Your internal monologue

[Meow Mix]

So when you read or just think to yourself, what happens in your head? Is there a voice? Do you see pictures or hear words, or do you just nakedly grasp concepts without anything like that?

Some of my friends have given every answer on this spectrum and that fascinates me. One doesn't hear an internal monologue at all but just "nakedly" understands concepts, many hear an internal monologue voice, some see words as pictures when they're thinking or reading (and one means they literally see a picture of the word, not of the concept).

Personally, I hear an internal monologue as a voice. However, the voice has no properties that I can describe. It isn't a male or a female voice, it isn't high or low pitched, isn't loud or quiet. I have no idea how to describe this because it's so ineffable. It's just a voice that is definitely speaking phonetically but has no qualities.

I have actually done an experiment before where I set alarms on my phone for some future time; and when the alarms went off, I knew I was supposed to evaluate whatever I was just thinking about to see if it was in "spoken" English or something else like "pure concepts." I found that even when not thinking about it, I was still thinking in a spoken English voice (and still, it had no qualities like being gendered or pitched or anything like that).

So I'm curious, what's your internal monologue like?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I have a squeaky voice in my head that isn't quite as deep as my real voice. It's probably a transgender female type of thing.

However, there are some subjects that I'm good at. And some subjects that really get my brain working. My forte in life that involves brain work seems to be 3D graphics programmer. When I think about such things, it's like my thoughts run in parallel as I brainstorm. Whereas normally one might think deeply about one subject - for these more difficult tasks, it's like my mind splits into smaller units, each one solving lesser problems, but in parallel.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

So when you read or just think to yourself, what happens in your head? Is there a voice? Do you see pictures or hear words, or do you just nakedly grasp concepts without anything like that?

And you had the temerity to put a 'Phrasing' meme on someone else's posts...lol

Some of my friends have given every answer on this spectrum and that fascinates me. One doesn't hear an internal monologue at all but just "nakedly" understands concepts, many hear an internal monologue voice, some see words as pictures when they're thinking or reading (and one means they literally see a picture of the word, not of the concept).

Personally, I hear an internal monologue as a voice. However, the voice has no properties that I can describe. It isn't a male or a female voice, it isn't high or low pitched, isn't loud or quiet. I have no idea how to describe this because it's so ineffable. It's just a voice that is definitely speaking phonetically but has no qualities.

I have actually done an experiment before where I set alarms on my phone for some future time; and when the alarms went off, I knew I was supposed to evaluate whatever I was just thinking about to see if it was in "spoken" English or something else like "pure concepts." I found that even when not thinking about it, I was still thinking in a spoken English voice (and still, it had no qualities like being gendered or pitched or anything like that).

So I'm curious, what's your internal monologue like?

I have to admit, I have a hard time even really knowing. I do tend to be pretty hyper-focused at times, so definitely my active train of thought can drown out the various other meanderings my brain takes. I'm a classic for working out a good solution to some sort of complex issue, whilst also completely forgetting my car keys.

Closest I could come to answering is to kind of agree with your perspective. The voice isn't particularly identifiable, nor even a 'voice' n the true sense. But I seem to work through things in a fairly direct order, and I suspect this is more tied to language than anything. I haven't lived long enough in non-English speaking environments to know what would happen to that voice if English suddenly became second choice.

Loosely, I think of the voice as 'mine'. But at the same time, whilst I intellectually know what my voice is like (fairly deep and masculine) it still sounds slightly strange to me when I hear it from a recording or similar.

The other ponderment that crossed my mind whilst reading this is how that voice might change based on the nature of the stimulus. So, I tend to prefer visual methods of learning (although I'm okay with a wall of text after a deep breath), but I couldn't honestly say if the nature of my internal monologue changes when looking at something like a mind-map compared to if I'm reading an overview.

Interesting topic though. Appeals to the old education geek that still lives inside me somewhere.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I have a squeaky voice in my head that isn't quite as deep as my real voice. It's probably a transgender female type of thing.

However, there are some subjects that I'm good at. And some subjects that really get my brain working. My forte in life that involves brain work seems to be 3D graphics programmer. When I think about such things, it's like my thoughts run in parallel as I brainstorm. Whereas normally one might think deeply about one subject - for these more difficult tasks, it's like my mind splits into smaller units, each one solving lesser problems, but in parallel.

Your brain is multi-threaded...lol

 

[Martin]

So when you read or just think to yourself, what happens in your head? Is there a voice? Do you see pictures or hear words, or do you just nakedly grasp concepts without anything like that?

Some of my friends have given every answer on this spectrum and that fascinates me. One doesn't hear an internal monologue at all but just "nakedly" understands concepts, many hear an internal monologue voice, some see words as pictures when they're thinking or reading (and one means they literally see a picture of the word, not of the concept).

