Thinking about What We Think
As I sat down at my computer, I looked over at a teacher’s guide for a writing program that I worked on a few years ago. It was open on my desk to page with of teaching tips. One section was called Using Internet Resources. In the introductory paragraph it said,
Explain to students that the Internet does not undergo the same kind of scrutiny and review process that books and professional publications do. Voyages in English, Grade 6, p. 147
That sentence got me thinking about how we think. The information highways of our brains process ideas, thoughts, and concepts at incredible speed. Those messages transmit efficiently, but our “scrutiny and review process” has only our own context and experience to determine whether the information is flawed or faulty, incomplete, biased, or inaccurate.
As a source, we can be woefully limited, inexperienced, or out of date.
How do I know what I think I know?
Am I doing this out of habit or is it what the situation requires?
How did I form my opinion about that person?
What makes me think that I’ll never be good at doing that?
Am I sure that what I know from the past is still true?
How do you review the information on the Internet in your head?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Stuck? Work with Liz!!
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Yes, the mind really is the final frontier! Perception is reality; reality is perception. How do we make sense of it all? I have researched the Enneagram, NLP, EMDR, NET, EFT, the Tao Te Ching, proverbs from across the globe, the Bible, and a host of both modern and ancient “wisdom.” I write my blog with the goal of passing that along. Bottom line? — You have to want to look inside, you have to want to change, you have to want to grow. No one can do it for you. It is a journey of discovery in which onion layer after onion layer of issues, self-limiting thoughts, and doubts are revealed and released. Not always fun, but eventually more fulfilling than you can imagine.
It’s tempting to reference Gladwell’s “Blink” and the discussion around snap judgments. Unfortunately, I don’t recall all of the details in his book, so I’m not comfortable with drawing too many parallels.
However, it’s very, very easy to let information slip through our filters by the scanning process that most of us do when we read Web content (or paper content, for that matter.)
I often find that I’ll sometimes read and blindly accept things that I read until I hit a mental hurdle or bump in the road that I wasn’t expecting or that doesn’t mesh with my beliefs. Then I’ll catch myself and think through what I’ve read. Other times I just keep charging ahead and sometimes I’ll get the wrong idea about something.
I think there’s a significant danger for misinterpretation and miscommunication through this scanning process, so I’m trying to be more conscious of it.
Hi SpaceAgeSage!
Exploring the Information Super Highway in our heads is tricky, because it can easily separate us from our hearts and our souls. It sounds as if you’re keeping them together in the journey of discovery you’re making.
It will be fun to watch you. 🙂
Hi Mark!
I so agree with this.
I often find that I’ll sometimes read and blindly accept things that I read until I hit a mental hurdle or bump in the road that I wasn’t expecting or that doesn’t mesh with my beliefs. Then I’ll catch myself and think through what I’ve read.
I do the same thing.
It’s even worse when it’s not about something I’ve read, but about a person’s actions or something I see.
Yes, me too. If it sounds plausible when I read something on the internet, I’m likely to believe it, but if it sounds weird or wacky? Um . . . hmmm . . .
And, of course, if it’s flattering, I believe it right away. (All brunettes with curly hair are inherently smart, wise, funny, and successful. Well, gee, of course!)
I wonder if that’s why horoscopes are so addictive?
Hi Deb!
We think that information that agrees with what we already think is really smart! 🙂