On Thu, 15 Aug 2002, Mia McDavid wrote: #How we think: [...] #If I have a point here, it is that modes of thought, and the #relationship between thought process and language, are complex and not #entirely understood. Some people can learn by hearing. Some people #cannot learn without seeing. Some people learn better without language, #but by seeing objects and images. # #So, yes, we're all different here. Ah, you've keyed me to an important personal point. Our son and our foster son both have learning disabilities that interfere with writing. They are also both, as measured, way up at the top ends of the "intelligence" scales. For our foster son, expressing his thoughts in speech was an effort; they raced on, usually quite soundly, far in advance of his ability to express them. And handwriting was not the automatic process most of us assume it to be: he literally could not write without conscious attention to constructing the shape of each letter. Of course, this effort almost destroyed any attempt to express his thoughts in handwriting, and made his speech noticeably slow and halting. This tended to be reflected in his grades, but for the SATs we (i.e., my wife) got the proper Special Ed. permissions for him to take them untimed, and, iirc, write his essays on a computer. He is now beginning his senior year at Berkeley in physics. Yes, we do think in different ways. This is a key point for Special Education advocates, and something that affects everyone in some way. -- Mark A. Mandel