From an evolutionary point of view, it is hard to believe
that thinking would require a language. Even the most primitive
lifeforms have had to develop ways of interaction with the
three-dimensional world, but the need for a language is not so
universal. The time for which humans have had language as we know
it, is a mere blink of an eye in the paleontological scale.
Personally, I prefer mind
maps and other visual tools to linear text when it comes to
notetaking and planning. But I am a writer as well. I have enjoyed writing
and storytelling well before I started to delve into efficient
notetaking and thinking techniques.
Therefore I don't think language is inferior to, or exclusive of,
other forms of thinking. It is a great challenge to squeeze
complex, multidimensional meaning through a one-dimensional
communication channel. Programmers might recognize the
problem of serialization or pickling here. It also
parallels with the geek/hacker challenges of pushing a
programmable system to its limits and beyond.
To conclude with some computer science
analogues: Your brain has massively parallel computing capabilities. Language is a single thread that doesn't
take full advantage of your system, but in many cases you can't avoid
using it.