s/o seeing pictures in your head--how do you read?

[garddwr]

When you read a book, do you hear individual words as you read? Do you experience the book as a "movie" in your head? What does go on in your head when you read?

 

I hear each word as I read it, just as if I were reading aloud. I don't have any clear pictures, often no pictures at all. If there are images they are rather vague.

I also think in words, constantly. I always have a conversation going in my mind.

[LaxMom]

Just like you describe, though I can see it, too. It's like a movie being narrated instead of having dialogue.

 

I also think in words, not pictures.

[Pegasus]

No pictures. I hear the words. If I know the author, I hear it in their voice. :D

 

Pegasus

[mommymilkies]

I both see and hear. I see everything as a movie and I recall things as pictures or movies. I also see the words in my head and hear them spoken when reading.

[Robin M]

I see the story generally like a movie with the words from the pages a silent soundtrack. If I can;t see a story, then I have a hard time getting into it. Which is why I have problems with first person narratives. When someone interrupts my reading, it's like being dragged out of an intense daydream.

Edited May 28, 2012 by Mytwoblessings
fixed can to can't

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I normally don't hear the words, I just see pictures like a movie. If I somehow go off on another train of thought while I'm reading, I'll hear the words in my head as I'm reading for the first 10-15 seconds until I get back into the story.

[Hunter's Moon]

Hear, no pictures.

 

I just began reading Star Trek novels, so I can hear the voice of the character from the show. That happens with other books where I've seen the show/movie. Otherwise, it is my voice or some other voice appropriate to the book.

[acablue]

I usually hear the words and see the pictures/movie. When I get really, really into a book, the words disappear and I just see it like a movie.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Um, neither it's more like it's happening to me. Not words, not me watching someone, it is me living it. I tend to stay away from wrenching stories for that reason.

[Embassy]

I don't really see pictures or words or even hear words. I don't know how to explain it. The information just appears in my mind as I read - like a story. It is kind of like understanding ideas or a storyline rather than pictures or words.

[kalanamak]

I don't hear the words or see images, unless I make a decision to. Then I can, but in general, I just read and "know" the story, not hear or see it.

 

There are some pieces of music that make me see the same scene over and over. There is a bit of Bach that makes me see a formal family dinner. Philip Glass often makes me see the sea as if from a sailboat. But, the storm scene in Huck Finn, on the island, is so visual to me, perhaps because of the Kansas summer storms I recall, sitting safe on Papa's lab on the dark screen porch. And, thinking about it, the Hotel Denouement climax in A Series of Unfortunate Events, with the harpooning of Dewey I *did* see, but it is rare indeed.

 

I find Thucydides gives me the *feelings*: the fatigue, the fear, the sorrow, the ache of war. I also "felt" the rescue in the desert in Prisoner of the Sands in Wind, Sand and Stars, so I am not insensible to the written word, it just has to be ..... very good. :D

[garddwr]

I don't hear the words or see images, unless I make a decision to. Then I can, but in general, I just read and "know" the story, not hear or see it.

 

There are some pieces of music that make me see the same scene over and over. There is a bit of Bach that makes me see a formal family dinner. Philip Glass often makes me see the sea as if from a sailboat. But, the storm scene in Huck Finn, on the island, is so visual to me, perhaps because of the Kansas summer storms I recall, sitting safe on Papa's lab on the dark screen porch. And, thinking about it, the Hotel Denouement climax in A Series of Unfortunate Events, with the harpooning of Dewey I *did* see, but it is rare indeed.

 

I find Thucydides gives me the *feelings*: the fatigue, the fear, the sorrow, the ache of war. I also "felt" the rescue in the desert in Prisoner of the Sands in Wind, Sand and Stars, so I am not insensible to the written word, it just has to be ..... very good. :D

 

This is all fascinating! It really makes me wonder what understanding is--if you can read a book without either hearing the words or seeing images, what is the deeper level on which we "understand" something?

[kalanamak]

This is all fascinating! It really makes me wonder what understanding is--if you can read a book without either hearing the words or seeing images, what is the deeper level on which we "understand" something?

 

Well, I always thought went a book is said to have "vivid imagery", it means it is written in a way that makes it *easy* to visualize it.

 

Here is a cut and paste from Wikipedia, on Existentialism. How would one visualize this?

 

"The existentialist concept of freedom is often misunderstood as meaning that anything is possible and where values are inconsequential to choice and action. This interpretation of the concept is often related to the insistence on the absurdity of the world and the assumption that there exist no relevant or absolutely good or bad values. However, that there are no values to be found in the world in-itself does not mean that there are no values: We are usually brought up with certain values, and even though we cannot justify them ultimately, they will be "our" values."

