I sometimes talk to myself or to hypothetical instances of other people I know.  I try to do this quietly at times since I know it might not be perceived favorably by others.  Mainly I do this to verbally externalize thoughts and force them back into my auditory memory (deliberately), hopefully reinforcing or bolstering a position I want to take or a course of action I need to take later.<p>I hope I never lose track that I am initiating those conversations...I&#x27;m old enough to be well past the standard age for developing schizophrenia...but if I did lose track, I at least have my atheism to fall back upon and my memory of having read through Jaynes a couple of times.