5 Ways to Develop Independent Thought

[Cramulus]

5 Ways to Develop Independent Thought
by John Wesley

(from: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/5-ways-to-develop-independent-thought/)

A classroom full of 10-year-old students is asked to solve a problem with children crossing the street on the way to school. The children come up with ideas that have been used successfully in other places: traffic calming devices, overpasses, fluorescent jackets and speed limits. All these ideas are conventional, exactly what the teacher wants to hear.

Except for one. A student recommends that the school board sell the property and move the classroom online. This is not what the teacher was expecting.

This idea may not be practical, popular, or even possible, but when it's ridiculed by the class it might be the last independent thought that the student dares to express — the death of another independent thinker.

Independent thought is not popular — it is absolutely, pricelessly, rare. Nothing you read about in the papers or see on the television is independent. Whatever we take in from the popular media is regurgitated conventional knowledge. There is nothing independent about most of the world.

This is a tragedy — independent thought is essential for progress. Conventional thinking moves us forward gradually at best (at worst it pushes us backwards). Independent thinking is required to achieve any substantial jump in performance.

Logically, when we think like everyone else is thinking, the best we can expect is to achieve what they're already achieving. If our aim is to over-achieve, we need to avoid the same banal influences and think impossibly. We need to become independent from conventional wisdom.

Fortunately, you don't have to be particularly intelligent or well educated to think independently. Consider small children. Conventional wisdom says that shoes are for wearing and bananas are for eating. Independent thinking allows children try eating the shoes and wearing the bananas on their feet. Their lack of conventional wisdom and utter disregard for how others view their decisions allows children to experiment without anxiety. In this case they may be wrong, but in other cases they can be shockingly right.

Using these 5 strategies you can develop your independent thinking ability.

1. Disconnect from sources of conventional thinking

Instead of plugging into your TV, PC, or library for answers, think for yourself first. Without cutting yourself off from the world, you can increase your capacity for independent thought by limiting the conventional opinion you absorb. This means reducing the media you consume and the level of devotion you give to it. Independent thinkers aren't necessarily contrarian, but they don't agree with the status quo by default. They devise new criteria for perceiving the world rather than seeing everything through the screen of their computer.

2. Immerse yourself in experiences that conflict with your current perspective

Instead of substituting a new conventional thought for the old one, deliberately seek out experiences that challenge your views. These experiences may exist in foreign cultures, unusual subcultures, or between the pages of a book you disagree with. The point is not to adopt a new train of thought, but to disrupt the conventional railroad.

3. Watch the process from a distance

Leaving your normal life behind can give you the freedom to see issues from another perspective. Watching the world instead of eating it up gives you the peace of mind to think for yourself. Standing still from time to time gives you the opportunity to ridicule your own beliefs and explore new angles.

4. Randomize your sensory inputs

Instead of visiting the same places, eating the same foods, and talking to the same people, you can actively pursue new experiences. Many people cling to the familiar to simplify decisions and create a sense of security. If you truly want to think independently, you need to get outside your comfort zone.

5. Practice disbelief

Without becoming a cynic, you can develop the habit of instinctively distrusting thoughts that rely on conventional wisdom. Instead of assuming that these "truths" are self evident, suspend judgment until you've have confirmed that there is reality behind the logic.

If all of this sounds too difficult, consider what can be gained from independent thought. Even microscopic steps towards thinking independently will increase your contribution to the world. You will see opportunities and solutions that others overlook. You will obtain a competitive advantage over less creative thinkers. Most importantly, your thoughts will be your own and not just recycled media.

Think independently and you create a world of limitless opportunity. But don't take my word for it...find out for yourself.

[Cain]

Just to add to this, I find a good dose of logically sustained critical thinking to be a help.  I know thats kind of point 3 and 5, but here is a handily stolen list of such attitudes one could adopt to aid independent thought.

http://episkoposcain.blogspot.com/2007/03/field-guide-to-critical-thinking.html

Falsifiability
It must be possible to conceive of evidence that would prove the claim false.

Logic
Any argument offered as evidence in support of any claim must be sound. An argument is said to be "valid" if its conclusion follows unavoidably from its premises; it is "sound" if it is valid and if all the premises are true.

Comprehensiveness
The evidence offered in support of any claim must be exhaustive -- that is all of the available evidence must be considered.

Honesty
The evidence offered in support of any claim must be evaluated without self-deception.

Replicability
If the evidence for any claim is based upon an experimental result, or if the evidence offered in support of any claim could logically be explained as coincidental, then it is necessary for the evidence to be repeated in subsequent experiments or trials.

