Penny for them
I've had two girlfriends who would occasionally ask 'What are you thinking?'. It's one of those questions which is almost impossible to answer sensibly, and it's really girl-shorthand for 'we need to talk'. I could rarely anwer with the truth, which is mostly something like 'Phwoarr look at her tits', or 'Who would win a fight between a sheep and a dinosaur'. But then as they told me, I'm very shallow.
(Smale is stuffed, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 16:28, 18 replies)

Being asked that
completely breaks the fantastic train of thought your brain had made whilst you were staring off into the middle distance. I hate it when my missus does that.
( Evil Bastardo, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 16:32, closed)

See Ed Byrne for details.
"You really want to know what I was thinking?"

"Yes."

"I was thinking that that tree over there would make an ideal drop box for secret documents if I was a spy, as it commands excellent visibility, but provides adequate cover ... "
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 16:42, closed)

Not just me that does that then?!
I play a lot of Xbox in my spare time so can sometimes be thinking about a particular part of a challenging game when i get asked this. I tell the truth and i must be lying, i lie and i must be lying. Either way im blamed for fantasising about one of her mates, the checkout girl, or some random woman in the street.

Now i just say something like "Doing your mum up the wrong'un" or "Your mum drenched in man sauce" and that throws her off the scent.
(Beaverman Opulence, I has it., Thu 4 Aug 2011, 16:46, closed)

It depends on whether the sheep was allowed to carry weapons or not. And the size/ferocity of the dinosaur.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 17:00, closed)

My husband stares off into space a lot
looking all intellectual and clever and such, so I'll often ask him what he's thinking. It's not a trick or shorthand for anything, just curiosity as to what's got him so fascinated. Sometimes it's his latest thoughts on theoretical physics. . .and sometimes it's this episode of He-Man he saw as a kid and I don't happen to remember the name of [character who looked like whatever], do I?
(louveciennes , Volvospotter, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 17:23, closed)

Also, why is "nothing" not a valid answer?
I spend stupid amounts of time worrying about everything from whether that blood in the sink this morning means I have gum disease, lung cancer, or both to the effect of the terror attacks on the culture in Oslo to how to tackle a task at work using Powershell. However, when sitting on the sofa or in a bar with my girlfriend I'm not thinking, I'm just experiencing -- apparently I *must* be thinking *something*.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 17:42, closed)

seriously
if my bloke told me he'd been thinking who'd wuin in a fight between a sheep and a dinosaur, it'd end up in a conversation about which kind of dinosaur could possibly be beaten by a sheep.
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 17:50, closed)

You're right
should have said sheep and a rabbit
(Smale is stuffed, Fri 5 Aug 2011, 9:18, closed)

Saltopus
About the same size as a rabbit. Any mean and/or determined sheep could 'ave it.
( Hunter Stockton was murdered by a bicycle wielding axolotl,.,.,.,., Fri 5 Aug 2011, 12:05, closed)

Hmm.
Depends on the dinosaur. Lots of dinosaurs were small, so it's not cut and dried.
Also, what's the scale? Say, one year starting from July on a Scottish hillside the dinosaur's going to freeze to death by October what with being cold-blooded.

Too many variables, and therefore definitely worth pondering and fleshing out.
Not like "Who would win between a shark and a lion on the moon?". Which is simple(The Lion.).
(TheCastrator, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 18:51, closed)

Or indeed a tuna and a lion.
And i'll bet that won't turn out the way you think!
( number5 has been fighting tramps and losing., Thu 4 Aug 2011, 23:56, closed)

Either way,
it would end in a sandwich.

Mmmmm... Lion sandwich.
( Hunter Stockton was murdered by a bicycle wielding axolotl,.,.,.,., Fri 5 Aug 2011, 12:06, closed)

The answer:
I'm thinking. If I wanted you to know what I was thinking, I'd be talking.

Do not expound.
(pounana Slept well, and dreamed of large women, on, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 20:08, closed)

The sheep has already won
It's outlived the dinosaur by 65 millions years or so.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 20:18, closed)

But in the end all life on the planet dies, so it's a hollow pointless victory really.

( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Thu 4 Aug 2011, 20:30, closed)

But then...
How does one measure the victory of one species over another? Such a nihilist!
My partner asks this all the time too, and even if I give him a particularly profound answer like 'I'm considering the physical impossibilities of invisibility in a real-world application' he just goes 'oh...'
I think he wants me to say I'm thinking how much I dearly love him. Oh well, he can keep trying.
(spidaminida, Thu 4 Aug 2011, 23:11, closed)

When asked this just the other day...
I (truthfully) replied:

"I was wondering whether it would be better to paint monkeys purple or yellow"

(Paint as in using a roller - not a watercolour jobby). Oh, and I came to the conclusion after many minutes of consideration that purple monkeys are FAR cooler...
( snee held his breath since, Mon 8 Aug 2011, 11:58, closed)

Clearly purple monkeys
Then you can put them in/on or near a dishwasher so that it all makes sense.
(Wooden meal is. Or is he?, Mon 8 Aug 2011, 19:09, closed)