Not everyone has an internal monologue • Hacker News Board

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#631

Post by jessriedel » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:30 AM UTC

abathur wrote: post #319

This topic (comments here, the OP, and comments in threads elsewhere) exposes some conflicting definitions of what an "internal monologue" is or means. - Some people describe hearing their internal monologue, which I take to mean something like: they have an internal monologue, and it manifests as a voice that only they hear. These people are analogous to those who see things they picture in their mind's eye . - Some…

For people who experience having an internal monologue: Suppose you see a bagel on the kitchen table in the morning and decide whether or not you're hungry enough to eat it. Does that process involve an internally experienced stream of words (whether "audible in your mind's ear" or not) like "I'm pretty hungry" or "I bet that bagel would taste good"? Is this what it would be mean to have an internal monologue? Because I certainly could decide to eat a bagel without experiences any words. Subjectively, it would involve me imagining the pleasant feeling of satiation and the annoyance of cleaning up and weighing them against each other, with no words involved.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#632

Post by Aperocky » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:32 AM UTC

40acres wrote: post #105

Unfathomable to me. My mind is constantly racing, playing out different conversations, interviewing myself in a variety of roles to navigate my thoughts on things (one day I'm the president of the US talking about foreign policy, another day I'm a big tech CEO navigating the diversity questions). I constantly have something in my ears to tune myself out, podcasts or music. After being diagnosed w/ ADHD I realize I'm…

Thank you for this, I have been diagnosed as ADHD at 4/5. But nothing came of it since I maintained a good grade throughout school. My mind is exactly like that, I’ve always discarded that diagnoses as bogus but now it makes more sense.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#633

Post by technotony » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:39 AM UTC

jiggawatts wrote: post #470

I've noticed that I can do both the monologue thing and also the nonverbal thinking, and I suspect that most people can do both also. I do verbal thinking when I'm by myself and thinking through options. What should I have for dinner? What gift should I buy? That kind of thing. Non-verbal thought is when I'm totally focused on something like a competitive game. When I'm 100% in the zen-like focus of moment to moment…

Yeah, I think people can move between both states. Meditation in particular, if practiced deeply/for long enough, can lead to the non-narrative state. Ever since I did a ten day vipassana meditation course 18 months ago I've been able to spend long periods without verbal thoughts though I still feel sensation throughout my body.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#634

Post by james_s_tayler » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:41 AM UTC

ninkendo wrote: post #414

perl4ever wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"interviewing myself in a variety of roles to navigate my thoughts on things" I used to from time to time imagine my half of a conversation in which I was showing around someone notable who had traveled through time to get to the present day. Maybe someone from 1,000 years ago or maybe from 50. That is, for entertainment, not to cope with anything. I never felt like my imagination was quite good enough to turn it int…

> I used to from time to time imagine my half of a conversation in which I was showing around someone notable who had traveled through time to get to the present day. Maybe someone from 1,000 years ago or maybe from 50. That is, for entertainment, not to cope with anything. I never felt like my imagination was quite good enough to turn it into fiction. I do this exact same thing. I also have conversations with random…

I don't do the first part, but I do do the second one.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#635

Post by jdbernard » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:44 AM UTC

As others have stated, I have an internal monologue but it's optional, most of my thoughts occur without a verbalized internal dialogue.

Interestingly, I have an internal soundtrack sometimes too. A lot of time when composing music, or even playing live, I'm really just transcribing what I literally hear in my head. A lot of my musical education has been for the purpose of being able to perform the "internal verbalization" fast enough to be able to accurately transcribe complex harmonies and melodies before the aural image fades.

Over the course of my life there are two instruments where at various times I've gotten to the point where I can directly play what I hear in my head without translation, transcription, or analysis. I often find myself recording my playing so I can analyze it later. When I've not been practicing with enough regularity for that direct "mind-sound to performance" connection to work I get extremely frustrated with my playing.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#636

Post by coldtea » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:45 AM UTC

kmonsen wrote: post #625

bananamerica wrote: post #542

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, it is so satisfying when a conversation hits a branch you worked on for hours on end! Very useful for dating and job interviews. Especially for people with foot-in-mouth disease [1] [1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/foot-in-mouth_disease

Is it though? I have found a job and wife that is OK with my foot in mouth disease and think it works better when you sell who you are. Don't get me wrong self improvement is important, but so is telling people who are going to spend time with you what they are going to get.

>I have found a job and wife that is OK with my foot in mouth disease

Makes it sound like you make foot fetish videos!

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#637

Post by karcass » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:47 AM UTC

Can confirm, have no internal monologue.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#638

Post by locusofself » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:48 AM UTC

gowld wrote: post #537

keenmaster wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have learned to be cautious with two very different types of people (this is not a scientific exercise, take with a grain of salt): - One is people who are constantly negative and cast stones everywhere, but offset that negativity with charm. They can accrue a network of Stockholm-esque followers that would say "he's not an asshole, he's actually a really sweet person." When they perceive a threat from you, or they…

Do you live on the set of Mean Girls? But me, most people are spending their energy trying to get by, with no time for junior high school drama conspiracies. Maybe I'm too useless to be socially manipulated.

after reading those personality profiles your comment cracked me up

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#639

Post by johnchristopher » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:51 AM UTC

levythe wrote: post #249

johnchristopher wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading these are called parasitic(?) thoughts, uncontrollable and random thoughts, sometimes leading to more complex reasoning but ultimately almost on autopilot ; like the mind is just suggesting many different things at once and you just happen to notice one of those random thinking when it reaches the surface of your consciousness. I belive it also has to do with an anxious mind but I have nothing to b…

Since you seem to have doubt to the name you were fishing for, I've heard the term intrusive thoughts.

Thanks, that's the term I was looking for.

Re: Not everyone has an internal monologue

#640

Post by fomojola » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 5:52 AM UTC

Very interesting: this is one possible explanation for all the times I've heard someone say something that doesn't make sense to me, and I go "Can you hear yourself right now? How did that sound to you when you thought about saying it".

And I guess the answer is no: they can't. This might genuinely be the first time they've heard those words uttered.