I've noticed something similar; it's harder at first, but once I learn to think about something visually/intuitively, I can understand/use/reason with it much b

I've noticed something similar; it's harder at first, but once I learn to think about something visually/intuitively, I can understand/use/reason with it much better than if I'd started with pen and paper. It makes sense that this approach is more effective because if the brain has internalized a concept than it can reason with it subconsciously, but if external paper is required for reasoning about it then such subconscious reasoning is not possible.