Steven Brust wrote: > >We may CHOOSE at the concious level to verbalise our thoughts, it's good > >if we are trying to follow a logic chain. But thinking in pictures is > >much faster as in a picture's worth a thousand words. > > I have often closed my eyes and called up a pleasing picture. > That is not thinking, that is exercising my memory. If I make conclusions > about that picture, such as, "I'd like to go back to that beach," or, "I > wonder what she's up to today?" I am thinking. But sometimes--often-- > those pictures merely call up emotion, they bring with them feelings. > That is *feeling* it is not *thinking*. > > God, this is fun! I would hope so. :) I wonder how Vlad would compare all this talk of thinking/communication/language to his sort of magic. I was just reading Jhereg again last night and was struck by a few things (pp4-5, Prologue). Quotes out of context, apologies for typos, I hope (almost wrote "hopefully" :)) that everyone has access to it and can refer to the entire passage.[1] "With my body relaxed, my mind had no choice but to follow." "I held each one for a moment, feeling its shape and texture, letting the soot rub off on my palms." "Of course, one can always just cast one's mind out, concentrating on the desired result, and hope. The odds of success that way aren't very good." "As I said each word, I *cast* it, sending it out into the jungle as far and as clearly as I could."[2] "I agonized over each word, each syllable, exploring it, letting my tongue and mouth linger over and taste each of the sounds, and willing my brain to full understanding of each of the thoughts that I was sending." [1] As in scripture, quotes can refer to much more than simply the text they contain, rather they should be understood to refer to the text that contains them. [2] In the text the emphasis on cast is provided by italics. Casey, who really should be wrapping up things at work before going on vacation next week. -- "The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offence." —Edsger W. Dijkstra, How do we tell truths that might hurt?