Personally, I hear an internal monologue as a voice. However, the voice has no properties that I can describe. It isn't a male or a female voice, it isn't high or low pitched, isn't loud or quiet. I have no idea how to describe this because it's so ineffable. It's just a voice that is definitely speaking phonetically but has no qualities.

I have actually done an experiment before where I set alarms on my phone for some future time; and when the alarms went off, I knew I was supposed to evaluate whatever I was just thinking about to see if it was in "spoken" English or something else like "pure concepts." I found that even when not thinking about it, I was still thinking in a spoken English voice (and still, it had no qualities like being gendered or pitched or anything like that).

So I'm curious, what's your internal monologue like?

Interesting question. It "sounds" like my normal speaking voice. So for me, talking is like thinking out loud.
I imagine Scottish people think with a Scottish accent (for example), but I've never actually asked anybody. I can't imagine a Scottish person thinking in the Queen's English though.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Your brain is multi-threaded...lol

Not exactly. A better analogy would be that it would go from like being a CPU, to switching over to being the Arithmetic Logic Units of a Graphics Processing Unit instead of a CPU.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Not exactly. A better analogy would be that it would go from like being a CPU, to switching over to being the Arithmetic Logic Units of a Graphics Processing Unit instead of a CPU.

Sheesh, cut me some slack. I work in IT, but I'm a manager, not an actual smart person.

 

[Debater Slayer]

For me, it's often a voice that is vaguely similar to my spoken one, often accompanied by images of myself or someone else speaking, performing a specific task or activity I'm thinking of, etc. I have a strong tendency to draw detailed pictures in my head, to the point where, for instance, I sometimes solve some simpler mathematical equations by closing my eyes and "writing" them in my head without needing a pen and paper.

One thing that really fascinated me when I first realized it was happening was that once I reached a specific level of fluency in English, a lot of my inner monologues started happening in English and not just Arabic. For example, when I write posts on RF or chat in English, I think almost entirely in English and don't need to first think in Arabic and then translate to English anymore. This has greatly sped up my ability to think of replies here or just generally command the language, and I believe a lot of it has come from engaging in real-time chats as well as needing to think fast enough to keep up with my typing speed.

On a related note, my best friend sent me this a while ago, and I was surprised to find out it was a thing: Aphantasia - Wikipedia

Human diversity never ceases to amaze me!

 

[Martin]

For me, it's often a voice that is vaguely similar to my spoken one, often accompanied by images of myself or someone else speaking, performing a specific task or activity I'm thinking of, etc. I have a strong tendency to draw detailed pictures in my head, to the point where, for instance, I sometimes solve some simpler mathematical equations by closing my eyes and "writing" them in my head without needing a pen and paper.

One thing that really fascinated me when I first realized it was happening was that once I reached a specific level of fluency in English, a lot of my inner monologues started happening in English and not just Arabic. For example, when I write posts on RF or chat in English, I think almost entirely in English and don't need to first think in Arabic and then translate to English anymore. This has greatly sped up my ability to think of replies here or just generally command the language, and I believe a lot of it has come from engaging in real-time chats as well as needing to think fast enough to keep up with my typing speed.

On a related note, my best friend sent me this a while ago, and I was surprised to find out it was a thing: Aphantasia - Wikipedia

Human diversity never ceases to amaze me!

Interesting. When I was in the building trade I would plan out jobs with a sequence of mental images. It was much quicker than thinking about it.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Interesting. When I was in the building trade I would plan out jobs with a sequence of mental images. It was much quicker than thinking about it.

I did get to a point of commonly thinking about decisions and branches. I was spending a lot of time both writing up business processes, as well as programming (which has a similar logic structure).
Perhaps we can train our brain through daily use to have this internal monologue in different ways?

 

[Meow Mix]

And you had the temerity to put a 'Phrasing' meme on someone else's posts...lol

SIR I will have you know that I nakedly grasp whatever I like! (OK now you can post Archer and phrasing at me)

I have to admit, I have a hard time even really knowing. I do tend to be pretty hyper-focused at times, so definitely my active train of thought can drown out the various other meanderings my brain takes. I'm a classic for working out a good solution to some sort of complex issue, whilst also completely forgetting my car keys.

Closest I could come to answering is to kind of agree with your perspective. The voice isn't particularly identifiable, nor even a 'voice' n the true sense. But I seem to work through things in a fairly direct order, and I suspect this is more tied to language than anything. I haven't lived long enough in non-English speaking environments to know what would happen to that voice if English suddenly became second choice.

Loosely, I think of the voice as 'mine'. But at the same time, whilst I intellectually know what my voice is like (fairly deep and masculine) it still sounds slightly strange to me when I hear it from a recording or similar.

