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The mind is the most complex organ on the planet! It’s crazy how we remember things, or how logic thinking kicks in when moving from task to task. And what about when the brain triggers the flight or fight response in a moment of fear? The brain is so sophisticated that centuries of experimentation and research have occurred still leave scientists dumbfounded.
This viral tweet by @Kyleplantemoji might have you screaming, “WTH?”
For those who are wondering what he’s talking about, an internal narrative is:
“An internal monologue, also called self-talk, inner speech, inner discourse or internal discourse, is a person’s inner voice which provides a running verbal monologue of thoughts while they are conscious.
It is usually tied to a person’s sense of self. It is particularly important in planning, problem solving, self-reflection, self-image, critical thinking, emotions, and subvocalization (reading in one’s head).”
Already my mind is exploding!
What does it mean that some people can’t hear their voice in their head? I thought this was normal! Apparently it’s not.
This bothered Ryan Langdon so much he took to social media saying it “ruined his day” and wrote a blog post to deep dive into some Q&A he had with other people.
He writes…
“My day was completely ruined yesterday when I stumbled upon a fun fact that absolutely obliterated my mind. I saw this tweet yesterday that said that not everyone has an internal monologue in their head.
All my life, I could hear my voice in my head and speak in full sentences as if I was talking out loud. I thought everyone experienced this, so I did not believe that it could be true at that time.
Literally the first person I asked was a classmate of mine who said that she can not “hear” her voice in her mind. I asked her if she could have a conversation with herself in her head and she looked at me funny like I was the weird one in this situation.
So I began to become more intrigued. Most people I asked said that they have this internal monologue that is running rampant throughout the day.
However, every once in a while, someone would say that they don’t experience this.”
He posted the receipts to prove the conversation…
Photo Credit: Imgur, Ryan Langdon
WHAT? That is freaking crazy! Just words? How in the world…..?
“How do they get through the day? How do they read? How do they make decisions between choice A and choice B?
My friend described it as “concept maps” that she sees in her brain. Another friend says that she literally sees the words in her head if she is trying to think about something.
I was taking ibuprofen at this point in the day because my brain was literally unable to comprehend this revelation.
How have I made it 25 years in life without realizing that people don’t think like me?”
Don’t worry Ryan, you aren’t all alone in the world. There are plenty of us out there.
Still….
Photo Credit: Imgur, Ryan Langdon
He continues…
“I posted a poll on instagram to get a more accurate assessment of the situation. Currently 91 people have responded that they have an internal monologue and 18 people reported that they do not have this.
I began asking those people questions about the things that they experience and it is quite different from the majority.
I would tell them that I could look at myself in the mirror and have a full blown telepathic conversation with myself without opening my mouth and they responded as if I had schizophrenia.
One person even mentioned that when they do voice overs in movies of people’s thoughts, they “wished that it was real.”
Photo Credit: Imgur, Ryan Langdon
So how do folks without internal narration read books?
Photo Credit: Imgur, Ryan Langdon
He wraps up by asking for further assistance in understanding this matter at hand.
“Whether people just have different definitions of their thoughts, or if people literally don’t have an internal monologue, there is one thing that we do know… you will definitely get a headache if you keep thinking about this.
Just trying to wrap my head around it is causing irreversible brain damage. I suggest asking people around you what they experience. If you are one of the few that do not have this internal monologue, please enlighten me, because I still do not understand life anymore.
Send help.”
You can take a peek at the full article on his webpage and the interesting one-on-one interview he does with a friend! So what are your “thoughts” about this? Assuming you have thoughts…