[happymomofboys]

I hear each word at first, but the more I get into the reading, the more it becomes like a movie. My eyes are scanning the page, but I'm "seeing" the action and "hearing" the dialogue in my mind.

 

Because of this ability to no longer see and hear the actual words on the page, I have found that sometimes my mind wanders while I'm reading. When I'm reading silently and this happens I have to go back and re-read the passage to know what it said. Sometimes, though, it happens when I'm reading aloud to the kids. I'm always amazed that my brain can be reading the words, I can be speaking the words, and yet something else entirely (what I'm going to cook for dinner tonight, for example) can be going on in my mind. The experience has taught me to always have the children narrate back to me what they're reading/hearing, because I know they too could be reading the words, yet not paying attention to what they read.

[LaxMom]

Well, I always thought went a book is said to have "vivid imagery", it means it is written in a way that makes it *easy* to visualize it.

 

Here is a cut and paste from Wikipedia, on Existentialism. How would one visualize this?

 

"The existentialist concept of freedom is often misunderstood as meaning that anything is possible and where values are inconsequential to choice and action. This interpretation of the concept is often related to the insistence on the absurdity of the world and the assumption that there exist no relevant or absolutely good or bad values. However, that there are no values to be found in the world in-itself does not mean that there are no values: We are usually brought up with certain values, and even though we cannot justify them ultimately, they will be "our" values."

 

I have imagery - probably sourced from the PBS show on the life of Louisa May Alcott? - of two vested, hatted men walking through a pastoral setting, presumably debating the relativity of values, while the narrator voices the paragraph. Oh, and the narrator is male, which may also be sourced from the PBS biography.

[freesia]

I have imagery - probably sourced from the PBS show on the life of Louisa May Alcott? - of two vested, hatted men walking through a pastoral setting, presumably debating the relativity of values, while the narrator voices the paragraph. Oh, and the narrator is male, which may also be sourced from the PBS biography.

Mine's PBS, too, but the narrator is in a leather chair. I see philosophers and globes and a judge and the word values has a color/feeling image associated with it, too.

 

While I mostly just see pictures as I read, in a case like this I hear the words and there is more of a collage of pictures moving in the background.

Edited May 28, 2012 by freesia

[Farrar]

I don't hear the words or see images, unless I make a decision to. Then I can, but in general, I just read and "know" the story, not hear or see it.

 

Yes. That's how I experience it too. If I'm reading something enjoyable or densely difficult, I sometimes slow it down to see the movie and/or hear the words... otherwise, I'm just zipping through absorbing.

[kewb]

I hear the words in my head. If I try I can visualize. It was quite mind blowing for me when I discovered my ds sees a movie in his head when he reads.

[kalanamak]

I have imagery - probably sourced from the PBS show on the life of Louisa May Alcott? - of two vested, hatted men walking through a pastoral setting, presumably debating the relativity of values, while the narrator voices the paragraph. Oh, and the narrator is male, which may also be sourced from the PBS biography.

 

The visuals would distract me from understanding what the writer meant. But, I'm certainly not claiming there aren't more talented people out there who can see the images AND "grok" the words. BTW, does your image of the passage help, in any way, to understand or remember it?

[garddwr]

Well, I always thought went a book is said to have "vivid imagery", it means it is written in a way that makes it *easy* to visualize it.

 

Here is a cut and paste from Wikipedia, on Existentialism. How would one visualize this?

 

"The existentialist concept of freedom is often misunderstood as meaning that anything is possible and where values are inconsequential to choice and action. This interpretation of the concept is often related to the insistence on the absurdity of the world and the assumption that there exist no relevant or absolutely good or bad values. However, that there are no values to be found in the world in-itself does not mean that there are no values: We are usually brought up with certain values, and even though we cannot justify them ultimately, they will be "our" values."

 

Eh, I wouldn't know how to visualize it, but neither would I know how to understand it without "saying" the words. But then, the quoted paragraph is hardly an example of lucid (or even grammatical) writing, so maybe it would be hard to understand no matter how you approached it:D

Edited May 28, 2012 by thegardener

[Kathryn]

If I'm reading a story, I hear the words and paint a picture in my mind. I guess kind of like making a movie.

