Dr Arun Prakash
I was teaching atomic structure in Grade IX — the usual things: how atoms, once considered indivisible and the smallest particles, thanks to John Dalton’s atomic theory, were later discovered not to be the ultimate smallest parts. Instead, they opened a fascinating world of atomic theory, where not only protons, electrons, and neutrons, but many other particles — from positrons to kaons, pions, and so on — changed the whole scenario.
In my class, children often ask questions that aren’t strictly related to the subject. One question leads to another, and soon we drift into unrelated topics. That day, we were discussing everything from cricket to stars and the cosmos. And then Vidita — always smiling, full of energy, curiosity bubbling out of her like sunlight — asked a question: “Sir, what about people who cannot hear? How do they think if they don’t know any language?”
It was a simple question, but it made me pause. And then I realized something: our minds are far more amazing than we usually give them credit for.
Most of the time, we think in words. Not just in one language, but often in a mix — Hindi we learned at home, the dialect of our region, a bit of English, sometimes even a few words from another language we picked up along the way. Our inner voice jumps from one to another, mixing, matching, bending words to fit our thoughts. That inner voice helps us plan our day, solve problems, remember homework, imagine stories. But thinking doesn’t only happen in words. Not really.
Think about babies. Little children who haven’t learned words yet — maybe just saying “ba‑ba” and “ma‑ma” — are already thinking. They are figuring out the world: which toy rolls fastest, which sound comes from where, which friend is friendly. Their brains are busy imagining, experimenting, planning — all without words. Words help later, but the thinking starts way before that.
Or think about yourself planning a cricket shot. Are you really saying, “Now I will hit the ball to cover”? No. You see the ball, imagine your feet moving, your hands swinging, your heart racing. You feel the movement in your body. That’s thinking in pictures and sensations. That’s thinking in action.
People who cannot hear do something very similar. Their thoughts are often in images, movements, or feelings. Later, if they learn sign language, it becomes a kind of inner voice — a way to organize thoughts. But the thinking was happening all along, long before words or signs arrived. Their minds are always active, always creating.
Even for those of us who can hear, sometimes thinking is wordless. Close your eyes for a second. Imagine a cat sneaking across the yard. Or your favourite chocolate being served on a plate. Or a funny scene from a movie. Were you speaking words in your mind? Or just seeing, feeling, imagining? That is thinking. Always alive. Always curious.
Words help us articulate, reason, and plan. They give our thoughts a shape. But they are just tools. Our brain works in a mix of images, feelings, movements, and sometimes words. Thinking is noticing patterns, imagining adventures, solving little problems, remembering experiences, feeling emotions — all at the same time.
I like to tell my students to think of their minds as a playground. Words are like slides and swings — fun, useful, and fast. But even without slides, children can run, climb, swing from bars, or just invent their own games. Babies and children discover, explore, experiment — and later, words come along, making the playground even more fun. But they didn’t create the playground. The playground existed inside them from the start.
Thinking also happens in our feelings and senses. When we plan our day, we don’t just talk to ourselves in words. We imagine, feel excitement or worry, predict what will happen if we finish homework first or play first. When we solve problems, notice patterns, or imagine adventures, it’s often happening as images, feelings, or gestures, not just words. Words help organize these thoughts, make them easier to communicate, sometimes sharper. But the spark of imagination and curiosity? That comes first.
Every mind is full of stories, even before words arrive. A child watching a puppy stumble over its paws is thinking, imagining, feeling the moment. A deaf child watching a kite soar or a dog chase its tail is thinking in the same way. Later, as words arrive, as gestures or sign language arrive, the stories become easier to share. But they were there all along, full of colour and movement.
Even now, we mostly rely on words to think, but thinking is much bigger. It is seeing, imagining, feeling, predicting, planning, remembering, experimenting. Words are just a tool. And the amazing thing is, no one taught us all the ways to think. The mind discovers them by itself. Curiosity sparks it. Playfulness fuels it. Life fills it.
So next time you sit quietly, daydream, watch a bird, imagine a superhero adventure, remember this: your mind is busy. Even if it’s not speaking a word. Even if it’s only in pictures, feelings, or gestures. Every thought, every spark of curiosity, is alive. And maybe, just maybe, we can all take a moment to imagine like a child, seeing the world in a colourful, wordless, magical way — while secretly planning how to hit that cricket ball to the moon.
