Think of a cat. Now picture a cat.

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Are these the same for you?

I'm trying to understand visual thinking. I do not understand how somebody can think in pictures. How does one picture the sentence "I do not understand how somebody can think in pictures."? I don't see how this can be thought by someone without words.

When I'm told to think of a cat I repeat the word cat in my head over and over. I also get some kind of feeling or like I'm sensing the outline of a cat. If I'm told to picture a cat I can only see one detail of the cat. I can see orange or grey or a tail or ears or a nose but I can't see a whole cat.

No, they are different. "Think of a cat" conjures up all the associations I have with the concept of "cat", including its appearance, behavior, and interaction as well as things that have to do with cats, like veterinary medicine, the sensation of fur, the smell of cat food, etc. "Picture a cat" is much more specific; it conjures up simply the image of a generic cat, in my case a brown tabby because a brown tabby is the "basic" cat to me.

Interesting. When I'm told to think of a cat maybe I can only feel the basic outline of a cat and say the word over and over because it's not specific enough. A cat to me is just a cat. It has nothing to do with all the other information of it. I would need specifics to think of everything else, like think of cat food or cat behaviour. If I were told to think of cat food or cat behaviour I'd feel like slimey food were in my mouth and running around on fours, so no visuals or word repetitions. My biggest confusion is with basic concepts like "a cat" in relation to visual thinking.

I read something by Temple Grandin and to paraphrase, it was something like...if she thought the sentence "I opened the door", she thought of an eye, a jar opening, and a door.

I learn visually, but I don't think in pictures. If someone told me to think of a cat, I wouldn't picture a cat or think the word "cat" over and over. I would think of different instances where I've seen cats. A show on animal planet with cats, a youtube video with cats, that cat that belongs to my grandparents...stuff like that. But that might just be because my mind jumps around a lot.

Likewise, except my generic cat is solid grey (I don't think I've ever seen a brown cat).



Don't confuse not thinking in words with thinking in pictures. Much of my thinking is not done with words, though far less so than when I was younger, but I'm not an especially visual thinker. Words and images are each just symbols for the things they represent. Thinking without words is just having in your mind whatever it is that these things represent without turning it into the symbol of a name, sentence, or image.

I'll try to use your example: "I do not understand how somebody can think in pictures." Take the idea of thinking in pictures in your mind. What is it? It's not words--the words are just describing what the person does (a "jump" is still a jump even if you see or do or think of it without naming it). So now you have the concept which is "thinking in pictures." But you don't understand it. This is a sort of feeling--lack of understanding or confusion. Perhaps you're reading my words right now and not understanding them. You can not understand them without telling yourself "I don't understand." It just exists, no need for words. The words just describe the feeling. So now we have both the concept which is thinking in pictures and the feeling which is not understanding, existing simultaneously with no need for words of pictures. And there you have it. Simple.

P.S. That was very difficult to turn into words.

Not diagnosed, but those are equivalent to me. If I think of a cat, I picture a cat.

Different for me, but a little more vague. When I think of a cat, it is a general feeling of the term, more like a vague concept floating in my brain. I am not picturing a cat or thinking of cat-like attributes. I am simply accessing the broad concept in my brain. When you say picture a cat, I have a mental image of a cat...mainly my cat.

So I guess for me, think=feel and picture=visualize

Last edited by quesonrias on 10 Jan 2011, 8:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Those two sentences mean the same thing to me, because I'm always thinking in pictures.

Exactly. I have described it before as "thinking in concepts." I think these words are a reasonably good representation of what it is.

Thinking and Picturing are the same for me. If someone is using the cat as a simile (f.ex. she was like a cat.) then I picture the subject being generally cat-like within the context of the statement. I have very vivid daydreams. Unfortunately, I have problems with complex abstract concepts. Even when I cannot picture something, it is the default method my mind is using to attempt to comprehend it.

Yes, I picture my flame (red) point Siamese. If you ask me to think of something, I will think of a specific example. I won't always think of the same example, but what I visualize tends to be specific.

I like Kaybee's answer to visualizing the other thing. It's not exactly what I would say, but it's pretty good. The concept doesn't strictly need words to exist, although it's helpful to be able to turn concepts into words.

I often think pictorially in written words - so this is how I would picture "I do not understand how somebody can think in pictures."?

When I think of a cat, I think about cats in general, my cat, other cats I know, facts about cats, basically any association involving cats. When I picture a cat, an image of my cat is the first thing that comes to mind. Then I automatically move on to various other images of cats I know or have seen.

When I think of a cat. I think of the concept. It is hard to explain, it is not really audio or visual. If I picture one, it is ALMOST visual.

Like an abstract concept?

For this specific example, "Think of a cat" evokes a mental image of my cat Girl (white with black spots).
"Picture a cat" pulled up the same image, but with a picture frame as well.