[LaxMom]

The visuals would distract me from understanding what the writer meant. But, I'm certainly not claiming there aren't more talented people out there who can see the images AND "grok" the words. BTW, does your image of the passage help, in any way, to understand or remember it?

 

No, not really. It's more like when, in a documentary, there is some marginally related imagery onscreen while the narrator details a similarly abstract concept. Though, it may lend itself to a feeling of the people and context involved in the concept itself.

Edited May 28, 2012 by MyCrazyHouse

[ereks mom]

I usually hear the words and see the pictures/movie. When I get really, really into a book, the words disappear and I just see it like a movie.

 

Me too. :001_smile:

[jewellsmommy]

It depends. If I am reading for comprehension, I will hear the words and see them play out before me. If it is directions, I will direct myself in my mind as I visualize following through.

 

If reading a book, I employ all three methods at various points. If it is a scene where there is action or dialogue, I will hear different tones/voices and see (not usually in extreme detail) the scene. Sometimes I will just hear the words. If I am excited and am in a dragging or boring spot, I will speed read. For me, this means not vocalizing each word in my head and just understanding what I am reading to go faster. Of course, if a book makes me too anxious, I will just go ahead and read the last chapter and then go back to read the rest. :D

 

As a general rule, I am quite vocal in my head. I feel the need to hear conversations with myself even if my understanding/thought process has already sped ahead of the words. Does that even make sense? :lol:

[Grover]

I often get confused about whether I have read something or seen it on TV / in a movie. I've been known to moan about not being able to find out what happens next in a story because I have to wait until next week for the next episode, only to realise that it was actually a book and I can just carry on reading. When I am reading there are no words... I wouldn't actually say there are pictures either, as in I can't describe it to you, but then I can't describe my house or children either so maybe I'm just bad at that.

[MyLittleWonders]

I hear each word as I read it, just as if I were reading aloud. I don't have any clear pictures, often no pictures at all. If there are images they are rather vague.

I also think in words, constantly. I always have a conversation going in my mind.

 

This is me. I always have words going through my mind, whether I am reading them or just thinking/having a conversation.

[The Girls' Mom]

Imagery. I think extremely visually, and if I cannot picture something in my mind I it takes much longer to process it. I DO have a hard time with math for this very reason. I absolutely cannot do math in my head. I just don't have the imagery for it, unfortunately.

 

Anyway, reading is more of an experience than just comprehending the words. I absorb it. My oldest dd is the same way. I wonder if that is why we both read so fast? I think it would slow me down to have to actually process the words as words.

[Tarreymere]

I don't 'hear' the words. I just 'go there'. The first few words I 'read', then I 'go'. I'm actually there, I 'see' it. Like the previous poster said, I'm not processing words.

 

To re-read a book I've read before is to walk into a place I've been. I don't know how long I've been a fluent reader, but I have books like Misty of Chincoteague that were gifts to me, according to the inscription, when I was six. I just remember always being a bookworm, so I know I've had a lot of 'practice'. Maybe that is part of it. I don't consciously visualize the stories, it just happens that I'm suddenly there. I thought that was what happened to everyone.

 

It doesn't happen with nonfiction. Nonfiction is just like a conversation and I do 'hear' the words. I do like the puzzle aspect of math, personally, and have always enjoyed math. I don't 'go' anywhere with math either.

 

 

I can't tolerate audio books if they are not nonfiction. Audio fiction books put me to sleep or drive me nuts. I can't stand to watch a movie based on a book I've read because it never looks the way it's 'supposed' to.

Edited May 28, 2012 by Rainefox

[KungFuPanda]

With books, I hear/see like it's a movie, and it's at real-time speed, so I can never enjoy speed reading. With conversation, I often see how words are spelled.

[Caitilin]

I don't really see pictures or words or even hear words. I don't know how to explain it. The information just appears in my mind as I read - like a story. It is kind of like understanding ideas or a storyline rather than pictures or words.

 

This is me too. I would say I "gulp" as I read; I am not experiencing individual words, but whole chunks of text at once. It's as if I am somehow bypassing the wordness and going straight to the ideaness of what I am reading. It's hard to describe. I love audiobooks because it mimics this experience for me, in a way. :001_smile:

[garddwr]

This is me too. I would say I "gulp" as I read; I am not experiencing individual words, but whole chunks of text at once. It's as if I am somehow bypassing the wordness and going straight to the ideaness of what I am reading. It's hard to describe. I love audiobooks because it mimics this experience for me, in a way. :001_smile:

 

I think my little brother must read this way--it seems like he looks at a page and takes in the meaning of the whole thing at once!

