Internal Conversation to Solve a Physics Problem

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I seem quite able to keep the internal monologue going with negative self-talk when I feel rather depressed. On some occasions, I can even start “narrating” everyday life. But I’m wondering if there is any sure fire way to facilitate an internal conversation in order to solve a physics or mathematical problem. What “process” should I go through?

I did hear that adolescents with Asperger’s do have difficulties having a conversation in their head to solve mathematical or physics problems. It is something which does not arise naturally in me. I am wondering if there is any way I could sort of manually initiate a conversation. When I look at a problem, is their anything I can will into thought that’ll be a great way to go about internally conversing on a problem?

Has anyone else had this difficulty/attempted what I am trying?

Internal conversations do not help me solve physics and math problems. I have to think entirely in pictures to process abstract concepts, otherwise I get messed up and carried off track just like you. You do not need to have a conversation in your head; the more you think in pictures, the better you will understand any concept at hand in any subject.
I've tried the "conversation" thing before during a math test (before I knew that I had AS), and made a bunch of stupid mistakes.
To do better in physics, work through as many simple problems as you can, especially if concepts are too abstract to visualize. This way, your brain will build upon the basic concepts and once you encounter more difficult problems, you should be able to solve them.

I agree completely with MathGirl. The only time you might want to have an internal conversation is if you want to emotionally motivate yourself, and getting emotional isn’t helpful to mathematical thinking anyway.

I think in images and it completely ROCKS in math and in physics. My majors are particle cosmology and geoscience. Every once in a while I have a tendency to invert things, but usually if I go back over the answers, I catch the inverts and everything is fine. Something I have learned which helps me in math and in science is that it is easier to learn from a global perspective. If I understand the entire system and how it works first, then I can fill in the detail and then the detail makes sense.

It seems like when you think in images understanding the entire system and how it works really helps, especially in math. I have downloaded a number of animated math videos. My favorite is mobius transformations. I have not learned mobius transformations formally in math classes, but I have a wonderful understanding of how they work which will make the algebra (deferiential equations) much easier to follow and understand later because I will know where everything belongs and more importantly WHY it belongs. This really helps me a lot.

Conversations with yourself, well you should find out what works best for you. If conversations work for you, then that is great! But if not, then find what does work. I think that is the key to each of us finding our strengths and weaknesses.

I realize this thread is from quite some time ago, however it applies to my current (and very frustrating) situation perfectly.

I have just begun university and am having so much trouble solving physics problems. Not only does it take me so very long to solve one (longer than most individuals I know), but there are times when I simply cannot solve it and must seek the assistance of a girl who lives on my floor. This is of course difficult in and of itself, but that's another concept for another day.

However, I am very capable when it comes to understanding the abstract concepts; this past summer, before I began uni, I taught myself the first two volumes of the Feynman Lectures on Physics, and understood the concepts therein with little to no difficulty. When I read the course textbook, everything makes sense without fail--in fact, it is boring for me to read because were's still studying elementary kinematics/dynamics and I already understand and know how to manipulate Maxwell's equations. Two weeks ago, I flipped to the back of the textbook provided in the course, which will also be used up to and including a third year course, and read a derivation of a Schrodinger equation (I apologize as I do not know how to include the diaeresis above the 'o') in one dimension which I also understood very well. I am fairly certain I could solve one of these. Though I no longer go to lectures because they are too stressful for me, and thus I teach myself the material, when I did go to lectures I understood everything the prof was saying.

The purpose of including that which is typed above is to show that the issue is not a lack of understanding of abstract concepts. The issue is that the moment I look at a physics problem, my ability in the subject seems to falter. There are students in my programme who understand the concepts significantly less then I do (I know this because I've spoken to them about these concepts), and they can solve problems faster and with greater ease than I. Obviously, the first thing I do is tell myself I am simply not intelligent enough to do physics; rationally, though, I doubt this is true. Does all of this relate to the poor capacity for internal dialogue? Is this perhaps why I sometimes find myself speaking to myself out loud when I am trying to solve one of these problems? What can I do about this problem (because I want to be a physicist more than I want anything, and I think I am intelligent enough to do it)?

It's also worthwhile to note that I do think in images pretty much exclusively--though the images are often dynamic (colloquial sense of the word).