Picture Thinkers v Concept Thinkers

[speckled wood]

Although I am autistic spectrum unusually I am not a picture thinker, rather I think in words and concepts and have a highly developed imagination sometimes I can be slow initially putting the ideas down on to a page but once I get going there is no stopping me!

Others on the group have mentioned that they are picture thinkers, one allegation is that picture thinkers lack imagination and feeling yet my experience of such people shows the complete opposite and that they are usually highly imaginative caring and deeply compasionate people, just wondering if any of the picture thinkers have any comments based on their own experience.

I find the concept of picture thinking fascinating and envy those who are picure thinkers as logically it must require a very high level of intelligence perhaps more so than that needed by a concept and word thinker such as myself.

[badgerwatcher]

Hi, Speckled Wood,
I find it fascinating that everyone experiences things in different ways.
I tend to think in bright colours, especially when it comes to abstract things like numbers. I find mathmatics really pretty, particularly algebra, and fractals. I also have a very analytical mind, and a very vivid imagination.
I had always assumed that everybodies heads were filled, like mine is, with a continuous stream of images, like Disney's Fantasia, but have realised recently that this is not the case.
I can't imagine what it must be like being without this multicoloured fantasy world.
I also enjoy logic, which tends to be rather more monochrome inside my head, but which lays itself out in pigeon holes and diagrams.
And I find chemistry rather beautiful, especially at the atomic level.
I've never really compared notes with other people on this.

[speckled wood]

A curious thing with me is my love of butterflies and their colour and patterns yet when I turn away I have only the most hazy visual memory of their patterns and colour out of my sight a Red Admiral and Small Copper and any other butterfly are really nothing more than words.

[badgerwatcher]

I'm like that with words. I know the letters that should be in there usually, but have to remember probability patterns and all sorts of 'rules' to get them in the right order.
I also have difficulty with faces, and if someone asks me about someone else, even a close friend or relative when that person is not present, I have trouble remembering eye and hair colour, face shape, even if they wear glasses, so have to conciously learn these details.

[speckled wood]

Back in 1996 I taught myself to draw in a rudimentary sort of way, one thing it did for me was to greatly improve my powers of observation, working on the railway at that time I found lots of things to make sketches of and it made it that I started seeing something new every day on journeys that I had made hundreds of times. My new drawing skills however were wrecked by damage to my hand when I was knocked of my pushbike by a hit and run driver groan!!!!!

[badgerwatcher]

I used to sketch a lot, but have trouble with real people and animals, except such things as dragons! I agree it would improve my powers of observation. I should do it more. Sorry to hear about your hand.

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by badgerwatcher

I used to sketch a lot, but have trouble with real people and animals, except such things as dragons! I agree it would improve my powers of observation. I should do it more. Sorry to hear about your hand.

Show me the dragon,maths mean buttercups and daisies

[badgerwatcher]

And cauliflowers, and globe artichokes, and beech tree stems.....