Thinking...
Strange thoughts have been floating around in my head and I have to get them out of my system to remain in a functioning state, so here goes:
Have I been preprogrammed to think a certain way? Possibly.
Have I been taught how to think?
I don't think anyone can be taught how to think. It just happens instinctively I think.
What can be learnt is the content of our thoughts. Ideas and principles can be put into our heads and these ideas influence the way we see the world. I do say influence because I believe that we have the ability to choose which of these ideas to adopt, or even combine to form a "new" idea.
New is in inverted commas because there is a theory that there is no such thing as a new idea and that ideas have been recycled and rehashed and combined with other ideas to seem new. I have yet to read more about this particular theory but well... this whole paragraph is used to basically acknowledge its existence.
Anyways, back to thinking about thinking-hehehe, that sounds so damn cool and would probably make some people's heads hurt. Someone told me that the reason behind our decisions make us who we are and I approached this seemingly small statement with much scepticism.
I do believe that who someone is, is defined by how they think and what they think, and not just whether or not they act on these thoughts, although that does play a part. How we think, or at least how I think I think has indeed been influenced by how I grew up, what I was exposed to, how people reacted to my actions, and my genetic predisposition to think a certain way. Essentially, nature vs nurture.
This is why its freaky to think that someone may think in a similar way as me because no one grew up like me and no one has the same genes as me but I have seen it before- in other people of course. I am truly unique. Hehehe. Its a curious thought really, because, if we are indeed the sum of our thoughts, then are we less of an individual because someone may share the same thoughts as us or process information in the same way as us?
I don't think so. Similar does not mean the same. Because there are so many possibilities in the world, there are probably an equal number of variations in personality. Because of these possibilities (probabilities) and the permutations of these possibilities combined create different events and environments for each of us to grow in and hence, different experiences. Because much of our personalities actually arise from the experiences we gain, a slight tweak in a persons' experiences may cause a drastic change in their personality.
Here's an example, hypothetically, there were two boys who where identical in each and every way in different dimensions, who grew up in the exact same conditions and experienced the exact same things (its impossible) however, one day, Boy A's best friend admitted that she had a crush on him and they eventually came to be in a relationship and finally got married. Say Boy B's best friend chickened out and didn't tell him her feelings for him... he fell in love with a different woman and married.
Tell me then, would the two boys grow up to be the same men? They might be insanely similar, but they would be different people. The butterfly effect!
Have I been preprogrammed to think a certain way? Possibly.
Have I been taught how to think?
I don't think anyone can be taught how to think. It just happens instinctively I think.
What can be learnt is the content of our thoughts. Ideas and principles can be put into our heads and these ideas influence the way we see the world. I do say influence because I believe that we have the ability to choose which of these ideas to adopt, or even combine to form a "new" idea.
Anyways, back to thinking about thinking-
I do believe that who someone is, is defined by how they think and what they think, and not just whether or not they act on these thoughts, although that does play a part. How we think, or at least how I think I think has indeed been influenced by how I grew up, what I was exposed to, how people reacted to my actions, and my genetic predisposition to think a certain way. Essentially, nature vs nurture.
This is why its freaky to think that someone may think in a similar way as me because no one grew up like me and no one has the same genes as me but I have seen it before
I don't think so. Similar does not mean the same. Because there are so many possibilities in the world, there are probably an equal number of variations in personality. Because of these possibilities (probabilities) and the permutations of these possibilities combined create different events and environments for each of us to grow in and hence, different experiences. Because much of our personalities actually arise from the experiences we gain, a slight tweak in a persons' experiences may cause a drastic change in their personality.
Here's an example, hypothetically, there were two boys who where identical in each and every way in different dimensions, who grew up in the exact same conditions and experienced the exact same things (its impossible) however, one day, Boy A's best friend admitted that she had a crush on him and they eventually came to be in a relationship and finally got married. Say Boy B's best friend chickened out and didn't tell him her feelings for him... he fell in love with a different woman and married.
Tell me then, would the two boys grow up to be the same men? They might be insanely similar, but they would be different people. The butterfly effect!
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