What people mean when they think in concepts?

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When I asked someone this, they say they don’t think of words when they do something like turn the knob of a door to open it. But I think in words and images, and I also don’t think of words when I open a door, because to me it isn’t a thought at all. But is that along the lines of how someone that says they think in concepts thinks? You think about every action you’re doing, just not in words? If there are no words, is it all images, or what actually \*is\* a concept to you?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Speaking for myself:

I sometimes think in words – especially if what I’m thinking about IS words – like what I’m about to write, or planning something to say, or so on.

However, when dealing with things that involve moving things or that exist in space, I see what amounts to a wireframe of the thing. It can be a lot hard to describe this; because it kinda works in four dimensions: I can play with a few 4d shapes in my head. I also see maps this way: my head has a low-accuracy phone map (that updates as I move).

The hardest part to put into words is my emotions: they’re colors and shapes and feelings more than words – and while I’ve learned the words to approximate what I’m feeling; it doesn’t always feel like a perfect match. Like, how do you put into one word “my feelings are uncomfortable hot like having your brain and chest over a fire for a little too long but my arms and legs are heavy like trying to move them through water or maybe mud”? (that’s frustration/running out of patience – and specifically when I don’t feel listened to by people who should be listening to me).

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