 

I don't 'hear' the words. I just 'go there'. The first few words I 'read', then I 'go'. I'm actually there, I 'see' it. Like the previous poster said, I'm not processing words.

 

To re-read a book I've read before is to walk into a place I've been. I don't know how long I've been a fluent reader, but I have books like Misty of Chincoteague that were gifts to me, according to the inscription, when I was six. I just remember always being a bookworm, so I know I've had a lot of 'practice'. Maybe that is part of it. I don't consciously visualize the stories, it just happens that I'm suddenly there. I thought that was what happened to everyone.

 

It doesn't happen with nonfiction. Nonfiction is just like a conversation and I do 'hear' the words. I do like the puzzle aspect of math, personally, and have always enjoyed math. I don't 'go' anywhere with math either.

 

 

I can't tolerate audio books if they are not nonfiction. Audio fiction books put me to sleep or drive me nuts. I can't stand to watch a movie based on a book I've read because it never looks the way it's 'supposed' to.

 

I really don't think it is a matter of practice--I am also a voracious bookworm, but reading a book for me involves lots of words and very little visualization. My sister is a visualizer, she experiences books like a movie. Also a bookworm and we like similar books! I think this comes down to different brains processing reading differently, and I find the discussion incredibly intriguing. It surprises me that I haven't seen more discussion of this in books and articles on education and reading. I do remember coming across an article once on reading comprehension that claimed that to develop good comprehension you needed to develop the ability to visualize and to NOT read each individual word, and my thought at the time was that they didn't know how my brain worked because I have excellent comprehension but don't visualize! Reading and writing have always been natural strengths for me, the areas I excel in--and I thought that was because my mind works in such a verbal and NOT a visual way.

 

This is me. I always have words going through my mind, whether I am reading them or just thinking/having a conversation.

 

 

It is just fascinating to me that our experiences are so varied. We base our interactions with other people, including teaching interactions, on the premise that their brains operate in a way that is fundamentally similar to our own. And yet here we are seeing that something as basic as reading a book can be experienced in profoundly different ways by different minds. I wonder how differently we experience and process life in other areas?

[kewb]

This is me too. I would say I "gulp" as I read; I am not experiencing individual words, but whole chunks of text at once. It's as if I am somehow bypassing the wordness and going straight to the ideaness of what I am reading. :001_smile:

 

That is my son. He gets things very quickly because he can "see" the whole thing at once.

 

My dd is like me. Words in her head. It takes us longer to get there.

[Parrothead]

I usually hear the words and see the pictures/movie. When I get really, really into a book, the words disappear and I just see it like a movie.

:iagree: Me too. It is odd if I've been at it for a couple of hours. I end up a bit disoriented.

 

Oh, on the forum too. Each of you have an avatar and we are generally at a nice place having a party. I spend a lot of time flitting from group to group adding my 2 cents.

[melissad2]

I usually hear the words and see the pictures/movie. When I get really, really into a book, the words disappear and I just see it like a movie.

 

:iagree:

[MissKNG]

I see pictures/movies in my head and hear the words I'm reading. This is one reason I don't like watching a real movie based on a book because it never matches what I thought and what I thought is always better!:D

[intp4yhwh]

I often get confused about whether I have read something or seen it on TV / in a movie. I've been known to moan about not being able to find out what happens next in a story because I have to wait until next week for the next episode, only to realise that it was actually a book and I can just carry on reading. When I am reading there are no words... I wouldn't actually say there are pictures either, as in I can't describe it to you, but then I can't describe my house or children either so maybe I'm just bad at that.

 

 

 

I don't 'hear' the words. I just 'go there'. The first few words I 'read', then I 'go'. I'm actually there, I 'see' it. Like the previous poster said, I'm not processing words.

 

Anyway, reading is more of an experience than just comprehending the words. I absorb it. My oldest dd is the same way. I wonder if that is why we both read so fast? I think it would slow me down to have to actually process the words as words.

 

Yes, yes, and yes!!!!!!

 

I've read that those who read fast (I hesitate to use 'speed read' - that means something different to me) are actually processing words on the next line or two down as they're reading. This makes sense to me because when I 'slow down' to read out loud, occasionally my brain will pick up a word in the line below and stick it in where I'm reading - and it doesn't have to be directly below where it got stuck in, it can be a little to either side. I hate when that happens, because then when I 'hear' what I was reading, it doesn't make sense and I have to stop, backtrack and 'fix' the sentence. This never ever happens when I read to myself, and I read very fast ... I truly think the poster above was right on ... I absorb it.

