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That sounds like hell to me. I don't have an internal monolog. I think in visuals. I am a quiet person. I am a better programmer for it I think. I visualize the

That sounds like hell to me. I don't have an internal monolog. I think in visuals. I am a quiet person. I am a better programmer for it I think. I visualize the structure of a program I am writing and pair programming would also be hell for me.

timlarshanson 7y ago
Agreed. As I've grown older, I spend less time running tight verbal loops in my mind, and more time examining things visually. It seems more externally-oriented, and allows for better sleep.
JohnBerea 7y ago
It's not necessarily either-or. I have an internal monologue for most things but much of my math and programming thoughts are conceptual.
- yetihehe 7y ago
  The same for me. Also I have that internal monologue, but it feels like it's just me talking and it's not constant chatter, I can just not talk inside if I don't want to.
not_kurt_godel 7y ago
I definitely am capable of thinking non-verbally, and I agree it can help with programming. But I just can't wrap my head around not having an internal monologue at all. How did you even write this comment? What was the process that led you to put together this particular series of words, if not 'hearing' them in your own mind as an expression of your thoughts first? Edit: Thinking on this more, I may not have had an internal monologue when I was younger. I recall when I was maybe 11 or 12, I had a sudden, distinct moment of increased self-awareness, after which my internal monologue became my predominant mode of thinking. My first thought was that all of my mental activity up till that time had been in a fog, and that I really hadn't even been a fully conscious being. I crossed some kind of cognitive rubicon which my previous self couldn't even understand. I assumed this was a normal phase of mental development at the time, but now I'm curious if others have had similar experiences.
- mirimir 7y ago
  I spend a lot of my time writing, and when I'm ready, stuff just pours out. I'm always thinking the words as I write them, but there's not lots of intervening internal dialog. Often it's like I have no clue what I'm going to write, until I write it. But maybe that's just that I've trained myself to write my internal dialog down, instead of just thinking it. And when I'm stuck, I definitely talk to myself more. Sometimes to the point that I can't write anything. When I'm really focused on something, on the other hand, it's very hard to stop. I'll be so tired that I can barely think, and yet I can't clean my teeth and wash my face without scribbling notes on scraps of paper. Which, by the way, I dispose of securely ;) Also, it's obvious that there's a lot going on that I'm not at all conscious of. I can stew over stuff for days, or even weeks. And then, out of nowhere, it's there to be written. Or done, as the case may be. ### GIBSON SPOILER BELOW (ROT13) ### V yvxr Crgre Jnggf' qrfpevcgvba bs ubj Inyrevr'f zvaq jbexf va Rpubcenkvn. Onfvpnyyl cnenyyry cebprffvat bs ahzrebhf ernyvgl zbqryf. Nyfb Jvyyvnz Tvofba'f qrfpevcgvba bs Rhavpr'f oenapu cynagf va Ntrapl, juvpu fur qbrfa'g xabj bs hagvy gurl vagrtengr. Fb Inyrevr vf n inzcver, naq Rhavpr vf n uhzna/NV uloevq. Ohg znlor jr jbex ng yrnfg n yvggyr yvxr gung. Naq onpx gb gur cbvag, znlor vagreany qvnybtf, zhfvp naq vzntrf whfg ersyrpg yrnxntr bs qvssrerag zbqhyrf vagb pbafpvbhfarff.
- hoseja 7y ago
  Not the parent, but the general process would be: form a kernel of a thought, this is largely subconscious process. This thought is made up of meaning-and-context-rich symbols specific to my mind. Refine this thought, resolving contradictions and various logical weakpoints. Translate this thought into speech, losing much of the information content because language is a tool created to holler at your fellow hominids as you hunt African game and backstab each other when competing for high value mates.
  - jkhdigital 7y ago
    Language is a way of communicating abstractions from one abstraction machine to another; of course information content is lost, but that is only because it must be transformed and compressed to fit into the narrow channel of audio signals that humans are capable of both producing and detecting.

timlarshanson 7y ago

Agreed. As I've grown older, I spend less time running tight verbal loops in my mind, and more time examining things visually. It seems more externally-oriented, and allows for better sleep.

JohnBerea 7y ago

It's not necessarily either-or. I have an internal monologue for most things but much of my math and programming thoughts are conceptual.

yetihehe 7y ago
The same for me. Also I have that internal monologue, but it feels like it's just me talking and it's not constant chatter, I can just not talk inside if I don't want to.

not_kurt_godel 7y ago

I definitely am capable of thinking non-verbally, and I agree it can help with programming. But I just can't wrap my head around not having an internal monologue at all. How did you even write this comment? What was the process that led you to put together this particular series of words, if not 'hearing' them in your own mind as an expression of your thoughts first? Edit: Thinking on this more, I may not have had an internal monologue when I was younger. I recall when I was maybe 11 or 12, I had a sudden, distinct moment of increased self-awareness, after which my internal monologue became my predominant mode of thinking. My first thought was that all of my mental activity up till that time had been in a fog, and that I really hadn't even been a fully conscious being. I crossed some kind of cognitive rubicon which my previous self couldn't even understand. I assumed this was a normal phase of mental development at the time, but now I'm curious if others have had similar experiences.

mirimir 7y ago
I spend a lot of my time writing, and when I'm ready, stuff just pours out. I'm always thinking the words as I write them, but there's not lots of intervening internal dialog. Often it's like I have no clue what I'm going to write, until I write it. But maybe that's just that I've trained myself to write my internal dialog down, instead of just thinking it. And when I'm stuck, I definitely talk to myself more. Sometimes to the point that I can't write anything. When I'm really focused on something, on the other hand, it's very hard to stop. I'll be so tired that I can barely think, and yet I can't clean my teeth and wash my face without scribbling notes on scraps of paper. Which, by the way, I dispose of securely ;) Also, it's obvious that there's a lot going on that I'm not at all conscious of. I can stew over stuff for days, or even weeks. And then, out of nowhere, it's there to be written. Or done, as the case may be. ### GIBSON SPOILER BELOW (ROT13) ### V yvxr Crgre Jnggf' qrfpevcgvba bs ubj Inyrevr'f zvaq jbexf va Rpubcenkvn. Onfvpnyyl cnenyyry cebprffvat bs ahzrebhf ernyvgl zbqryf. Nyfb Jvyyvnz Tvofba'f qrfpevcgvba bs Rhavpr'f oenapu cynagf va Ntrapl, juvpu fur qbrfa'g xabj bs hagvy gurl vagrtengr. Fb Inyrevr vf n inzcver, naq Rhavpr vf n uhzna/NV uloevq. Ohg znlor jr jbex ng yrnfg n yvggyr yvxr gung. Naq onpx gb gur cbvag, znlor vagreany qvnybtf, zhfvp naq vzntrf whfg ersyrpg yrnxntr bs qvssrerag zbqhyrf vagb pbafpvbhfarff.
hoseja 7y ago
Not the parent, but the general process would be: form a kernel of a thought, this is largely subconscious process. This thought is made up of meaning-and-context-rich symbols specific to my mind. Refine this thought, resolving contradictions and various logical weakpoints. Translate this thought into speech, losing much of the information content because language is a tool created to holler at your fellow hominids as you hunt African game and backstab each other when competing for high value mates.
- jkhdigital 7y ago
  Language is a way of communicating abstractions from one abstraction machine to another; of course information content is lost, but that is only because it must be transformed and compressed to fit into the narrow channel of audio signals that humans are capable of both producing and detecting.