GMing without an inner monologue.

[Duke_]

Perhaps. But it feels like I'm trying to explain what I'm thinking to myself, which seems odd.

From my perspective, it would be much more odd (and more problematic) to not question and refine what you're thinking.

 

[Dausuul]

Also, the wikipedia images are very clearly from someone who hasn't experienced it and is going off descriptions from people who have.

Just a reminder that you have the power to edit Wikipedia articles if you feel so inclined.

 

[Duke_]

Just a reminder that you have the power to edit Wikipedia articles if you feel so inclined.

I wish I had the skill in visual arts to put some gifs together that are even remotely representative (though I can describe it in words).

That fairly significant obstacle aside, I don't feel comfortable representing my experience as necessarily typical, even though I have a brother whose experiences are very similar. A sample size of two just isn't enough of a basis to make an edit, in my mind.

 

[Staffan]

Just a reminder that you have the power to edit Wikipedia articles if you feel so inclined.

You are not supposed to edit Wikipedia based on just your own knowledge. "Trust me, bro" is not an adequate citation. There needs to be a source elsewhere to base it on.

To use a D&D example: let's say Andy Collins wants to set the record straight on some aspect of 4th edition design. He was one of the main designers, so he should know, right? But that's irrelevant. If he made an edit to the 4th edition D&D page based on his personal recollection of the design process, it would get reverted right away. His own knowledge of the process is irrelevant. But if someone interviewed him about the process and published the interview, that could be used as a citation for the article.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

For me, I have a constant inner monologue, to the extent that I have to set my brain to working on something inconsequential in order to sleep.

I tutor a student who is unable to visualise images. They get by so long as the remember to draw a diagram.

In the past I had a student who could solve complex algebraic equations in their head without any working. I've also had a couple of students with dyscalculia - their brains cannot handle the concept of number. "Three" as much meaning as "globenthup". They can learn to solve maths problems by rote, but it has no meaning to them. That seems to relate to the ability to visualise. I can easily create a mental image of three things.

The human brain is strange, and very variable.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Well, consider - an inner monologue requires language. Most animals don't have language.

But can they have an inner movie? I've seen cats going through prey-hunting motions in their sleep. Is not a dream an inner monologue with pictures? That goes back to the matter of visualisation. My inner monologue has moving pictures.

Interesting experiment: can you visualise/imagine/recall a smell without actually smelling it?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

This is interesting to me. I'm one of those people who has deep levels of closed-eye hallucinations (level 4 on the scale Wikipedia is talking out here after just a minute or two having my eyes closed, pretty often), but I don't think I've ever seen a visual calendar when thinking about tomorrow's schedule. It comes to me in words.

Visualising a calendar is certainly very helpful to me, although I don't always do it. Usually when I'm being told verbally what is going on in the future (usually by my partner) my brain processes it to "blah blah blah blah blah", and I have to ask "so what am I doing now?" or "can you write that down?"

 

[Umbran]

But can they have an inner movie? I've seen cats going through prey-hunting motions in their sleep. Is not a dream an inner monologue with pictures?

I'm not a cognitive scientist, but I don't think they are, in the sense of an "inner monologue" of a person. As I understand it, what we think of as the narrative of a dream is after-the-fact rationalization of random impulses/images.

 

[Theory of Games]

You are not supposed to edit Wikipedia based on just your own knowledge. "Trust me, bro" is not an adequate citation. There needs to be a source elsewhere to base it on.

To use a D&D example: let's say Andy Collins wants to set the record straight on some aspect of 4th edition design. He was one of the main designers, so he should know, right? But that's irrelevant. If he made an edit to the 4th edition D&D page based on his personal recollection of the design process, it would get reverted right away. His own knowledge of the process is irrelevant. But if someone interviewed him about the process and published the interview, that could be used as a citation for the article.

Andy's expertise is very relevant, it's just Wikipedia's editing process is far from perfect

I just got done watching The Killer (2023) which features a character that is constantly thinking to himself. Once it was over, I hopped online to read other's reviews of it and became puzzled at a few responses that didn't understand the "inner monologuing" that was happening. That led me down a rabbit hole of discovering that only around 50% of people do this?

I've talked about my inability to imagine pictures, like in this thread here, but the inability "to talk" inside one's head is new to me. Personally, my brain doesn't... shut... up... ever, and I kind of just assumed that was how everyone's brain worked.

Anyway, this got me thinking about TTRPGs (like everything does) and how it was possible to DM without verbal dialogue in your head. For instance, how do you decide what an NPC might say? When creating maps, encounters, etc., are you really mentally silent the entire time?

I'm always blown away by how unique we all are and curious to hear other's thoughts and experiences.

Different people have different kinds of mental experiences:

Improve your inner monologue, improve your writing | Center for Creative Writing

If we don't take time to examine our feelings thoroughly, we might be limiting our ability to portray relatable feelings in our writing.

creativewritingcenter.com

 

[Umbran]

My internal monologue also has the issue of not shutting up, particularly when I want to sleep.

I occasionally suffer from insomnia. Sometimes it takes the form of an inner monolog that keeps spinning on a topic and will not shut the heck up. When it is of this form, the topic is one that has caused me some recent anxiety or frustration.

Other times, my insomnia manifests as just lying there without a thought in my head, and just not falling asleep.