My dear friend, Patience, asked after me a question regarding my last post. I began typing out a reply and realized my thoughts might be better shared as a separate post.
Patience asked, "So how does your mind work then? When you read the words petroleum jelly, what happens?"
I first read her questions before my second cup of coffee, so I had to step back, drink more coffee, and let the questions swirl in my head a bit. I have now probably given it too much thought, but I think I can answer the question fairly well.
I have sort of an inner monologue that begins in my head after reading the words petroleum jelly. May I just add here that I so wish we had a "better" choice of subjects to discuss. I hope the google monsters don't find me through some strange search because of our discussions of this awful substance. Bless my husband's heart for sharing his example with me.
So my monologue goes something like this:
Petroleum jelly. That's the same as Vaseline. Of course Vaseline is just a brand name. Petroleum jelly would be the generic - the actual product. I wonder why I call petroleum jelly Vaseline when I don't do that for every product. Tissues are tissues - not Kleenex. Petroleum jelly? No. It's Vaseline.
Somewhere along the way a picture of a container might creep into my head, but for me it is all about the words and what the words mean. It's not very colorful, nor is it very entertaining. I have to will my brain to form a picture. Otherwise it's just bland words.
Oddly enough I can picture concepts from beginning to end, but I either see them as completed or a series of tasks that take me from beginning to end. Again, no pictures - more like a mental outline. I'm jealous, I think. I would like to have pictures.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
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1 comments:
Wow, how interesting and intriguing. I must say I mostly don't envy you. It's so much quicker, easier, and prettier to think in pictures! On the flip side, it can be hard translating those pictures into words, which is why I'm terrible at verbal conversations and why my dd hates narrating. Sometimes, when I'm tired, I'll go to talk about the washing machine but I'll use the word "fridge" instead because I'm looking at the fridge at the time! So I think altogether you probably have an easier time of thinking than I do.
Thanks for answering my question. I can't say I can imagine what it's like, because my mind boggles at the thought of it, but I am fascinated.
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