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brolife
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10 May 2011, 9:03 pm

I have noticed that, despite making high marks in all of my classes, I have very stunted thinking abilities. The only thing I am good at with thinking is memorizing lines of words, simple one sentence facts, formulas, or other such basic thoughts. I seldomly have original thoughts, cannot do abstract thinking, or even really hold two thoughts in my head at the same time. I have a restricted vocabulary because, despite knowing a lot of words, I don't truly understand what they mean, only their definitions, and have no mental pictures for them.

Enough with boring you guys with my whining, my question is, what services are available to teach me how to think properly? I'm 20 years old and attending temple university.



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10 May 2011, 9:08 pm

If it's the Temple in Philadelphia, well, we live close!

What do you mean by "I seldom have original thoughts"? You must be thinking SOMETHING every moment, even if it's not able to be put into words. What do you think about when you're not reading/listening to people talk/watching a movie? Are you taking in what's going on around you and thinking about this wordlessly? (This is what I do a lot of the time.)



wavefreak58
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10 May 2011, 9:30 pm

If you are formally diagnosed with an ASD, the university disabilities office should be able to offer some assistance with tutoring or something. Every college and university that I know of has such an advocacy office for the disabled.

There are some interesting books on clear thinking and reasoning. What is your major. One that I have is Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning by George Polya. It's something of a classic, originally published in 1954. If you're not a math type it might not fit your sensibilities.


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Trencher93
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11 May 2011, 8:19 am

brolife wrote:
... I seldomly have original thoughts...


Few people do. Most who think they've come up with something original discover that it isn't and someone already thought of it earlier in history. There really isn't much new and original.

brolife wrote:
...even really hold two thoughts in my head at the same time...


That's good - you're describing cognitive dissonance, which is something you don't want.

brolife wrote:
...teach me how to think properly?


Try reading W.V. Quine. Some of his introductory logic books.



wavefreak58
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11 May 2011, 8:47 am

Trencher93 wrote:

That's good - you're describing cognitive dissonance, which is something you don't want.


Actually, quite the opposite is true. Without cognitive dissonance there is no creativity or learning. What you don't want is unresolvable cognitive dissonance. Resolution means either 'solving' the problem or abandoning one or both of the dissonant ideas. Trouble arises when the dissonance is profound enough to cause anxiety, no solution can be found and you are unable to discard the thoughts (OCD of the mind?)


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leejosepho
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11 May 2011, 8:51 am

brolife wrote:
I have noticed that, despite making high marks in all of my classes, I have very stunted thinking abilities. The only thing I am good at with thinking is memorizing lines of words, simple one sentence facts, formulas, or other such basic thoughts. I seldomly have original thoughts, cannot do abstract thinking, or even really hold two thoughts in my head at the same time. I have a restricted vocabulary because, despite knowing a lot of words, I don't truly understand what they mean, only their definitions, and have no mental pictures for them.

Enough with boring you guys with my whining, my question is, what services are available to teach me how to think properly? I'm 20 years old and attending temple university.

Others have given you some answers here and I have none of my own to offer, yet I do want to let you know you and I are quite alike in this particular area.


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