Learning to Think

One of the biggest problems in our world is that there are too few people who are doing any thinking. We rely on other people to give us our news (which means that we only get what others want us to know). We then rely on a different set of people to tell us what is important. (This means that we our priorities get set somewhere else, by someone we don't even know.) And then we have a third set of 'experts' who analyze what is important so that we can understand it. And the bottom line is that we do not have to think about anything.

We are lazy! People do not read books because it is too hard. It takes too long to read a book. It is much easier to watch television. If I want news, I can get 2 minutes of headlines on the television morning news program right between the latest celebrity gossip, barbecue on a budget recipes and a discussion of the best color for a mother of the bride dress. News is hard. Current events are hard. Reading is hard. Thinking is hard!

Now many people will be offended by this. They will maintain that they think on a regular basis. But I want us to raise the standard on our brain work. I want to assert that thinking includes not only basic thoughts ("I must go to the bathroom." "I really like eggplant."), but also larger ideals. In fact, brain function should not be considered thinking unless it includes more than just basic information or knowledge.

• Thinking includes recognition. Knowing what to name a thing is the first step in thinking. This is where must of us leave the thinking continuum.
• Thinking includes discrimination. You are not thinking until you can recognize differences and values. Thinking includes comparing and contrasting things. It is hard to know how to do this, but it is crucial in the process of thinking.
• Thinking also includes evaluation. When you move beyond seeing and recognizing, you can move into evaluating things. What does this mean? How important is it? What should I do about it?
• Thinking is also about understanding. This is truly the hardest part of thinking. The work involved in understanding a thing may be the greatest thing that humans can aspire to.