Where Did All The Thinking Go?
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which
is probably the reason so few engage in it.” ― Henry Ford
What Do We Really Want?
We live in a fast-food society, at
least in the USA. We want what we want, now! We prefer not to work too hard for
it, if we work at all, and many of us have a sense of entitlement. We believe
all of us should go to college and get our degree, but not much effort should
be expended in doing so. After all, we have lots of cheeseburgers to munch on and
many parties to attend.
“Five
percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and
the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.”
― Thomas A. Edison
When I was teaching, even at the United States Military
Academy, I ran into this attitude often. Students wanted to do the minimum
amount of work to get by with a passing grade. In contrast were the
non-traditional students taking evening classes after working a fulltime job
during the day. It appears as though there is an “entitled” attitude prevalent
in this country, and “thinking” is not for us.
Who Killed Homer?
Some Hellenic Naval officers, whom I
taught in a graduate-level program management course, presented me a small
token of their appreciation at the end of the semester. It was a book entitled,
“Who
Killed Homer.” I do not really remember how the
author of the classic, “The Illiad,” had died,
but the book was not about his fate. Rather, it was about the fate of classical
education: it had died. And with its demise, we blundered into “everyone
advances,” or “no one left behind,” an educational philosophy that is in part
responsible for the poor showing of education in America.
“Why
should things be easy to understand?
― Thomas Pynchon”
Dare require a student to think (think critically) to earn a
grade, and you are likely to be faced with a lawsuit. At a minimum, you might
be forced to render the minimum passing grade for mediocre performance. My wife
once had a student who wondered why they failed math, in spite of the fact that
they had never attended a class or taken an exam. Where did we go wrong? Was it
killing Homer? What’s wrong with leaving behind people who do not keep up?
Hey, What About the Learning Impaired?
Oh, you mean me? I am dyslexic and
live with Asperger's Syndrome (in the Autistic scale). I had speech therapy
from first through seventh grade in public school. When I graduated from high
school, I could read at a sixth-grade level. After my first semester of
college, I had a 1.2 grade point average. So, do not inquire about learning
disabilities.
“I
get stubborn and dig in when people tell me I can't do something and I think I
can. It goes back to my childhood when I had problems in school because I have
a learning disability.”
― Ann Bancroft
Having stated the point strongly, I do recognize that
learning disabilities exist, beyond my personal experience. However, I am not
qualified to address them.
Are We Afraid To Think?
I am training an amazing group of
analysts (They are probably training me as much as I am them) in predictive
modeling and all the stuff that goes along with it. They are a breath of fresh
air. When I was a contractor for the Department of Defense, I worked with
several very competent people, but at least half of the government civilian and
contract employees seemed incapable of critical thought. It was routine to go
to work, get paid for doing nothing useful, get in your car and speed home to
do who-knows-what. People who could think critically were threats to the
hierarchy and were, more often than not, put into menial jobs to curb their
thoughts. Thinking was dangerous!
“If
you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really
make them think, they'll hate you.”
― Harlan Ellison
Have We Forgotten How To Think?
I am afraid that thinking really is
a dying art. We fill the void of inactivity with the NFL or the NBA on ESPN.
The most popular conversations at work revolve around quarterbacks and point
guards. People talk about their favorite teams as if they were earning regular
revenue for their loyalty. I suspect that many people yell at their
televisions, offering expert and well-thought advice to the offensive
coordinators and referees.
“People
don’t like to think, if one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are
not always pleasant.”
― Helen Keller
A Testimonial
I was the first child of five (three
sisters and a brother) to attend and graduate from college, and I was the middle
child. My parents did not have the money to send me, so if it had not been for
a full scholarship, I would not have attended. I was working as a
“professional” landscaper at age 11 (I cut grass and cleaned gutters and so on)
through high school. I had five properties I attended to. Getting to work
involved pushing my lawnmower down the street, sometimes as far as a mile.
Throughout high school, I played soccer, kept score for
baseball, and was a trainer for the football team. I did not have a car, so I
either walked five miles home or bummed a ride, usually with a coach. I
continued to play soccer in college, worked on the weekends delivering
furniture for Ethan Allan, and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree with a
double major. Just before graduation, I was able to buy my first car, with my
dad cosigning. Needless to say, I did not have time for mindless activity.
When I graduated from college, I had my car and a set of
uniforms for which the Army had provided an allowance. My first residence was a
one-bedroom efficiency apartment, furnished and rounded out with a stereo
system I purchased from a pawn shop. While listening to Dan Fogelberg, I read
J.R. Tolkien and other works of science fiction, in addition to readings
required by the US Army Armor School. This may sound like I am anti-television
for I did not own a TV, not that I could have afforded one. However, I can
stand with the best when it comes to movie trivia.
The bottom line is: I had to think my way through life.“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”
― Groucho Marx
How To Stimulate Thinking
Turn the TV off! And then try some
of the following:
1.
Put a jigsaw puzzle together. When
you finish, take it apart and put it back together without looking at the box
(as much as possible). I usually do this two or three times a week, but I can
put a 1000-piece puzzle together in three hours (I like poster puzzles). It
requires thought and concentration.
“The
solution often turns out more beautiful than the puzzle.”
― Richard Dawkins
2.
Read a classic, like Moby Dick,
Charlotte’s Web, or To Kill a Mockingbird. If you really want to think, read
the Lord of the Rings. If have the 50th Anniversary Edition, which was restored
to the original text by Tolkien's son.
“Your
mind is your library of what you read.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita
3.
Write something, anything. You can
keep it to yourself, and it will still make you think. Better yet, blog or
write a book. I self-publish and blog. Sometimes I fell like I think too much.
“Writing
is essential to learning. One cannot be educated and yet unable to communicate
one’s ideas in written form.”
― Richard W. Paul, The Thinker's
Guide to How to Write a Paragraph
4.
If you are a gamer, stop playing
mindless games of muscle reflex and turn to games of strategy. Better yet,
design and test scenarios for these games. Designing (creating) is an action
that causes thinking. I typically design a scenario, play it until it is
bug-free and then throw it away to start a new one.
“There's
a difference between playing and playing games. The former is an act of joy,
the latter — an act.” ―
Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual
Calendar of Inspiration
5. Go for a walk, hike, or run.
However, leave your Walkman or iPhone at home. Think instead of mindlessly
listening to music. At least listen to music that will stimulate thought if you
cannot live without it. Sometimes, I listen to Enya.
“All
truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of
the Idols
6.
Play Chess or Stratego with friends
or family. You will be forced to think, at least if you want to win. Other
games requiring human interaction are good as well, even card games. But leave
the TV in the off position.”
“Strategy
is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be
different."
― Michael Porter
7.
To prove I am not anti-television,
watch a movie that will make you think and emote, like, "The Million
Dollar Arm." Better yet watch a documentary or a Ted Talk.
“Science
is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”
― Carl Sagan
Jeffrey Strickland is a data scientist the author of “How
Students Make Meaning in Calculus.”
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