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Ask HN: How to Learn 'To Think'?

61 points cannnot_think | 1 comments | 22 Oct 24 00:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.203s | source

I am writing this desperate to find out what to do. Most of my life, I have been 'listening' passively, without thinking. I don't have an internal monologue. I had a neuropsych evaluation which commented on my poor memory and inability to think.

How do I learn how 'to think'? How do I learn to create an internal dialogue to comment on my surroundings and tasks?

I am hoping for a book recommendation, or maybe a blog post. I've heard that Ulysses is a stream-of-consciousness book, but I have not checked it out.

I would hope that books help - but I have read a lot of books and still don't think. I am hoping for a tutorial or something to practice.

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__rito__ ◴[22 Oct 24 05:24 UTC] No.41911446[source]▶
Writing is very underrated way of thinking, but I can recommend it highly. Start journaling and/or writing essays. Just write down what you think, feel, want to communicate, and what you understand. Just be clear and honest. pg has repeatedly written about this [0]. You can also choose to write technical posts.

Solving Math problems and competitive programming problems also enhace thinking.

Teaching is an underrated way, too. When you teach a hard concept, you really need to think a lot about how to get the idea across, how to make it accessible to different kinds of pupils.

[0]: https://paulgraham.com/writing44.html

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kingkongjaffa ◴[23 Oct 24 12:28 UTC] No.41924321[source]▶
Writing is the most powerful way. I must recommend this blog at least once a month

https://notes.andymatuschak.org/zRbqwbnhmVdfLtKxMCibMoX

The whole site is full of high quality wisdom on note taking and writing.

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1. boundless88 ◴[25 Oct 24 03:47 UTC] No.41942051[source]▶
This is really awesome!