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Conventional Thought

Started by AFK, November 20, 2007, 01:06:53 PM

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AFK

So who the hell coined that phrase?  And what was the convention?

Anyway, I've spent the past few days hanging around folks over at Political Crossfire.  It's a messageboard for people to "debate" political, societal, and other issues.

The frustrating part of it is so many seem to be sold hard on the ideas of conventional thought, and conventional wisdom.  But, since 95% of them are using this conventional thought and wisdom, the "debates" just go in circles. 

I think this relates to how many allow themselves to become trapped by convention and what "should be."  A lack of interest in challenging the conventions and expanding their borders, if not eliminating them wholesale. 

Why don't more people on this planet have the urge to break out of these molds?  Why do they settle for talking points and norms?  It seems to me one of the greatest things about having this mind, is that while it drives me, I have some say in where it goes.  And I know y'all are with me when I say I really enjoy taking it for scenic drives into uncharted territory.  Of course, we need to maintain some level of "conventional thinking" otherwise we'd never find our way back. 

Though, sometimes I wonder if that would truly be a bad thing. 
Cynicism is a blank check for failure.

Cainad (dec.)

#1
Conventional wisdom was invented by a philosopher by the name of Popular Belief. But seriously...

I agree, many people are content to be locked into patterns of dialogue and loops of debate. It's rather shocking how many people want to simply argue 'their perspective' (read: the jumbled system of thought and belief fed to them during their lifetime) and how few have any interest in mutually beneficial discussion. They'll scan other people's arguments for buzzwords that they can refute in a ready-made, prefabricated response. You can practically see the "Made in China" sticker on everything they say.

Genuine discussion usually involves the insertion of heavy doses of Truth. Lots of people just aren't up for having their Black Iron Prison cells rattled so badly. They prefer tapping the bars to make a nifty little rhythm, and they have, over the years, developed an elaborate, but nevertheless quite repetitive, call-and-response tune. Imagine dueling choruses of these, each tapping a slightly different rhythm, each trying to find the perfect tune and harmonization that will, they hope, be so mind-blowingly awesome that it shuts the other choruses up. They constantly try and play louder and in better synchronization than the others, creating a discordant (yes!) cacophony.

Then there's us and our kind, who are so fed up with the racket that we want to tear the place down.

Bebek Sincap Ratatosk

- I don't see race. I just see cars going around in a circle.

"Back in my day, crazy meant something. Now everyone is crazy" - Charlie Manson

Cain

There are also vested interests in people thinking what they do now.  Changingminds.org goes into this in some depth, I'll pull out a few quotes:


...my needs are already met here

Needs are basic drivers of action. If needs are not perceived as being particularly threatened and the current situation is relatively comfortable (particularly in comparison with the proposed change) then I will be happier to stay where I am.

...I have invested heavily here

When I have invested a lot of time and energy in building up my position, both socially and organizationally, then any change may mean bad news. Social investment creates a person's sense of identity. Organizational investment gives them control. Sliding down the ladder that I have so painstakingly climbed over the year is a long way from my shopping list.

...the destination looks worse than where I am now

Although I want to move, the final resting place of the change looks significantly worse for me than the current position. I feel it is like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

...the journey there looks painful

The final destination may be great, but the journey from here to there looks very uncomfortable. The anticipated pain of the transition is more immediate than the distant and hazy future, and I respond more to this than to any inspiring vision.

Bebek Sincap Ratatosk

Beyond all of the excellent points Cain makes, there's also the tribal instinct that's been bred into our species over thousands of years. In early Hunter Gatherer societies and later Agricultural societies, the survival of the individual relied heavily on the tribe. By oneself, survival would be difficult, unlikely and getting to pump some DNA into the gene pool was also not probable. To live in the tribe, one had to accept the tribes belief system, be it in the Lake God or the Forest God or the Moon Goddess or the Lord of Death or the Pink Unicorn that drinks tea on the backside of the sun (which is why that damned teapot is still there). The beliefs of the tribe became the separation of Us (the smart tribe that knows we have to sacrifice to the Lake God so it doesn't kill us) vs. Them (the godless idiots 15 miles away that eat mushrooms and dance around the fire when someone dies). If an individual didn't believe as the tribe believed, then (in many cases) they were ostracized, tossed out or worse... as seen in some Bible passages, they and their entire family were slaughtered. After all, you don't want the Lake God bringing a monsoon to wipe out the village just because of some stupid non-believer.

Humans were bred to believe what the tribe believes. Today, the main difference is that all the tribes get tossed together and shaken like a salad from McDonald's. Instead of the Lake God people doing their thing in the relative isolation of 15 miles, they're doing it in front of the county courthouse with a giant monument of the 8 rules that the Lake God handed down to them. The Catholic tribe is mixed in with the Wiccan tribe, the Lutheran tribe, the Atheist tribe, the Baptist tribe, the Hindu tribe, the Buddhist tribe, the Christian Scientist tribe etc etc etc. On top of that, they have 24 hour access to live video footage of what all these other blasphemous tribes are up to.

Maybe...
- I don't see race. I just see cars going around in a circle.

"Back in my day, crazy meant something. Now everyone is crazy" - Charlie Manson

The Apex, The Harmony Of

Cainotophobia. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but to a degree I see it as a common dis-ease among people, even alot of very intelligent people.