Comprehending a crankshaft is not conscious thought. Most conscious thought is language.
Spatial reasoning is absolutely a form of reasoning (it's right there in the name!). I don't have any references handy, but I've read a few accounts of musical and math prodigies who have a form of synesthesia that allows them to "see" notes and numbers, respectively, which allows one to reason about abstract concepts as easily as you or I could spot the difference between a circle and a square. Very interesting stuff.
Re:Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
by rrss1122 on Friday May 16, 2014 @11:50AM
(#7756096)
I think it is. The actual process of comprehending a crankshaft uses conscious thought as a conduit to transfer the idea into memory.
However, I think lotsofmangos in the Feynman quote was referring to the process of visualizing a crankshaft, which is most definitely conscious thought. Visualization is often not language in the mind.
Stealing from Feynman here (edit, or more accurately his childhood friend Bennie), but most conscious thought is not verbal:
"Thinking is nothing but talking to yourself," said Feynman. "Oh yeah?" said Bennie. "Do you know the crazy shape of a crankshaft in a car? How did you describe it when you were talking to yourself?" http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1079.htm
I don't think that complex language is required for conscious thought, we can reason without language. Complex language is however required for storytelling and storytelling is required to transmit technologies without physically demonstrating them, hence it is required for technological development to spread beyond the limits of "monkey see, monkey do".