by Erik Johansson, surreal Photography Sweden.
A third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority.
A second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority.
A first- rate mind is only happy when it is thinking
A.A. Milne.
I came across this saying searching for something else but I find the whole topic very interesting; how much time in the day do we spend actually thinking? I am not a complete nerd but I suppose to answer this question I could spend my time recording everything that happens during one day and how much original thinking I actually did during this time.
Activities such as going to the supermarket, riding or public transport, dealing with phone calls, performing home tasks demand not so much thinking but reaction. An incentive to think is where our values and way of life is challenged. On the other hand we are likely to shut off and go with the crowd. We have to make a conscious effort to make a statement, typically for freedom.
Unfortunately, thinking and acting from belief is being increasingly suppressed in this day and age. Just yesterday, Marie Le Penn has been accused of misappropriating European community funds and imprisoned for four years of which two have been suspended.
It is interesting that the prime minister and president of France have also been accused of the same crime but strangely they do not end up in prison and probably never will.
On the other hand, an ordinary member of the public writes something on a social media page about the education of their daughter at school and they get a visit from the police, get taken away in handcuffs, and after five or six weeks of hell they are released when there is no evidence.
Anyone would think that someone somewhere was trying to restrict us in our thinking and being made to behave like sheep mainly through making us afraid.
I’m quite a sucker for quotes and I like the one by Benjamin Franklin, ” if everyone is thinking a like, then no one is thinking”.
The poet Geothe said that” to think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult of all”.
Michelle de Montaigne commented that” there is no conversation more boring than one where everybody agrees”.
Why don’t we find the time to engage in conversations? Part of the reason is a lack of motivation because we’re all so busy and then full of fear of what might happen in terms of possible consequences. Another reason is that there are so many distractions from social media and the television,
I think if you took a group of people who were stressed and overworked and transported them by some magic to a park bench overlooking the sea with a pint of beer apiece you would find that people’s conversation would after a few minutes become much more focused, much more in depth, and would involve a certain amount of soul searching.
I wonder if we are frightened to say what we really believe because we like people to agree with us and be our friend. I find the English in particular are are a little bit hypocritical in that they will nod in agreement with something you say but dismiss it as soon as you turn your back.
I think people need to be pinned down, so-called tied to a chair if you want a vivid analogy, given a large glass of whiskey, and then it is more likely that the truth will come out.
Sample question, how is your wife?
Answer, fine thanks.
Second time of asking the question how is your wife?
Answer we’re thinking of getting divorced.
I think if you’re going to get anyone to speak the truth they have to know that you care about them and will not reject them for having a different point of view.
I am guilty as any. I have given two views on the same subject dependent on who I am with and what their views are. If I’m only with someone for a short time I don’t want to alienate them by telling them that they are talking rubbish.
I believe I need to show that my opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it so I know that dismissing an idea because it was said by someone that I have taken a dislike to is not a very productive way of going about things.
There are ways of dissenting that I have learned over the years. For example, ‘I can see where you are coming from but have you taken XYZ into account’. Another example, ‘I used to say what you are saying for many years but then I discovered something that really shocked me and that caused me to change my view’.
In other words, a little bit of historical perspective doesn’t do any harm. On an everyday basis we need to be the sort of person that people trust so they will listen to our words even if they are spoken quietly.
If anyone wants to add any more points then please feel free to do so in the comments
I’m more concerned by another type of thinking.
Where people who are not very good at something think that they are.
People with expertise can see the bigger picture – they can see that they don’t know everything. Unfortunately, this does make them more cautious about pushing their own ideas and expertise.
However, people who have little ability in a particular subject can’t see their own limitations. Unfortunately, this often means they think they have great expertise and they push their own ideas.
This is exemplified by the current government of the United States. Convinced they are right, they push on with their dogma. They can’t see the failures, they can’t see their own faults. They take criticism as negative. So wrapped up in their own ego they take it personally rather than seeing it as constructive.
This tendency in people with low ability has been observed for many decades but it was not given a name until 1999. It is called the Dunning-Kruger Effect.