Does anyone know? Because to think you must have language (e.g when you think you think in a certain language).
So how do babies or deaf people think?

Please don't tell me you watched "Baby Geniuses", because that movie damages the mind.

LOl, that movie was the worst movie ever I can't believe it had a sequel.

They're learning to interpret the world as they mature. Of course they don't think deeply, considering the world around them in perfect language! They follow autonomic brain processes (for instance, heart rate) just like us, I assume.

Edited by user 16 years ago  | Reason: Not specified

No, no no. You don't need language to think at all. Language merely encapsulates ideas, and ideas can be communicated in many other ways than language. It's hard to conceive really, but you do it all the time, acting without conceptualising in a language. When you're walking you don't go "Left foot, right foot, careful, keep them straight now, lock the knee..." and yet you do these things. That's all achieved by thinking, it's just impossible to convey those thoughts because they happen quicker than we can describe them. Another good example is when you forget the exact word for something and yet you know what it is, what it does, what it looks like. Images, concepts, ideas, emotions, instincts, these transcend language.

So how does a deaf person think? Probably in sign language. How does a baby think? Probably in pictures.

:( Your so clever :L

How do you know all this stuff???

I stayed in school and ate all my greens.

Also, alluding to what this guy said, babies' cognitive processes have hardly begun to develop. They don't analyze situations or anything cognitively advanced. They can perform simple cognitive functions, such as face recognition, the cognitive ability to understand, "When I cry, I get fed." As these babies grow up and begin to learn a language, their brains are growing up as well. They'll soon begin to process auditory clues like words and the like.

So, in conclusion, babies think, but not the way you and I think. They don't even have the mental capacity to think in a "language" at that age.

This thread was created practically right before the HTCA Forum Awards, and it still won. lol

You didnt come up with the answer?

It's hardly common sense, seeing as only one person gave an in depth answer to the question. My question was how do they think and piece together ideas, and only a few people knew. Therefore, it was a valid question that now the whole board can enjoy and understand how babies think. :)