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Visual thinking (different from visual learning)

Unkindloving

Lungs & Lips Locked
Joined
Dec 10, 2009
Messages
2,963
MBTI Type
ENFJ
Enneagram
4w5
I think visually most of the time. A lot of the time my mind will go on some visual metaphor tangent. It does it's own think, somewhat like an INFP's, i'd imagine. From there, i can usually verbalize what i'm thinking in response. However, other people will have to decipher it through my metaphors. :laugh:

I don't need accompanying pictures and such, but i do prefer them above all else.
 

onemoretime

Dreaming the life
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
4,455
MBTI Type
3h50
The nice thing is that it makes word searches a breeze - I'm not trying to read words, I'm trying to find a symbol that matches the one on the list.
 

Cheshire Grin

New member
Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
54
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
5
When reading stories I see things quite vividly. I used to be a very 'visual' reader as in I would remember and experience events through a series of images but for some reason lately I've begun to pay more attention to the words being said and the other language aspects.

When I was younger I always thought that everybody saw things in images but once I was in a discussion about a book (Lamming's In the Castle of my Skin) and people were talking about how difficult it was for them to read because of the abundance of imagery in it and how they simply couldn't process the words into those images.

When it comes to thinking about ideas though, I think in words. Sometimes I see the words scroll across a blank space in my 'mind' like how you would read a teleprompter. I used to write poems and stories and the way I would write them was to close my eyes and to actually be in a particular scene. Sometimes I would become so immersed that I could 'feel' and 'smell' the things that were in a scene. If I don't have a picture I can't write creatively, simple as that.
 

proximo

New member
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
584
I think in pictures. In fact, I notice that it takes a lot of cognitive resources to think in terms of language. I started talking very late, but learned to read very quickly. Even to this day, I generally don't sound out words in my head when I'm reading them, instead processing the information visually.

The upside is that I process info pretty quickly. When I'm asked a question, I start seeing pictures in my head, and can make connections and come to conclusions based upon these images (helps a lot in trivia contests). Likewise, it helps with my sense of direction, because I keep a mental map in my head.

The downside is that it's going to take me several stabs at doing something if you give me text without accompanying photos, or instruct via speech. I'll often respond to these commands to the effect of "I don't know what that's supposed to look like", even when it's been demonstrated. The difference is that, of course, I know what it looks like objectively, but have no clue how it looks subjectively. This can be very frustrating.

Anyone else like this?

Yeah, I could pretty much have written all of that about myself.

It's a sort of less extreme version of what Daniel Tammet does with numbers. He's a high functioning autistic who literally sees every single number as a unique shape and colour, which mutates as it's put through mathematical processes. I don't get that with numbers, but with pretty much everything else :shock:
 
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the state i am in

Active member
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
2,475
MBTI Type
infj
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
i think this is really interesting.

my s.o. is almost entirely visual. i am very auditory. i rely on words for much of my thinking. i don't use my eyes enough in everyday life. it's somewhat of a shock when something visual catches my attention.
 

neptunesnet

man-made
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
1,228
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
5&4
Instinctual Variant
sx
Yeah, I remember I when taking an exam and needing to remember a piece of information, I would picture the actual page it was written on and how it looked. Does anyone else do this?

:yes:

Absolutely. Particularly in subjects like history, english, and bio. I always had to read the material in the textbooks (even if not assigned) and I had to read it sequentially because it helped me with test-taking. If I could remember what page each topic was on, then I was good.

I think most people I know irl would guess me to be more verbally-inclined, but it's only because I visualize words before I say and write them. I couldn't even count how many times I've stumbled with a word, was corrected, and then followed my mistake with "Well, I can spell it." It's kind of the same thing with artists and bands I like. I recognize them by picturing their name in my head because I've likely read about them on blogs and in music archives, but to hear the name spoken throws me off sometimes. I've told a friend I had not heard of Vetiver before, to give an example, and realized when the music start playing that I actually had. I'd never actually pronounced the word aloud before. To me, the sound of a word can be different from the look of it (????). I also think this is why I've never been as proficient in foreign languages as I want to be. I can read and write in French and German quite well, but I still have a hard time speaking in either language conversationally. I have to see the words before I can say them.


EDIT: I also identify well with the OP. Very cool thread.
 
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