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61 points cannnot_think | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.257s | 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.

1. prossercj ◴[] No.41946136[source]
If you want books that can help you learn to think, you can't do better than the classics. I suggest Plato's dialogs or the Analects of Confucius. You may find them more accessible than you expect. They were excellent teachers.

Here's a good translation of Plato by Benjamin Jowett: https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/plato-the-dialogues-of-pl...

And one of Confucius by James Legge: https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/legge-the-chinese-classic...

Both translations are from the 19th Century and so have entered the public domain. But both are also often considered the best English versions of these works, even today.

(Note you can download a facsimile pdf of the original book, and print it out as you go. I prefer to read anything long-form that way. Better for concentration in my opinion).