What is the term for thinking out loud in written form?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around finding a term for the act of "thinking out loud" in written form, particularly in contexts like emails or forum posts. Participants explore various expressions and concepts related to this idea, touching on aspects of brainstorming, problem-solving, and the nuances of written communication.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest terms like "thinking in type," "thinking in ASCII," and "ascinking" to describe this process.
  • Others propose "free-associating" and "involuntary typing" as potential descriptors.
  • One participant mentions that the process often involves problem-solving but may not follow a well-considered path, indicating a need for caution in how these thoughts are presented.
  • Terms such as "drafting," "noodling," and "riffing" are also introduced, drawing parallels to musical improvisation.
  • Some participants refer to "brainstorming" as a fitting term that reflects the idea of tossing out ideas that may or may not be helpful.
  • One participant highlights the concept of "ideating," noting its root meaning and suggesting it could be adapted to fit the context of written thought processes.
  • Another participant humorously suggests "inking out loud" and discusses the implications of using "typing out loud" despite its technical inaccuracies.
  • There is a mention of Douglas Adams' book "The Meaning of Liff," which creates words for situations lacking specific terms in English.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on a single term to describe the act of thinking out loud in written form. Multiple competing views and suggestions remain, reflecting the diversity of thought on the topic.

Contextual Notes

Some terms proposed may carry different connotations or implications that are not universally agreed upon, and the discussion highlights the evolving nature of language in capturing specific experiences.

Ivan Seeking
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Most people are probably familiar with the expression, "thinking out loud". Well, I do this frequently [though I've learned not to while in front of customers :biggrin:].

I keep wanting to use that expression in regards to a conversation by email, or on the forum, but in these cases I'm typing, not speaking. So what would this be called; thinking in type; thinking in ASCII; ascinking?
 
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Free-associating?
 
Involuntary typing?
 
Rambling? (Naw, we're used to that from you...)
 
But I don't quite mean free association. Often it involves problem solving, but the qualifier is that it may not be a well considered path. Rather, it is one being developed as a function of the conversation, and there could be major pitfalls that will be obvious in short order. At least as I use the expression, this is more or less the reason for warning someone that this is just thinking out loud - don't hold me to this as I've haven't thought this through yet.

But, just for fun in either case...
 
Danger said:
Rambling? (Naw, we're used to that from you...)

:biggrin: I realize that with age it gets harder for you to keep up. Don't worry about it. We understand. o:)
 
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Ivan Seeking said:
So what would this be called; thinking in type; thinking in ASCII; ascinking?

Drafting ?
 
Noodling? Riffing? Sorry, but the musical equivalents of playing stuff to see what happens pop to the top for me.
 
  • #10
thinking on my keyboard
thinking with my keyboard
typing thoughts
keying my thoughts
 
  • #11
ivanating? :shy:
 
  • #12
Math Is Hard said:
ivanating? :shy:

:smile:

I usually just refer to it as thinking out loud too, so don't know what else to call it. I guess you could refer to it as brainstorming, which more accurately reflects the process described of tossing out ideas that may or may not help, but get the discussion rolling.
 
  • #13
Check out the book "The Meaning of Liff" by Douglas Adams. He makes up words to describe just these situations where the English language doesn't have such a word.
 
  • #14
As opposed to "not thinking" out loud?
 
  • #15
Math Is Hard said:
ivanating? :shy:

Oooooo, I'm a verb! :biggrin:
 
  • #16
How about "ideating"? It's already a real word (though rarely used).

Its root is "ideate" which means to form an idea, thought, or imagination.
 
  • #17
Hey, I like that! "I'm only ideating here..." Still, it doesn't convey the fact that this is unique to the "printed word"...hmmmm, which doesn't work well here either... unique to the displayed word.

This is only encoded ideation?
 
  • #18
What's wrong with "I'm just typing out loud"?

The fact that it is technically inaccurate is dwarfed by the fact that it is
- obvious by extrapolation (without having to explain) what it means
- worth a smirk
 
  • #19
Inking out loud.

Suppose that's not useful in terms of e-mails and the likes.
 
  • #20
I'm just writing out loud here, but I believe ideating refers to ideas that you already know will not work or is wrong somehow, which is not really an expectation, you just don't know yet...
 
  • #21
Ivan Seeking said:
Hey, I like that! "I'm only ideating here..." Still, it doesn't convey the fact that this is unique to the "printed word"...hmmmm, which doesn't work well here either... unique to the displayed word.

This is only encoded ideation?

Here's what you do, you start by using an expression like "ideating in print". After a while, the word "ideating", not being a common usage word to begin with, will become associated with the "printed word" and eventually people will start to consider the "in print" as being redundant and will just drop it. Thus a language evolves.
 

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