Sufficiency
The evidence offered in support of any claim must be adequate to establish the truth of that claim, with these stipulations:
* the burden of proof for any claim rests on the claimant,
* extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence, and
* evidence based upon authority and/or testimony is always inadequate for any paranormal claim

Conclusion
The first three rules of FiLCHeRS -- falsifiability, logic, and comprehensiveness -- are all logically necessary rules of evidential reasoning. If we are to have confidence in the veracity of any claim whether normal or paranormal, the claim must be prepositionally meaningful, and the evidence offered in support of the claim must be rational and exhaustive.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Like thick Heavy Clouds, over parched desert lands... this thread looks promising!

[Cain]

Not exactly the same, but its helpful in developing thoughts more

http://wiki.chainofthoughts.com/

[The Apex, The Harmony Of]

Iv found the technique of adopting a E-prime view very helpful. Its helpful because it allows quite a cold logic on structure in language, such as from a book. Certain verbs are discouraged and allow for a more careful thought and analysis for error in ones own language, thought and writing as well as on others.
Thinking and jumping to conclusion gets harder and very lengthy with e-prime. Its difficult to settle on any sort of conclusion due to the neurtal adaption of multiple ideas along the way to a conclusion...I never have reached one in E prime anyway 

Il just copy and paste the list from wikipedia.
and if you want to read the whole article its here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_Prime

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Discouraged forms

E-Prime would prohibit the following words as forms of to be:

be
being
been
am
is; isn't
are; aren't
was; wasn't
were; weren't

Contractions formed from a pronoun and a conjugation of to be:
I'm
you're; we're; they're
he's; she's; it's
there's; here's
where's; how's; what's; who's
E-Prime likewise prohibits contractions of to be found in nonstandard dialects of English, such as the following:
ain't
hain't (when derived from ain't rather than haven't)

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Allowed words

E-prime does not prohibit the following words, because they do not derive from forms of to be. Some of these serve similar grammatical functions (see auxiliary verbs).

become
has; have; had
I've; you've
do; does; doing; did
can; could
will; would
shall; should
ought
may; might; must

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Allowed words with prohibited homophones or homographs

The following words may either look (homograph) or sound (homophone) like a form of the word to be, but they do not have the same meaning.

its, the possessive case of the singular gender-neutral pronoun
Contractions of the form 's, derived from 'has'
hain't (in nonstandard dialects when derived from haven't rather than ain't)
Nouns that sound like forms of the verb to be:
bee, meaning an insect or a contest
being when used as a noun, as in Virginia Woolf's statement, "The artist after all is a solitary being"
B, M, and R, names of the letters (although M is pronounced distinctly from am in many dialects)

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Iv tried telling other people about this who have just started to 'think' but err they seem overwhelmed.

[LMNO]

Because of the 50-post rule, I'll put it like this:




If you honestly think a Discordian board wouldn't know about E-Prime, you really need to lurk more.

[AFK]

in your opinion   

[LMNO]

NO; LURKING MORE IS THE ONLY ABSOLUTELY TRUE THING IN THE MULTIVERSE.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

Can someone please tell me what the 50 post rule is?

[AFK]

Can someone please tell me what the 50 post rule is?

Basically that n00bs are given 50 posts to make an ass of themself, get the 23PINEAL stuff out of their system, etc., without the regulars piling on and beating them up. 

If they make it to 50, and they are still posting stupid shit (yes, rather subjective) then all bets are off. 

Of course, when it doesn't work, (see AKK) we've always got the Pledge as back up. 

[Xooxe]

So, you're saying I'm wasting these posts with non-dadaist shite? 

[LMNO]

Exactly.

Then again, you could spend your 50 with posts of an intelligent nature, so we could respect the hell out of you when you hit 50.


But that doesn't happen too often.

[Cain]

Or we could make Xooxe a mod so he can pretend the forum is shutting down (again) and scare the shit out of everyone.  Best mindfuck EVAR.

[The Apex, The Harmony Of]

Because of the 50-post rule, I'll put it like this:

If you honestly think a Discordian board wouldn't know about E-Prime, you really need to lurk more.

I guessed that as soon as I posted it. Oh well.

And sorry, im not into all this private jokes lingo you guys have. So if im hitting cliches about being a noob then...well, what does it matter anyway?

[Cain]

Ignore LMNO, he's just pissy no-one except LHX ever read the Maybe Logic threads from way back.

Also, not too n00bish.  You're not trying to wow us with your 'wackiness' or throw Principia quotes at us every single post, which is normally what annoys people.  In fact, I'd say your contributions thus far have been fairly solid, if treading on old ground for some.