The other ponderment that crossed my mind whilst reading this is how that voice might change based on the nature of the stimulus. So, I tend to prefer visual methods of learning (although I'm okay with a wall of text after a deep breath), but I couldn't honestly say if the nature of my internal monologue changes when looking at something like a mind-map compared to if I'm reading an overview.

Interesting topic though. Appeals to the old education geek that still lives inside me somewhere.

Maybe you should run an experiment like I did. Set an alarm for a couple days out and when it goes off, immediately recall what you were just thinking about and whether it was in a voice, in pictures, or whatever else.

I also wondered whether the fact that I've been aphonic for 15 something years mattered in terms of my internal monologue not having a tone or pitch or anything. But at least one other person I was in a conversation about this with also had a toneless/pitchless internal monologue, so maybe not. I am interested in what people say about this.

 

[Meow Mix]

For me, it's often a voice that is vaguely similar to my spoken one, often accompanied by images of myself or someone else speaking, performing a specific task or activity I'm thinking of, etc. I have a strong tendency to draw detailed pictures in my head, to the point where, for instance, I sometimes solve some simpler mathematical equations by closing my eyes and "writing" them in my head without needing a pen and paper.

One thing that really fascinated me when I first realized it was happening was that once I reached a specific level of fluency in English, a lot of my inner monologues started happening in English and not just Arabic. For example, when I write posts on RF or chat in English, I think almost entirely in English and don't need to first think in Arabic and then translate to English anymore. This has greatly sped up my ability to think of replies here or just generally command the language, and I believe a lot of it has come from engaging in real-time chats as well as needing to think fast enough to keep up with my typing speed.

On a related note, my best friend sent me this a while ago, and I was surprised to find out it was a thing: Aphantasia - Wikipedia

Human diversity never ceases to amaze me!

Ooh I need to show this to my friend that mentioned they were incapable of forming moving images. I wonder if it's a spectrum. He said he could imagine still images, but not moving ones.

My images are very realistic, fluid, and lucid. It's hard for me to imagine not being able to do this.

 

[Heyo]

So when you read or just think to yourself, what happens in your head? Is there a voice? Do you see pictures or hear words, or do you just nakedly grasp concepts without anything like that?

Some of my friends have given every answer on this spectrum and that fascinates me. One doesn't hear an internal monologue at all but just "nakedly" understands concepts, many hear an internal monologue voice, some see words as pictures when they're thinking or reading (and one means they literally see a picture of the word, not of the concept).

Personally, I hear an internal monologue as a voice. However, the voice has no properties that I can describe. It isn't a male or a female voice, it isn't high or low pitched, isn't loud or quiet. I have no idea how to describe this because it's so ineffable. It's just a voice that is definitely speaking phonetically but has no qualities.

I have actually done an experiment before where I set alarms on my phone for some future time; and when the alarms went off, I knew I was supposed to evaluate whatever I was just thinking about to see if it was in "spoken" English or something else like "pure concepts." I found that even when not thinking about it, I was still thinking in a spoken English voice (and still, it had no qualities like being gendered or pitched or anything like that).

So I'm curious, what's your internal monologue like?

My inner monologue is multi media, though mostly auditory. The voice is how I'd like my voice to be, deep and clear, think David Attenborough. At least the English voice. The German voice is a bit higher pitched.
When applicable there are also visual elements, maps, graphs, 3D and 4D models.

 

[Debater Slayer]

Interesting. When I was in the building trade I would plan out jobs with a sequence of mental images. It was much quicker than thinking about it.

That makes sense. I have, perhaps similarly to you, found that when doing things like rearranging stuff around a room or thinking of what to wear before going out, mental images are generally more prominent in my thought process than bare words are.

Ooh I need to show this to my friend that mentioned they were incapable of forming moving images. I wonder if it's a spectrum. He said he could imagine still images, but not moving ones.

My images are very realistic, fluid, and lucid. It's hard for me to imagine not being able to do this.

I don't know whether it's a spectrum either, but that's a really good question!

It astonished me when I read this list of people with aphantasia and saw that some artists and authors had it. I don't even know how they manage to do what they do without being able to form mental images. It's mind-boggling.

 

[sayak83]

So when you read or just think to yourself, what happens in your head? Is there a voice? Do you see pictures or hear words, or do you just nakedly grasp concepts without anything like that?

Some of my friends have given every answer on this spectrum and that fascinates me. One doesn't hear an internal monologue at all but just "nakedly" understands concepts, many hear an internal monologue voice, some see words as pictures when they're thinking or reading (and one means they literally see a picture of the word, not of the concept).

