Some of us can't help but think in terms of pictures and all things visual. I have a friend/mentor who always paints his ideas in picture form...things often just make more sense this way, they have greater potency to broaden the minds horizon and cement ideas. Often they are unavoidable; it is so natural it is for us to use pictures to convey ideas within of speech. Indeed already in the short space of two sentences I have used two pictures...the idea of painting and of cementing (for those who missed it).
Others, instead of thinking predominantly in picture form, think in terms of story. Like a picture, a story adds weight to an idea helping us to think about it more deeply...it has a strange efficacy and power to influence or thoughts; it connects us to idea, it places us within the idea. The best stories are often are not those most far fetched or exciting or dynamic, but those which portray real life most effectively, those with which we can connect most easily, most naturally.
What thing do these two things have in common...I think it has something to do with the fact that both picture and story engage the imagination. Instead of thinking about a concept from a far, the imagination places us within the very centre of the idea itself. Instead of enveloping the idea, the idea envelops us; instead of perceiving the idea, the idea perceives us. When we can engage the imagination in the learning process I think it becomes firstly a more enjoyable process, but also a more effective process.
I am no psychologist, this is just me thinking allowed. Feel free to engage with these comments. Do you agree or disagree? In what ways do you tend to think? Do you think some people have a greater degree of imagination?
