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Language is not essential for the cognitive processes that underlie thought

(www.scientificamerican.com)
549 points orcul | 2 comments | 17 Oct 24 12:10 UTC | HN request time: 0.424s | source
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orwin ◴[19 Oct 24 23:24 UTC] No.41891613[source]▶
I will add an anecdata, then ask a question.

I could enter what we all here call the "Zone" quite often when i was young (once while doing math :D). I still can, but rarely on purpose, and rarely while coding. I have a lot of experience in this state, and i can clearly say that a marker of entering the zone is that your thoughts are not "limited" by language anymore and the impression of clarity and really fast thinking. This is why i never thought that language was required for thinking.

Now the question: would it be possible to scan the brain of people while they enter the zone? I know it isn't a state you can reach on command, but isn't it worth to try? understand the mechanism of this state? And maybe understand where our thought start?

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1. riiii ◴[20 Oct 24 01:35 UTC] No.41892210[source]▶
Nice idea. In the zone, I don't think about the code. I am the code and the code is me.

That is, until the code refuses to work. Then the code is a bitch and I need a break.

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2. AnimalMuppet ◴[20 Oct 24 01:44 UTC] No.41892253[source]▶
Makes sense. If I am the code and the code is me, and the code doesn't work, then I'm done working too.