The Way We Think

Hello there!

It’s been such a long time since I wrote on this blog. I just got out of school( wow! ) and I realized that I had not written a post for a long long time. So here I am. It’s the same old me. I replaced my 10 year old laptop with a new one. That was some change.

Even though I did not get the time to sit down and write a post, I made sure I made sticky notes of every idea that passed my mind. My bedroom wall has a lot of them. So, I was thinking of what I should write about and after some thinking (which literally took me less than 5 mins ) I am ready to go.

We are all familiar with the developments in Artificial Intelligence. Sophia, the new robot citizen that has captured all our attention has increased our interest in AI by a significant amount. We are fascinated by robots and we are also afraid of them in a very strange way. With all the movies of robots taking over the world, I believe that is a very normal reaction. Will robots take over the world? Will robots destroy us? are all questions we all like to discuss. At least some of us.

Before I go any further I have to say that my technical knowledge on AI and robots are not at all worth mentioning and it is not about that part of the equation that I would like to talk about today. In fact this was just a way of introducing my topic.

We all say that robots can’t think creatively like we do. Could be true. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t think. It could very well be that they think differently. Not putting our way of thinking as the ‘right’ and ‘only’ way of thinking and looking at it from a broader perspective will help clarify this statement. This could also mean that their way of expression is also different and so on.

Over time I have seen many things that affect our way of thinking. If I go watch a movie with people from the other side of the planet, it is very possible that it could be one of the most awkward moments of my life. They could laugh at things that I might not find very funny while I could laugh at things that they might not find funny. Some things are polite in some parts of the world while they are rude in other parts. All these things I believe have something to do with the differences in our way of thinking.

So what influences our thinking? Well it could be lots of things. Language, culture are some of the important ones. How does language affect the way we think? Well how do you think? When you think, you are in a way talking to yourself in a particular language. This could be English, French, Spanish or any other language there is on this planet. Since you are talking silently when you think, the number of feelings your vocabulary is able to define affects your thinking in a colossal way. Some languages address feelings that other languages have no words for. This is why translation of texts( accurately ) can be a bit tricky. The knowledge of that word will help you notice that feeling when it comes by, leading to a difference in the way you think. How does culture influence the way you think? Traditions, moral values, family all of these make within us, with the passage of time, a scale on which we measure actions, words etc. Our measurements based on this ever developing scale is what drives our expressions, opinions and reactions. As a Christian, I believe that there is a moral scale that God has given us according to which every man has to align himself for a peaceful society, based on which our actions could be wrong or right. If there was no such stable moral scale, it would be a total catastrophe.

How does this information help me?

Well, though it may seem unimportant, it is very important to recognise our unique ways of thinking in a world that is getting more connected day by day. Our differences will be magnified. In such a situation it is important to realise that it is our unique sets of information that shapes the way we think. One more reason to travel and read. Today, we respect a person’s uniqueness. It is just as important to respect a person’s unique way of thinking.

This will lead to better discussions, faster solutions and healthier relationships.

So, next time you get into an argument, take into consideration the other person’s way of thinking. It will help you to respect their arguments more and consider them from a wider perspective. A nice talk will also help you to understand which piece of information is missing from the puzzle.

God bless and have a great week, guys!