Posted by Bartholomew on October 22, 2001 at 16:51:43:
In Reply to: Wow! posted by Diarmuid on October 22, 2001 at 07:51:01:
: So that's why people follow demagogues. I've always wanted to understand that. I have absolutely no herd instinct and I never got why people are such sheep in the presence of overconfident people.
: But if what you say is at all common, it becomes a lot clearer.
: How individualist are you? Can you think of many times in your life when everybody around you went one way, and you disregarded them and went the other?
Whenever I think I know what I'm doing, I disregard people around me. When I'm not sure, I follow others' examples until I become sure. I think I've been the argumentative devil's advocate far more than I've been the sheep. For instance, it's still only term 1, but every time I raise my hand in Chemistry, I already get a groan from many people in the class - they know I'm probably going to disagree with the teacher on some point, and it's probably going to take at least a few minutes for the discussion to resolve. I found a logical error on a math section of the MCAS (a standardized test in Massachusetts) last year, and I pushed the point. The Massachusetts Senate gave me a State Official Citation for that. If I have a belief about something, I act on it, regardless of what other people are doing.
I'm a 6w5, however, and that is probably just my counterphobic side at work. My sixism as a whole is probably the basis for the problem explained below.
: To answer the question, no. But I would not be surprised if most people do.
If most people do what? "Do" doesn't seem to be referring to anything in the question.
: : Normally I don't think or read with any mental voice at all. I get the syllables in my head without "hearing" them (or seeing them). I'm not really sure how to describe it, but I'm sure most of you know what I mean.
: : However, if I listen for any length of time to anyone with a self-assured voice, I start to think and read in their voice. It's infuriating, it slows down my thinking/reading (because I have to process each sound), and it takes a while to wear off. Any attempts to replace the person's voice with my own are unsuccessful; I don't normally think with a voice, I don't really listen to myself speak out loud either, and the other person's voice is already in my head so it's harder to get another one in. I actually forget the sound of my voice.
: : It does not happen with people who have weak or timid voices. If the person doesn't sound confident, there is no problem.
: : Have you experienced this?