‘What are you thinking?’ Female here. I was still a teenager when I asked my first long-term boyfriend that a few times and was astounded, I mean completely flabbergasted, to find out that often he wasn’t really thinking of anything at all. (No one in my family was like that.)
My eyes opened about the possible nature of the other sex, I’ve not asked that question for a couple of decades now. Truth be told, however, there are men who are always thinking, usually in an interesting way, and there’s no need to ask them that question.
A friend is fond of addressing that point with:
If you ask what I'm thinking, and I say "nothing", I really do mean it! There truly is nothing going on upstairs at the time. Really: nothing is going on in there! Sometimes - often - I am merely existing, which often happens without further contemplation.
Ladies; On a long (cross country) car trips, at night, through mountain passes don't be surprised if we are in no mood to chit chat!
You can "multi task." Most men can't. We need focus on the task.
Not exactly on topic with what you posted but it reminded me of that!