Chapter 3 of The First Three Years of the Child by Karl Koenig deals with the mystery of developing thinking on the basis of having acquired the ability to speak.
One of the most amazing aspects of this subject is the fact that we develop our thinking and ultimately also our logic through the medium of language. If we concern ourselves with languages we find that each one has not only its own unique vocabulary, but also its own unique structure, grammatical rules, and logic. Think for instance of the relative simplicity and straightforwardness of the English language with its preference for short and clear sentences. On the other hand the German language, as another example, and interestingly considered to have the same roots as English, has the tendency to create lengthy, but logically sequenced, sentences, often interrupted or - as the case may be, enhanced - by little side notes or anecdotal aspects, then, as if by necessity, ending with the verb or perhaps the explanation, which gives the whole convoluted thing its sense and meaning, possibly evidenced with this very sentence just given. The Spanish language, to mention another example, shows the strong tendency to being expressive and full of soul and feeling, while clearly showing the strict logic pointing back to the Latin language roots of the Roman times. Depending on our native language we develop our own personal logic and way of thinking - an important insight that we should cherish in our time where we are meant to be engaged with people from other cultures than our own as one of the aspects of the Michaelic Age that we live in according to Anthroposophy.
In addition to these thoughts about languages it is helpful and perhaps extremely important when working with many of today’s children to realize that some children (and adults) think as it were “in pictures”. This thinking in pictures can be regarded as another language or perhaps as a synthesis of languages, and we need to be aware that it does have its own logic and sequencing that might be different from what we are used to.
Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is a gifted animal scientist who has designed one third of all the livestock-handling facilities in the United States. She also lectures widely on autism—because Temple Grandin is autistic, a woman who thinks, feels, and experiences the world in ways that are incomprehensible to the rest of us. Temple Grandin states in Thinking in Pictures the following: “I THINK IN PICTURES. Words are like a second language to me. I translate both spoken and written words into full-color movies, complete with sound, which run like a VCR tape in my head. When somebody speaks to me, his words are instantly translated into pictures. Language-based thinkers often find this phenomenon difficult to understand, but in my job as an equipment designer for the livestock industry, visual thinking is a tremendous advantage. Visual thinking has enabled me to build entire systems in my imagination. During my career I have designed all kinds of equipment, ranging from corrals for handling cattle on ranches to systems for handling cattle and hogs during veterinary procedures and slaughter. I have worked for many major livestock companies. In fact, one third of the cattle and hogs in the United States are handled in equipment I have designed. Some of the people I've worked for don't even know that their systems were designed by someone with autism. I value my ability to think visually, and I would never want to lose it. One of the most profound mysteries of autism has been the remarkable ability of most autistic people to excel at visual spatial skills while performing so poorly at verbal skills. When I was a child and a teenager, I thought everybody thought in pictures. I had no idea that my thought processes were different. In fact, I did not realize the full extent of the differences until very recently. At meetings and at work I started asking other people detailed questions about how they accessed information from their memories. From their answers I learned that my visualization skills far exceeded those of most other people.”
One of the most amazing aspects of this subject is the fact that we develop our thinking and ultimately also our logic through the medium of language. If we concern ourselves with languages we find that each one has not only its own unique vocabulary, but also its own unique structure, grammatical rules, and logic. Think for instance of the relative simplicity and straightforwardness of the English language with its preference for short and clear sentences. On the other hand the German language, as another example, and interestingly considered to have the same roots as English, has the tendency to create lengthy, but logically sequenced, sentences, often interrupted or - as the case may be, enhanced - by little side notes or anecdotal aspects, then, as if by necessity, ending with the verb or perhaps the explanation, which gives the whole convoluted thing its sense and meaning, possibly evidenced with this very sentence just given. The Spanish language, to mention another example, shows the strong tendency to being expressive and full of soul and feeling, while clearly showing the strict logic pointing back to the Latin language roots of the Roman times. Depending on our native language we develop our own personal logic and way of thinking - an important insight that we should cherish in our time where we are meant to be engaged with people from other cultures than our own as one of the aspects of the Michaelic Age that we live in according to Anthroposophy.
In addition to these thoughts about languages it is helpful and perhaps extremely important when working with many of today’s children to realize that some children (and adults) think as it were “in pictures”. This thinking in pictures can be regarded as another language or perhaps as a synthesis of languages, and we need to be aware that it does have its own logic and sequencing that might be different from what we are used to.
Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is a gifted animal scientist who has designed one third of all the livestock-handling facilities in the United States. She also lectures widely on autism—because Temple Grandin is autistic, a woman who thinks, feels, and experiences the world in ways that are incomprehensible to the rest of us. Temple Grandin states in Thinking in Pictures the following: “I THINK IN PICTURES. Words are like a second language to me. I translate both spoken and written words into full-color movies, complete with sound, which run like a VCR tape in my head. When somebody speaks to me, his words are instantly translated into pictures. Language-based thinkers often find this phenomenon difficult to understand, but in my job as an equipment designer for the livestock industry, visual thinking is a tremendous advantage. Visual thinking has enabled me to build entire systems in my imagination. During my career I have designed all kinds of equipment, ranging from corrals for handling cattle on ranches to systems for handling cattle and hogs during veterinary procedures and slaughter. I have worked for many major livestock companies. In fact, one third of the cattle and hogs in the United States are handled in equipment I have designed. Some of the people I've worked for don't even know that their systems were designed by someone with autism. I value my ability to think visually, and I would never want to lose it. One of the most profound mysteries of autism has been the remarkable ability of most autistic people to excel at visual spatial skills while performing so poorly at verbal skills. When I was a child and a teenager, I thought everybody thought in pictures. I had no idea that my thought processes were different. In fact, I did not realize the full extent of the differences until very recently. At meetings and at work I started asking other people detailed questions about how they accessed information from their memories. From their answers I learned that my visualization skills far exceeded those of most other people.”