[momtoamiracle]

I hear the words and see the pictures. It's just like movies to me, which is why I'm just as content to read a good book as watch a movie.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Well, I always thought went a book is said to have "vivid imagery", it means it is written in a way that makes it *easy* to visualize it.

 

Here is a cut and paste from Wikipedia, on Existentialism. How would one visualize this?

 

"The existentialist concept of freedom is often misunderstood as meaning that anything is possible and where values are inconsequential to choice and action. This interpretation of the concept is often related to the insistence on the absurdity of the world and the assumption that there exist no relevant or absolutely good or bad values. However, that there are no values to be found in the world in-itself does not mean that there are no values: We are usually brought up with certain values, and even though we cannot justify them ultimately, they will be "our" values."

 

I envisioned a college professor standing in front of a desk with a large blackboard behind him and delivering this speech as a lecture to a room full of students.

[JenC3]

It really depends on what the genre is and is it for information only. Like a news article or magazine article is just a voice for me. If it's a novel I experience it deeply and have to read in long sittings, which is why I don't read much adult fiction anymore.

[kubiac]

The words go in and a movie scene comes out on a projector screen in my brain. There is no narration track ("the words"), just people reading their lines (if they have them) or doing things. :)

Edited May 28, 2012 by kubiac

[garddwr]

The words go in and a movie scene comes out on a projector screen in my brain. There is no narration track ("the words"), just people reading their lines (if they have them) or doing things. :)

 

I would love to get inside the head of someone who experiences reading this way and try it out. Sounds like so much fun!

[Kareni]

It amused me to see this poll as I was recently thinking of posting a similar question.

 

When I begin reading a novel, I initially hear the words as though I am reading aloud silently (which sounds remarkably oxymoronic!). After a short time, I am simply experiencing the story but with no visual or sound effects. I simply turn the pages and take in the story. At some level, I'm aware of the words on the page, because a grammatical error or misspelling can be quite jarring. (My husband and daughter find my experience to be quite odd as they both see a movie and hear dialogue.) It's also not uncommon for me to have absolutely no recollection of the names of the main characters when I have finished a book.

 

I've talked about this with friends, and in general, the majority seem to have a visual experience when reading fiction. Non-fiction seems to bring about different experiences though I do have one friend who discussed seeing compounds coming together and reforming when she studied Organic Chemistry.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[freeindeed]

When I read, I always "hear" every word and "see" every action in my mind, just like a movie in my brain.

[KrissiK]

I normally don't hear the words, I just see pictures like a movie. If I somehow go off on another train of thought while I'm reading, I'll hear the words in my head as I'm reading for the first 10-15 seconds until I get back into the story.

 

This is me, pretty much. If I get heavily involved on a novel, it'll take me a minute to re-orient myself to where I am when I quit reading.

[NCBlueberry]

I head it and see it.

[Onceuponatime]

When I am reading non-fiction, it is as if the author is talking to me. When I am reading fiction, if it is well written, I become part of the story. I am immersed. I hear, see, and feel.

[Onceuponatime]

Um, neither it's more like it's happening to me. Not words, not me watching someone, it is me living it. I tend to stay away from wrenching stories for that reason.

 

This is why I don't care for Russian Lit., or books that are gory, or psychotic, or have child abuse, etc.

[SuperDad]

I don't really see pictures or words or even hear words. I don't know how to explain it. The information just appears in my mind as I read - like a story. It is kind of like understanding ideas or a storyline rather than pictures or words.

 

Um, neither it's more like it's happening to me. Not words, not me watching someone, it is me living it. I tend to stay away from wrenching stories for that reason.

:iagree:

[Lisbeth]

My mind hears the words and I involuntarily fixate on/see a place that has nothing to do with the story. It is usually a place from childhood like a school stairwell or empty playground, or a street from my neighborhood. There is never anyone else there, it is a sort of blank backdrop. I have always found this to be weird! I can't explain it.

[garddwr]

My mind hears the words and I involuntarily fixate on/see a place that has nothing to do with the story. It is usually a place from childhood like a school stairwell or empty playground, or a street from my neighborhood. There is never anyone else there, it is a sort of blank backdrop. I have always found this to be weird! I can't explain it.

 

Now that's a new one I haven't heard before! It's fascinating to me how differently reading is experienced by different people. Do you always have an image in your mind? I wonder if that is why these "blank backdrop" images come up? Kind of like how I usually have background music playing in my head...