Hmm...

So, me and my friend were talking the other day. We both agreed that when we think, we are saying words in our mind. This is probably true for other people. When I think I'm thirsty, I think "I'm thirsty, I ask myself if there is some juice downstairs." In a spanish person's mind, it would probably be "Tengo sed, me pregunto si hay algún jugo abajo."

But, what if the person didn't ever learn how to talk, or it were for example an animal, how would their thought process occur?

There could be a logical answer, but me and my friend couldn't really think about it.

i always think about that

Its just like a baby. Animals act on impulses, they dont verbalise anything. Think about it, speach is thought and thought is speach, you cant think without speaking to yourself. Take that away and all you have is a basic impulse.

I must eat.
I must drink.
She is a desirable mate. yada yada yada.

DBibeau855 wrote: Its just like a baby. Animals act on impulses, they dont verbalise anything. Think about it, speach is thought and thought is speach, you cant think without speaking to yourself. Take that away and all you have is a basic impulse. I must eat. I must drink. She is a desirable mate. yada yada yada.

Yeah that seems right, like when I have an itch, my arm automatically moves and my fingers scratch it, I never think about it.

bl@nd wrote: DBibeau855 wrote: Its just like a baby. Animals act on impulses, they dont verbalise anything. Think about it, speach is thought and thought is speach, you cant think without speaking to yourself. Take that away and all you have is a basic impulse. I must eat. I must drink. She is a desirable mate. yada yada yada. Yeah that seems right, like when I have an itch, my arm automatically moves and my fingers scratch it, I never think about it.

Yup just like that.

I know how animals think!

Cheetah:
"Need food.
"There's an antelope.
"Get it get it get it get it get it!"

Ant:
"The queen likes this stuff.
"Puke in my mouth please."

Squid:
"Gotta move and transform."

evillepaintball wrote: it probably goes somethin like this for an animal "hey cool, bright lights coming at me really fast, hey bill, you wanna go play in the lights?" everyone knows all animals speak english, they just dont have vocal chords.

The Whale: Ahhh! Woooh! What's happening? Who am I? Why am I here? What's my purpose in life? What do I mean by who am I? Okay okay calm down calm down get a grip now. Ooh, this is an interesting sensation. What is it? Its a sort of tingling in my... well I suppose I better start finding names for things. Lets call it a... tail! Yeah! Tail! And hey, whats this roaring sound, wooshing past what I'm suddenly gonna call my head? Wind! Is that a good name? It'll do. Yeah, this is really exciting. I'm dizzy with anticipation! Or is it the wind? There's an awful lot of that now isn't it? And whats this thing coming toward me very fast? So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like 'Ow', 'Ownge', 'Round', 'Ground'! Thats it! Ground! Ha! I wonder if it'll be friends with me? Hello Ground!


Edited by holysmartone

pb125 wrote: Cacowroth wrote: I know how animals think! Cheetah: "Need food. "There's an antelope. "Get it get it get it get it get it!" Ant: "The queen likes this stuff. "Puke in my mouth please." Squid: "Gotta move and transform." Right, but who says they speak english?

Science.

This.....is actually an excellent question....and I won't pretend to have an answer for it.

I don't vocalize thoughts in my mind. Well, rarely. When I do it's a muttering inchoherent babble. When I do though, I let the gears up there churn silently away and an answer occurs to me as though I'd known it all along. It's tricky to explain, but I guess it makes more sense when you're around me. It fits with my personality.

When I need to come up with a solution to something, I sit there, blank minded, waiting for the solution to come to me. Drives my wife nuts.

I'd imagine that a person with no language would develop their own symbols in their mind to think with, assuming they had the capacity.

Edited by reifidom