Personally, I hear an internal monologue as a voice. However, the voice has no properties that I can describe. It isn't a male or a female voice, it isn't high or low pitched, isn't loud or quiet. I have no idea how to describe this because it's so ineffable. It's just a voice that is definitely speaking phonetically but has no qualities.

I have actually done an experiment before where I set alarms on my phone for some future time; and when the alarms went off, I knew I was supposed to evaluate whatever I was just thinking about to see if it was in "spoken" English or something else like "pure concepts." I found that even when not thinking about it, I was still thinking in a spoken English voice (and still, it had no qualities like being gendered or pitched or anything like that).

So I'm curious, what's your internal monologue like?

I do not have an inner monologue. Sometimes some images or song-tunes flit by, or a few words. But its a relaxing breezy kind of stillness in there...unless I am planning to daydream of course (in particularly boring conferences or meetings).

 

[Heyo]

Ooh I need to show this to my friend that mentioned they were incapable of forming moving images. I wonder if it's a spectrum. He said he could imagine still images, but not moving ones.

My images are very realistic, fluid, and lucid. It's hard for me to imagine not being able to do this.

A friend of mine refuses to master RPG sessions because she lacks spacial imagination. And I have seen people being totally lost because they had no inner map (or it was very inaccurate).
Otoh, my imagination is also limited. I can't play chess blind for more than a couple moves. 32 entities are above my capability.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Really none. I have my things well sorted out.

 

[Spirit of Light]

So when you read or just think to yourself, what happens in your head? Is there a voice? Do you see pictures or hear words, or do you just nakedly grasp concepts without anything like that?

Some of my friends have given every answer on this spectrum and that fascinates me. One doesn't hear an internal monologue at all but just "nakedly" understands concepts, many hear an internal monologue voice, some see words as pictures when they're thinking or reading (and one means they literally see a picture of the word, not of the concept).

Personally, I hear an internal monologue as a voice. However, the voice has no properties that I can describe. It isn't a male or a female voice, it isn't high or low pitched, isn't loud or quiet. I have no idea how to describe this because it's so ineffable. It's just a voice that is definitely speaking phonetically but has no qualities.

I have actually done an experiment before where I set alarms on my phone for some future time; and when the alarms went off, I knew I was supposed to evaluate whatever I was just thinking about to see if it was in "spoken" English or something else like "pure concepts." I found that even when not thinking about it, I was still thinking in a spoken English voice (and still, it had no qualities like being gendered or pitched or anything like that).

So I'm curious, what's your internal monologue like?

My inner voice has all the aspects you mention

 

[ChristineM]

So when you read or just think to yourself, what happens in your head? Is there a voice? Do you see pictures or hear words, or do you just nakedly grasp concepts without anything like that?

Some of my friends have given every answer on this spectrum and that fascinates me. One doesn't hear an internal monologue at all but just "nakedly" understands concepts, many hear an internal monologue voice, some see words as pictures when they're thinking or reading (and one means they literally see a picture of the word, not of the concept).

Personally, I hear an internal monologue as a voice. However, the voice has no properties that I can describe. It isn't a male or a female voice, it isn't high or low pitched, isn't loud or quiet. I have no idea how to describe this because it's so ineffable. It's just a voice that is definitely speaking phonetically but has no qualities.

I have actually done an experiment before where I set alarms on my phone for some future time; and when the alarms went off, I knew I was supposed to evaluate whatever I was just thinking about to see if it was in "spoken" English or something else like "pure concepts." I found that even when not thinking about it, I was still thinking in a spoken English voice (and still, it had no qualities like being gendered or pitched or anything like that).

So I'm curious, what's your internal monologue like?

Mostly unthinking comprehension sometimes with images, sometimes with voice over depending on the situation. The images show up when concentrating on something, The voiceover tends to be most prominent in extreme situations.

The images start in black/grey/white, with a little thought i could add colour. Very handy when i was working.

The voice is sharp and concise, often barking something like "that's right" or "you stupid idiot"

The voice kind of concerns me because i do a lot of conversation/reassurance with a schizophrenic who hears multiple voices so hearing my voice sometimes makes me think it's an illness...

 

[Meow Mix]

Mostly unthinking comprehension sometimes with images, sometimes with voice over depending on the situation. The images show up when concentrating on something, The voiceover tends to be most prominent in extreme situations.

The images start in black/grey/white, with a little thought i could add colour. Very handy when i was working.

The voice is sharp and concise, often barking something like "that's right" or "you stupid idiot"

The voice kind of concerns me because i do a lot of conversation/reassurance with a schizophrenic who hears multiple voices so hearing my voice sometimes makes me think it's an illness...

I don't think it's worrisome, it seems at least like a lot of people have an internal monologue voice with various characteristics, even if not all