I have no inner monologue and I have aphantasia (can’t see images in my mind without tremendous effort).
I can think in detail about what I’m going to say, but at least for me it feels more like “motion” in my brain. When it comes to things like calculations or decisions, it’s like waiting for an old browser to load - there’s something going on in the back but I only have access to that information after a decision is made.
I used to be in therapy and “what was your line of thought in that moment?” Is a difficult question for two different reasons depending on the situation. In some cases, I may literally not know why I did something. In other cases, the level of consideration was so deep that putting into words is a Herculean task.
I’ve read online that it’s possible to force an inner monologue by training your brain to work more slowly and intentionally, but I have no interest in that
Genuienly, thank you for explaining to me what … it is like.
I didn’t mean to be rude, putting things the way that I did, but, in retrospect, … seems like I was.
So for that, I apologize.
Does… like what I am doing right now, typing out a sentence before hitting ‘post’… does that I guess ‘feel’ different than this kind of “motion” you describe?
Of course, the physical act of engaging your digits to actually type is one thing, as would be literally writing down a note…
Sorry, I am just… at a total loss to attempt to comprehend this at a level beyond … well the closest analogy I can think of is martial arts.
I trained for 10 years, got a black belt, and somewhere around year 7ish… it stopped being somewhat like RD Jr Sherlock Holmes logically narrating his own plan in his head… and became much more ‘instinct’, maybe like the ‘motion’ you describe… processing is going on, I could maybe give you a description of 30 seconds or a minute after a very short bout, but … semantic processing is simply too slow, at a certain point, ‘instinct’ takes over.
Now I don’t know if that sounds crazy or not, but that’s my … closest thing I can think of to what you are describing.
Another possible comparison is myself taking 3 years of Spanish.
By year 3, I was actually ‘thinking’ in Spanish, when hearing or trying to formulate Spanish. Whereas before that, English. Now that I’m significantly out of practice of that, I no longer ‘think’ in Spanish.
Maybe that is somewhat analagous to the effort you would have to undertake to have an inner monologue in any language?
I don’t have an inner monolog and I am still able to think about words. My thoughts are not comprised of words, but this does not hinder my ability to decide which ones to say before I say them.
same. my thoughts, when they have any form, are more tactile than anything else. i can’t visualize (have aphantasia), but still can move things around to ‘feel’ the shape of things internally, especially when trying to figure something out. it’s like doing a 3d puzzle but in the dark.
most of the time it is silent in here and the tactile stuff doesn’t happen, though.
that’s interesting. i don’t think i ever noticed this before, but yes. my eyes unfocus and i don’t see externally, when i am forcing an internal thought process to be ‘visible’. huh.
No, this is actually a really interesting topic regarding cognitive development, neuroscience, and ‘what even is consciousness?’
Like, apparently, around a 1/3 to 1/2 of ‘normal’ people… don’t have an inner monologue.
They don’t have an experience of their own inner thoughts as … semantic sentences, an inner voice.
Presumably, such people would literally not be capable of thinking in detail about what they say, before they say it.
Or, maybe there is some… other kind of inner langauge of some other form?
???
I have no inner monologue and I have aphantasia (can’t see images in my mind without tremendous effort).
I can think in detail about what I’m going to say, but at least for me it feels more like “motion” in my brain. When it comes to things like calculations or decisions, it’s like waiting for an old browser to load - there’s something going on in the back but I only have access to that information after a decision is made.
I used to be in therapy and “what was your line of thought in that moment?” Is a difficult question for two different reasons depending on the situation. In some cases, I may literally not know why I did something. In other cases, the level of consideration was so deep that putting into words is a Herculean task.
I’ve read online that it’s possible to force an inner monologue by training your brain to work more slowly and intentionally, but I have no interest in that
Genuienly, thank you for explaining to me what … it is like.
I didn’t mean to be rude, putting things the way that I did, but, in retrospect, … seems like I was.
So for that, I apologize.
Does… like what I am doing right now, typing out a sentence before hitting ‘post’… does that I guess ‘feel’ different than this kind of “motion” you describe?
Of course, the physical act of engaging your digits to actually type is one thing, as would be literally writing down a note…
Sorry, I am just… at a total loss to attempt to comprehend this at a level beyond … well the closest analogy I can think of is martial arts.
I trained for 10 years, got a black belt, and somewhere around year 7ish… it stopped being somewhat like RD Jr Sherlock Holmes logically narrating his own plan in his head… and became much more ‘instinct’, maybe like the ‘motion’ you describe… processing is going on, I could maybe give you a description of 30 seconds or a minute after a very short bout, but … semantic processing is simply too slow, at a certain point, ‘instinct’ takes over.
Now I don’t know if that sounds crazy or not, but that’s my … closest thing I can think of to what you are describing.
Another possible comparison is myself taking 3 years of Spanish.
By year 3, I was actually ‘thinking’ in Spanish, when hearing or trying to formulate Spanish. Whereas before that, English. Now that I’m significantly out of practice of that, I no longer ‘think’ in Spanish.
Maybe that is somewhat analagous to the effort you would have to undertake to have an inner monologue in any language?
I don’t have an inner monolog and I am still able to think about words. My thoughts are not comprised of words, but this does not hinder my ability to decide which ones to say before I say them.
same. my thoughts, when they have any form, are more tactile than anything else. i can’t visualize (have aphantasia), but still can move things around to ‘feel’ the shape of things internally, especially when trying to figure something out. it’s like doing a 3d puzzle but in the dark.
most of the time it is silent in here and the tactile stuff doesn’t happen, though.
Hey I just posted about my head empty experience too.
I wonder if it’s like this for you too - when you forcibly visualize something like you described, does it “disable” your eyes?
For me, when I have to consciously imagine something it effectively replaces my actual vision whether my eyes are open or not
that’s interesting. i don’t think i ever noticed this before, but yes. my eyes unfocus and i don’t see externally, when i am forcing an internal thought process to be ‘visible’. huh.