Images, smells, sounds: everyone thinks in a different way...
Every brain works differently. That seems obvious: you would think everyone has their own thoughts. But the way you think also differs from person to person. From crystal-clear 3D images to an inner voice, from intuitive feelings to thinking on different frequencies: "There are infinitely many variations," author and lecturer Katrina Heijne explains on De Rode Draad on NPO Radio 1.
Link to broadcast:Radio 1: De rode draad. 22 May 2026
Every week, a member of the editorial team dives into a topic that personally fascinates them, looking beyond the daily news cycle. This time, it was Manon’s Week.
“I’m often told that my mind is one big chaos and that my thoughts are all over the place,” says producer Manon van Eijk. “I understand why people think that. I talk quite fast and tend to jump from one topic to another. But inside my head, it’s actually very calm.”
That realization sparked her investigation: how do people actually think? Spoiler alert: that question is impossible to answer definitively. Everyone thinks differently.
Most people are familiar with the concept of visual thinkers. But even within that category, there are many variations. Earlier this week, Manon asked listeners of De Rode Draad what they pictured when they thought of the sea.
One response came from Joke:
“She saw the beach at Sint Maartenszee, but from a drone’s perspective. Not from her own point of view, but as if she were flying above it,” Manon explains.
Others see a still image, while some picture something more like a drawing or painting. Then there are people who hear or smell the sea, and people who understand what you mean but don’t form any mental image at all.
Discovering How You Think
“It’s actually quite difficult to figure out how you think,” says Manon.
One thing she discovered is that people tend to project their own way of thinking onto others. We often assume that everyone’s brain works in a similar way, but that is almost never true.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard two people give the same answer to the question of how they think,” says Katrina Heijne. She teaches Purpose-Driven Creativity at the Delft University of Technology and is the author of the book 101 Ideas for Ideas.
“It helps enormously if you understand how your ideas come to you,” she says. Knowing this allows you to develop your creativity more effectively.
“There are many different ways to come up with ideas.”
A traditional brainstorming session may not work for everyone. One exercise she often does with students is:
“Write down as many types of fruit as you can think of in one minute.”
When participants later reflect on how they created their list, the answers are fascinating. One person links words through associations, while another imagines walking through a supermarket and scanning the shelves.
Taking Each Other into Account
For Manon, this exploration has been eye-opening. She now understands why she sometimes overwhelms her younger sister.
Her sister is a visual thinker, while Manon is not.
“When I’m telling her a story, she’s creating all these mental images. Meanwhile, I’ve already moved on to the next topic, while she’s still processing everything she just pictured,” Manon explains.
“Maybe the first question we should ask each other is: How do you think? Then we could take each other’s thinking styles into account a little more.”
101 ideeën voor ideeën:
