Thinking Process with Completely Visual Image

[ambelamba]

Are there a lot of people whose thinking process is mostly made of very visual images? Not only that, can they recreate the other sensations through their brains by thinking about them?

I was told that such individuals are very exceptional. But I am not sure.

[Hugh]

I think most people can form mental images in their mind's eye. With some people the images can be stronger and last longer.

As I thought about the questions, I went through each of my senses to see how vivid I could mentally imagine things...

I could imagine "feeling" rough sandpaper as I ran my fingers over it. I could "hear" the voice of my wife calling me. I could "taste" a handful of peanuts as I imagined chewing them. I could "see" a space shuttle orbiting high above with the Earth below. I could "smell" a dozen fresh cut roses in a vase.

One of my interests is how people navigate their surroundings, and in my discussions I have learned that there are some people with the inability to make a mental map of their surroundings. They have what is called Developmental Topographical Disorientation (DTD). Through discussion, I have found that they are unable to imagine any picture in their mind's eye, or even a spatial location for it.

For me, it is easy to imagine holding a basketball in front of myself, then throwing it upwards and away from me, and I can "see" and "spatially sense" it bouncing over and over again, less and less each time as it moves away from me, then finally rolling to a stop about 40 feet away.

[Frank Merton]

My mental maps never coincide with what the compass says. We need some sort of built-in direction finder other than the dead reckoning we tend to do.

[lightly]

How else can one think? My thinking is always in imagery.... I can visualize real or imagined objects in my mind and examine familiar objects in detail.

Speech or written words are sort of a combination of imagined sight and sound for me. I vaguely see and, more clearly, Hear the words, in my mind, as they pass by.

If you think about a sound.. aren't you visualizing it? I do.

( I've suffered brain trauma and damage in the past .. so i'm not sure mine works like most people's ... but , it seems to work Better than average! )

[TSS]

I am having trouble of thinking of something that doesn't incorporate images in my thought process......everything for me is a serious of images, immediately, as the thought proceeds the images become more frequent and quicker....I don't know else to think

[SilentHunter]

Are there a lot of people whose thinking process is mostly made of very visual images? Not only that, can they recreate the other sensations through their brains by thinking about them?

I was told that such individuals are very exceptional. But I am not sure.

Men are usually mostly visual + a little audio

Women are usually feeling + a little audio.

With someone individuals they don't fit in with their genders common thinking style.

You are the common man.

[Beany]

I spent some time tutoring kids with learning disabilities, and one of the methods we used to help kids comprehend and remember what they read is called visualizing and vivifying. The kids would read a sentence and then would be asked a series of questions about it, i.e. what time of day? Is there any noise? What colors are there? This helps them build a "picture" in their minds, which increases memory and understanding. The beginning process was with single words. They'd say a word, and touch a piece of colored felt. The color and tactile/kinectic element provided the kids with a "hook" on which they could hang a word. From there we progressed to a sentence, then to a short paragraph, then to a multi-paragraph story. So some people have to be taught the skill of creating a mental picture; it's important to remembering and understanding and then to critical thinking.

There are some things that I am unable to picture in my mind, that I can't visualize and vivify. OK, one of them is the ability to instantly tell right from left. I usually have to move or tap a finger of my right hand, without using kinectics my mind goes absolutely blank. Used to have the same problem with simple math in grammar school. I couldn't visualize 8 + 3 = 11, so I would start with 8 and tap my finger 3 times and count each tap. I was at least 30 before I no longer needed to do it. So I finally figured out I wasn't stupid, it's just the way my brain works, and have developed work arounds to cope with it. This is probably far more than anyone wanted to hear about, but I was fascinated with how well the V&V, as it is called, worked with kids with learning disabilities. And it was such a joy to help them acquire the skills they needed to build a healthier self-image and make education a more enjoyable and valuable experience for them, instead a miserable experience they had to endure.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Beany

[lightly]

There are some things that I am unable to picture in my mind, that I can't visualize and vivify. OK, one of them is the ability to instantly tell right from left. I usually have to move or tap a finger of my right hand, without using kinectics my mind goes absolutely blank.

Your entire post was interesting Beany, i just selected this part^ because my wife does the exact same thing. She also must Move her hand to determine right from left.

She often has a tendency to perceive many things backward too. In her world push might mean pull...and so on and on. Luckily she doesn't ever seem to GO on red!

[spacecowboy342]

I have trouble comprehending ideas if I can't visualize them

[ambelamba]

I spent some time tutoring kids with learning disabilities, and one of the methods we used to help kids comprehend and remember what they read is called visualizing and vivifying. The kids would read a sentence and then would be asked a series of questions about it, i.e. what time of day? Is there any noise? What colors are there? This helps them build a "picture" in their minds, which increases memory and understanding. The beginning process was with single words. They'd say a word, and touch a piece of colored felt. The color and tactile/kinectic element provided the kids with a "hook" on which they could hang a word. From there we progressed to a sentence, then to a short paragraph, then to a multi-paragraph story. So some people have to be taught the skill of creating a mental picture; it's important to remembering and understanding and then to critical thinking.

There are some things that I am unable to picture in my mind, that I can't visualize and vivify. OK, one of them is the ability to instantly tell right from left. I usually have to move or tap a finger of my right hand, without using kinectics my mind goes absolutely blank. Used to have the same problem with simple math in grammar school. I couldn't visualize 8 + 3 = 11, so I would start with 8 and tap my finger 3 times and count each tap. I was at least 30 before I no longer needed to do it. So I finally figured out I wasn't stupid, it's just the way my brain works, and have developed work arounds to cope with it. This is probably far more than anyone wanted to hear about, but I was fascinated with how well the V&V, as it is called, worked with kids with learning disabilities. And it was such a joy to help them acquire the skills they needed to build a healthier self-image and make education a more enjoyable and valuable experience for them, instead a miserable experience they had to endure.

To me, at least 70% of my thought process is made of vivid visual images, sounds, and imagined tactile sensations. And creating mental images is incredibly easy and doesn't need any effort.

This is why I can skip the thumbnail sketches when I create an artwork. But it can be counterproductive because you can't be meticulous as you should be.

[Tr14n913]

i do get a lot of visual images but those mainly go side by side with a specific scenario

whereas at moments when i really need to think about a situation i just go with my voice,

when at ease i only go visual, i guess it depends how your mind is and what your point of views are....

[Beany]

Your entire post was interesting Beany, i just selected this part^ because my wife does the exact same thing. She also must Move her hand to determine right from left.

She often has a tendency to perceive many things backward too. In her world push might mean pull...and so on and on. Luckily she doesn't ever seem to GO on red!

It's a minor learning disability, I think, as is not being able to visualize certain things. That's why when I'm putting something together, I always look at the illustrations, because I can't visualize any step in the process. Until I worked with autistic & ADDHD kids, I didn't know how important being able to visualize is to the learning & comprehension process. The push pull thing, I do that too. It works just like the right/left action for me, as does turning a key the right way in a lock.