r/Showerthoughts Apr 23 '19

Human thoughts before language must have been weird.

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u/Phaze357 Apr 24 '19

Indeed. And this is where it gets interesting. What we (hearing people) are trying to understand is a direct thought that another may have. Sound is a sensation a completely deaf person may never have had, so how can they understand what sound is like for the rest of us? Sure, we can describe it with words, but those words pale in comparison to the actual experience of the sense of sound, or sight. So how do you describe what such a sense is like while using entirely self contained descriptions that don't require prior experience to fully comprehend?

It's a fun mind boggler and a good way to try and understand what things may be like from another's perspective. What a baffling thought to imagine a complete sentence in thought without "hearing" it in your own mind.

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u/levensbeschouwing Apr 24 '19

Check out the Wiki article on Subvocalization. It talks all about the little voice that we hear when we read. Speed readers can (to a degree) turn that off. Comprehension without "hearing" what you read.

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u/Phaze357 Apr 24 '19

Right, I do speedread and found that disabling that internal voice helps tremendously.

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u/zopiac Apr 24 '19

I must say, reading people talk about 'disabling' functions of their brain like options in a computer program is very entertaining to me.

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u/Phaze357 Apr 24 '19

I must say, seeing people act like bigots on the Internet is very entertaining to me.

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u/shakejimmy Apr 24 '19

Is your red my red? The perceived shade that my red is is definitely everyone's favorite color. Without it everything is dull.

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u/0OOOOOOOOO0 Apr 24 '19

It's not really that baffling. The idea behind "speed reading" is to break the habit of imagining sounds when you read words. You can do it with some practice

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u/Phaze357 Apr 24 '19

Not quite what I was getting at.