Quote:
Originally Posted by badgoodDeb
Except for the inherent speed difference. Spoken word is so much slower, that I require another mostly-mindless activity (driving long distances on the highway) to avoid mental wandering. Which DOES affect comprehension!
You don't *have* to visualize it in your head. I rarely do. That requires slowing down and forming a mental image. Until a detail about the setting *matters* (to the story), I don't stop to visualize it at all. Nor do I have anything but a vague blob image of the characters. I don't care what they look like, only what happens next.
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I think that you mean that you don't stop to think about what you visualize myself. Part of comprehension is unconscious visualization of what is being discussed. If someone tells you they had a flat tire on the highway you may not picture them trying to change it with other cars speeding by but you feel empathy for them because you can put yourself in their place (i.e. visualize it) all the same. Likewise we don't consciously think about taking a step when we walk but on an unconscious level we probably do. Babies who are just learning how to walk almost certainly do. So our brains are hard wired to associate things and we are very visual beings (unless we are blind) so at least on an unconscious level we visualize. Author's use that habit all the time to set the stage. They make a remark about a greasy spoon off the highway for example and we picture the worn tile floor, the smell of grease from the kitchen, the tired looking waitress, etc. even before the author mentions any of them.