Hard to think in pairs

We are not using any XP techniques or (estiblished) agile development. But we interact a lot, we really enjoy our short brainstorming meetings and our whiteboards. We are trying to solve our tasks at our best (god i hope one of my bosses reads this [smile/]). During some of last tasks I have suggested to my colegues to do some pair programming in order to optimize the process and catch as many problems immediately. We are not prepared for pair programming (as regards the equipements), but it was a nice experience (at least for me). What caught my attention at some point was a remark of one of my colegues:

it's really hard to think in pairs

I have tried to figure out what that meant: is it really hard to express your ideas in front of some other guy?; is it really hard to watch another guy typing?; is it less efficient than having the piece coded by yourself and later reviewed?. I don't have a objective answer to all of these, but I feel that if my ideas are hard to be expressed in front of other guys is caused only because they are not clear to me. Sometimes I start working on something and let it evolve even if the initial idea keeps changing all the time. But if your pair has got the main idea you can do this also together. Is it really hard to watch another guy typing? Hmm not exactly. Maybe from time to time when the guy is too tired, but that is exactly the moment you should take control. Is it less efficient than having the piece done by yourself? Probably the typing step is longer (if the other guy is not a champion at writting). But you'' not be wondering around your ideas by yourself and after finishing you will not have to remember every aspect of your work in order to answer some other guy question. You will have that piece ready and understood/assumed by two guys in the team. This is really good! I will not advocate that pair programming must be applied always. But I think it really fits in some tasks and can help the guys have it done shortly and well. So, imo it is not hard to think in pairs!