I have memories from way earlier than I’m “supposed to” have, corroborated by family members. For example, I know I was 2 or 3 when my younger sibling learned to talk, and I remember thinking it was so cute how he couldn’t pronounce his own name. I distinctly remember being in the kitchen, repeatedly asking him his name, then giggling when he answered.
Anyway, I remember when people talked, I had a mental visual system that went along with it. Words elicited pictures in my head, perhaps a bit of early childhood synesthesia. When I thought, I had audio words and visual pictures accompanying everything. Then I learned to write, and slowly the pictures were replaced by seeing the words written. Then over years even that faded, and by puberty my thoughts had become all audio.
With the way it has changed over time for me, I suspect such mental processes may tie in with how some of us learn to organize our thoughts as we develop. Mental words help create a scaffolding that builds understanding and creates order. But then there are those without these internal structures, who still manage to develop language the same as anyone else, and I find that fascinating. I wish I knew what it was like to experience their point of view.
In particular, I’d like to know how they feel about writing. For me, writing is as simple as putting down the words that my thoughts make in my head. Throughout my life, I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on my writing, but why? It seems that not everybody has the same thoughts-to-written-word pipeline. Do others have equally coherent thoughts, but lose track when they begin writing? Or are their thoughts more abstract than words, and difficult to “translate” so to speak? Did my early mental processes create a stronger association between words in my head that now makes writing much easier? If someone doesn’t have an internal dialogue, what’s the process of writing like for them?
I really want to know. Neurodivergence (in any sense) is fascinating, yet those without internal dialogues and/or aphantasia don’t seem to get studied or talked about as much. Anyone here with a different experience willing to share what it’s like?
You know that evil guy down the street? The one dad’s always telling you to avoid? The one dad says won’t simply beat you, but will torture you for eternity if given the chance?
So anyway, dad was casually chatting with him one day and he made a bet about your loyalty. Remember that week when all your stuff was tossed out, all your pets died, and all your friends disappeared? And shit just kept getting worse and worse no matter how much you suffered? Yeah. Your dad did that. He did all of that just to prove a point to that “evil” guy. Totally the actions of somebody with your best interests at heart.
Now go tell him you still love him so the evil neighbor doesn’t take you away forever.