewhere but realized that they hadn't actually been turned into words yet. In short I was left still looking slightly mad because I absolutely could not explain my reasoning. I still believe it though.