I don’t think that people are universally fast or slow in everything. I talk very very fast. I read very very fast. In everything else I’m sloooooow. I move slowly, I drive slowly, and I work slowly. I can’t for the life of me see how doctors see 30 patients a day. I can’t possibly take less than 15-20 minutes even for a simple rash.
I also tend to think that moving quickly is like driving well-most people think they walk more quickly than average, just like 90% of people feel that they are better than average drivers.
Psychobunny-who is in the other 5%, and knows she is a terrible driver, which probably makes her and those around her safer.
Before this thread, I didn’t think there was a distinction. It changes with the situation for me, and I’d assumed (ignorantly) that this was true in general.
If I’ve got a specific destination in mind and an organized timeframe, well of course I’ll walk quickly; and I’ve gotten pretty good at getting around oblivious slow movers.
But if I’m in relaxation mode and off to a location for leisure time, I mosey about and figuratively stop and smell the flowers. Typically I’m paying enough attention to my surroundings to get out of the fast movers’ way.
Similarly, if I’m chatting with a good friend and just enjoying their company, we drift off on any number of odd tangents, never really getting to any real point besides the pleasure of exchanging thoughts.
And if I’ve got a goal in mind from an interpersonal interaction, I want to cut to the chase, dispense with pleasantries if possible, and go right out and get the information (then engage in idle chatter if I’m not in a rush otherwise, as I wouldn’t want to lose important contacts to perceived rudeness.)
So put me down as a big old ‘it depends’. I may think quickly, or at least think that I think quickly, but it doesn’t mean that I have to let it all out all the time.