Thought Images

Thought images are sometimes used to solve simple problems involving spatial relations. But they may also be used in the context of very complicated problems that may also involve the use of the creative imagination (see reference to Einstein in details on Imagination Images).

Here are some examples of thought problems that seem to require the use of images:

1. What letter of the alphabet does the capital letter "n" look like when it is rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise?

2. Imagine a cube. Now "paint" one side blue. Paint two sides that are adjacent to the blue side, but opposite each other, red. Now cut the cube into nine smaller cubes (as in a Rubik cube). How many of the smaller cubes have exactly one red side and one blue side?

3. Imagine that your house has a doorway facing the street. You are inside the house, ten feet from the open doorway. The threshold of the doorway is level with the street outside, which runs perpendicular to your line of sight. At this moment, a huge black car tire, ten miles in diameter, begins rolling slowly down the street from left to right. As the tire passes your house, what do you see through the doorway?

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