I have often been accused of “overthinking” something. So, naturally, I cannot help but think about that.
Usually, the offense is committed when I have encountered something that is either intended as a joke, or a clever analogy, or a meme with a narrow scope and that has, I admit, a very clear intent. But I will see something in whatever it is that seems to need further thought, a bit more careful examination, perhaps something that takes the meaning in an entirely different direction.
So. Guilty as charged, I suppose. I do “overthink” things.
And I will continue to do so. I will proudly overthink things whenever I feel like it. And I encourage you to do the same.
We currently live in a culture in which we are repeatedly told, both directly and indirectly, not to think very much at all. We’re told to feel, to react, to seek truth and profundity in 140 characters or less. Reason is too slow, analysis is the same as bias, facts are whatever we declare them to be and they mean, like Humpty Dumpty’s words, whatever the source tells us they mean. We’re told to choose our side in any dispute and hold our position against all attacks. Intellect is suspect, emotions are power, thinking wastes valuable time. We must act, we are told, and thinking isn’t action.
Culture, however, is not created mainly by the big things, but by the ordinary. We tell a joke, sing a song, use a common expression we picked up somewhere, buy a product because we remember the ad for it, click on a hyperlink, watch a television show or go to a movie, leaf through the tabloids in the checkout line.
People are amused, they’re shocked, they’re enthralled, they’re outraged, they’re inspired. And they move on. they let it go, get over it, wait for the next shoe to drop, shake their heads. They react; then it’s on to the next meme, the next chuckle or shock or inspiration or outrage. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But they don’t think.
Often, they don’t even know how.
How many common logical fallacies can you name? Do you know the order of operations in solving a simple math problem? Are you proud to tell people that you never use algebra? Do you understand the difference between a hypothesis and a theory, between a theorem and a law, or between argument, persuasion, and propaganda? Do you know the structure of a deductive argument and an inductive argument; or why the differences between them are important? Would you be able to distinguish an empirical study from an experimental one, or know the appropriate use of each?
Does all of that sound boring to you? Do you think that none of that has anything to do with you or your life? The fact is that you either use or encounter all of those things, or their direct products, every single day. They have consequences that affect you, for both good and ill.
Academics and intellectuals are often accused of not knowing anything about real life, as though thinking prevents us from experiencing the things that affect all humans. Thought and emotion are not, however, enemies. When properly applied they complement each other. Problems that are solved with just logic can be dry, unfeeling, even cruel. Problems solved with only emotion can be rash, clouded with bias, and even counterproductive. When, however, we apply both reason and emotion, we have the opportunity for both pragmatism and empathy, for solutions that address the human condition realistically and practically.
There is no aspect of human activity or experience that does not require both the mind and the heart for its best expression. Music is mathematics, sculpture is physics, art is geometry. Planting a garden is both chemistry and aesthetics, biology and design.
Choose anything that either delights or disturbs you. Take a moment to examine it. Try to step away from your initial reaction. Think about it. Overthink it. Practice patience with both ideas and emotions. Don’t copy, share, like or comment until you have taken a least a few moments to try to understand it, and to understand your relationship to it. Resist the urge to stop at feeling and go no further.
Hate, prejudice and discrimination are literally thoughtless. They rely on the triggering of emotion, not of reason.
Compassion and empathy require thoughtful understanding, and the ability to both feel and reason.
There is far too much over-emoting these days. A bit of overthinking would be a welcome change. The best answers will usually be found, of course, somewhere between the two extremes. But you can’t find the center unless you can recognize the poles.
So go ahead. Join me. Overthink a few things, or even a lot of things. Do it for a saner, less polarized, and better understood world.
Or tell me I’m overthinking it.
wholepeace 