| Dr. Seuss created a funny little story about Mrs. | | | | This thinking, I believe, functioned at the gamma level |
| McCave. She had 23 sons and she named them all | | | | (26-80 Hz), the brain waves associated with higher |
| Dave. Now when you ask, "Who Is Dave?" The | | | | level thinking, problem solving, and interpretive |
| question, undernormal circumstances, would lead to a | | | | consciousness. |
| normal answer. But if you were to ask her, itwould be | | | | Incidentally, the reason why stream-of-consciousness |
| baffling. | | | | thinking does not result in much originality, is because it |
| Similarly, if you ask "what is thinking?" you tend to | | | | is usually at beta waves, (12-26 Hz) which is a high |
| baffle your listener. | | | | stress or anxious type of thinking and because it is |
| This is because there is no singular way of thinking. | | | | unsystematic. Basically, your thoughts run around in |
| It has even been said that you can make people do | | | | loops. |
| almost anything, except think. | | | | Ironically, one of the reasons for a decline in thinking, is |
| While this is supposed to be funny. It is also sad, in a | | | | modern education, with it's emphasis on knowledge |
| way. | | | | gathering, rather than interpretive thought. It is the result |
| Because thinking is essential to evolution. Both your | | | | of an industrial age mentality, large numbers of people |
| own and that of humanity as a whole. | | | | are taught the same thing similar to a factory that |
| It is also ironic, because all we appear to do all day is | | | | makes a large number of the same products. By |
| think. | | | | stripping away individuality, it also does away with |
| Yet can this ceaseless stream of thoughts really be | | | | originality. |
| classified as thinking? After all, it seldom results in new | | | | In education, today, with the emphasis on didactic |
| ideas, new solutions, or a new way to grow. | | | | teaching, thinking, in the sense of original and creative |
| From this we can assume that thinking is more than | | | | discovery, does not happen much. Usually, a teacher |
| stream-of-consciousness thinking. | | | | talks and a student listens and follows a reading |
| It is, in fact, a discipline. | | | | assignment. The only feedback required of the student |
| Thinking is a strategic game. Most people try to think | | | | is to repeat back the ideas at some future time, and |
| through things without a strategy. | | | | usually under conditions of a lot of fear and tension. |
| This results in a completely muddled thought process. | | | | Because of the relative passivity of the student using |
| And it is this that makes thinking difficult, frustrating, and | | | | this method, little is reflected upon and what has been |
| something most people avoid. | | | | memorized also soon fades away. |
| However, once you introduce strategy into your | | | | Besides the visual thinking method of artists and |
| thinking, it actually becomes enjoyable, the frustration | | | | scientists and the questioning method of philosophers, |
| disappears, and surprising and often | | | | another strategy of thinking has emerged, which, for |
| paradigm-shattering answers appear. | | | | want of a better name,we will call creative thinking. |
| Here are the two most famous ways of thinking. | | | | There are numerous methods of creative thinking, |
| The first is visual thinking. This method was named | | | | from brainstorming to lateral thinking to mind-mapping. |
| Gedanken, which is the German word for thought. But | | | | Here is one method that might prove helpful to you. |
| really, the translation is more a thought experiment. In | | | | This method is particularly good for completely baffling |
| other words, imagine a scenario which examines a | | | | practical problems, in particular business or personal |
| question. | | | | problems. |
| Einstein was a champion at this way of thinking, | | | | 1. Write down everything about a difficult problem that |
| although he did not invent it. By imagining riding on a | | | | bothers you. Blow off steam. |
| beam of light, he got rid of the idea of an ether and | | | | 2. Write down all possible solutions. Do this until you |
| created the Special Theory of Relativity. | | | | feel you have exhausted every possible answer. The |
| Similarly, Nikola Tesla said that he could run a machine | | | | answers do not have to be original, just any answer. |
| in his mind to see if it worked properly. | | | | Also, don't repeat an answer. |
| This method is powerful because it occurs at the | | | | 3. Do something completely unrelated. |
| alpha or theta level of consciousness. | | | | 4. Out of the blue, you will suddenly know the best |
| Alpha waves (8 - 12 Hz) are seen when we are both | | | | answers from step 2 or you may even come up with |
| alert and relaxed. These waves decrease with | | | | something new. |
| physical activity. Theta Waves are 4 - 8 Hz . We see | | | | The reason this method works is because it causes a |
| these brain waves when we are falling asleep or just | | | | break in neuronal habituation. Initially, in step one, you |
| waking up and during the early stages of sleep. | | | | exhaust all aspects of your stuck state. Then in step |
| Another method was that of Socrates, who would | | | | two, you exhaust all known or possible answers. In |
| ask questions, get an answer, and turn that answer | | | | step three, you let your subconscious mind do all the |
| into a new question. In other words, he would create a | | | | work. Finally, in step four, it gives you an answer. |
| chain reaction, and beable to probe deep into moral | | | | The reason thinking is important is that it helps you to |
| and philosophical concepts. This method revolutionized | | | | transcend levels of difficulties and evolve as a human |
| the soldier-farmer culture of Athens to become one of | | | | being much faster. If the thinking is original enough, it |
| the most brilliant cultures per population number in the | | | | can even evolve a whole culture or humanity as a |
| history of the world. | | | | whole. |