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The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

nytimes.com

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Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. At first it was weird, but then I got used to it. The thing is, nowadays I read and write much more in English than in my native tongue, so there's an ever-increasing amount of things I default to thinking about in English. I also tend to switch languages on the fly in my thoughts, depending on which one "feels" better at any given moment.

Exactly. The turning point where I started thinking in English increasingly was when I stopped watching TV shows and movies dubbed and went looking for the original version instead.

Yeah.

Curiously, I noticed that I still prefer to have subtitles on original versions. Not in my native tongue, but in English. Besides not missing some unintelligible dialogues, I found it reduces the feeling of cognitive load for me when watching a movie.

Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#123
One benefit that I didn't see mentioned is the ability to get somewhere unhindered. If I need to get from point A to point B at work, and I don't have time to be impeded by someone in the hallway, I carry a clipboard and talk to myself. Other people are hesitant to interrupt me.

Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#124
A perspective from the political world: When I arrived as a junior staffer on Capitol Hill, I noticed the lower you were on the totem pole, the more you walked with your head held up. The more seniority you gained, the more you walked with your head down, to avoid talking to other people. Chiefs of Staff would walk quickly, looking at the floor. Interns and Staff Assistants walked proudly with their heads held high.

I also found this trick worked very well if I wanted to go places I wasn't supposed to be. Just pull out my blackberry, pretend to be engrossed in something important, powerwalk, and I could go just about anywhere unchallenged.

Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#125
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider posting and answering yourself. I found myself searching for the same problem months later and once I found my own answer.

Hehe, has happened to me as well. Also when I kept updating my blog posts about stupid problems that gooogle didn't answer seemed to attract some audience.

More than once I've had a problem, found the solution on stackoverflow, clicked up-vote and then got "you cannot vote on your own answer."

Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#126

I talk to myself all the time, especially when hiking or out for a walk. This can get embarrassing when you run into another person around a turn. If you are with your friend and talking, well you're just talking to your friend. When it's just you .. that must be a crazy person (unless you've got a flashing bluetooth headset or a phone in your hand I guess). I usually get real silent and then slowly pick back up as I…

Reminds me of a classic Achewood: http://achewood.com/index.php?date=06072006

Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#127

A perspective from the political world: When I arrived as a junior staffer on Capitol Hill, I noticed the lower you were on the totem pole, the more you walked with your head held up. The more seniority you gained, the more you walked with your head down, to avoid talking to other people. Chiefs of Staff would walk quickly, looking at the floor. Interns and Staff Assistants walked proudly with their heads held high.…

Sounds like a sad world.

Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#128
post #20

Japanese train drivers have a system that's called Pointing and Calling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_and_calling http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pointing-and-calling-ja... Visual and audio feedback is great for your brain. For me, I often need to make a 200mL bottle for my child, and each scoop of powder makes only 20mL - meaning that I need to put 10 scoops in. Especially when I have a crying baby it'…

While unfortunately not common in trains across the world, this idea is used in other safety-critical applications.

The one that comes to mind is using defribulators. If you had a good CPR / EFR instructor, they will emphasize not just calling "clear" (like on TV), but physically sweeping your hands over the body head to toe while saying "all clear".

I did my training with 3 guys who collectively had about 60 years of EMT experience in New York City. Like most students, I assume, I sort of half-assed the sweep and was about to push the button. One of the guys grabbed my arm, looked at me, and said "Learn to do it correctly now, cause if you ever have to do it for real when shit is crazy and your heart is beating like mad, it can make the difference between helping one injured person vs creating a second one."

Clearly the lesson stuck with me. :)

Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#129

A perspective from the political world: When I arrived as a junior staffer on Capitol Hill, I noticed the lower you were on the totem pole, the more you walked with your head held up. The more seniority you gained, the more you walked with your head down, to avoid talking to other people. Chiefs of Staff would walk quickly, looking at the floor. Interns and Staff Assistants walked proudly with their heads held high.…

Walking with a purpose will get you all kinds of places without well enforced security procedures in place.

Re: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself

#130
I discovered talking to myself when I was in my first year of college. I was in an one bedroom apartment so solidarity was very common and I often found myself having a very clouded head. I had read about talking to yourself and talking your way through things and I started to do it and it has worked wonders for me and my productivity. Yeah some people may think I am crazy when I am talking myself through a problem in public but I luckily could care less what people think of me. Please talk to your self people. It can seriously change your life. It changed mine :)
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