Wisdom is knowing the long-term consequences of your actions. Our actions are influenced by the way we look at the world. Our viewpoint of the world depends upon the quality of our thinking. We are the only creatures on this planet that are blessed by mother nature for their ability to think. Better thinking yields a happy and fulfilled life.
Now you might be wondering how to think in a better way. Let's explore the thought process of human beings.
Thinkers are of two types:
Non-Creative
Creative
Non-Creative: Non-Creative thinkers divide the events into categories. They think in terms of binary(either 0 or 1). These categories make them very rigid. They can't think beyond their fixed patterns. Their neural pathways become stronger as they repeat those fixed patterns. A human brain is a pattern-seeking machine. Any event that conforms to the pattern of their mind will be accepted by them. They will outrightly reject the anomalous behavior. They are so quick to form a judgment about an event. They never question their beliefs. Reaching any conclusion without challenging the facts yields catastrophic results.
Daniel Kahneman(Noble Prize winner psychologist) popularised the concept of System 1 and System 2. System 1 is a fast thinker, a kind of reflexive brain. System 2 is a slow thinker, a kind of reflective brain. System 1 part of the non-creative thinkers is highly active. They resort to system 1 for making crucial decisions which is a fundamental flaw in their thought process.
Creative: Creative thinkers have inculcated the habit of grey thinking. They never think in terms of binaries. They are very flexible in their thinking. They never form any conclusion based on a single event. A single event is a very small sample size to form any judgment. They are very vigilant about the availability bias. Availability bias is the mental shortcut used by the brain to make decisions based on recent and vivid memories. They have internalized the idea of probabilistic thinking. They are very open-minded and try to look at the problem from as many dimensions as possible. They resort to system 2 for making the crucial decisions of their life.
Creativity is intelligence having fun. Anonymous
The various ways to unleash the creative abilities are:
Thinking from First Principles.
Second-Order Thinking.
Ignoring Exceptions.
Paying attention to the absent information.
Thinking from First Principles: Understanding the basics is very important for becoming a pro in a particular domain. A domain is viewed as a system that is composed of various components. The desired result can be achieved by knowing those components and the ways by which they interact with each other. It is a bottom-up approach to solving problems.
I don't know what's the matter with people: they don't learn by understanding; they learn in some other way - by rote or something. Their knowledge is so fragile. Richard Feynman
Suppose your goal is to enhance your productivity. Think about your day as a system and your activities as components. To increase productivity one has to understand the various activities and their interactions between them. The successful execution of one activity will decrease the energy for subsequent activities. Execute the most difficult task when your energy level is at its highest peak(Morning). Stay away from distractions while doing those activities.
Reward yourself when you have completed your task. Successful execution of one task will boost your confidence and give you the momentum for the remaining activities. Repetition of the above behavior for a long period of time will make you an expert in a particular field. Always think from the first principles while solving the problems of your life.
Second-Order Thinking: When India was occupied by the British colonies, Britishers were worried about the population of the growing number of snakes in India. They had implemented one policy to reduce their population. Whosoever would bring the dead cobra will receive the monetary reward. Indians saw an opportunity in this policy so they started breeding cobras in their homes. When the Britishers became aware of this they aborted their policy. Now the breeding cobras would be of no use to Indians, so they released all their cobras. Now the population of cobras will increase even more than it was in the first place. It is also known as the cobra effect.
Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results. Margaret Atwood
First-Order thinkers generally think about the immediate consequences of their actions. This is what we have seen in the above example. Second-Order thinkers will think about the effects of the effects. Digging deeper requires effort but it pays in the long run. Knowing the details are as important as knowing the overall picture. Be more and more flexible, zoom in and zoom out to get the overall gist of the situation.
Ignoring Exceptions: Long back, Scientists consider matter as a static object. Madam Curie being a contrarian observed that some matter emits radiations. Her other colleagues overlooked the anomaly but she wanted to find the mystery behind this anomaly. She kept on studying this with her husband for four long years. Her efforts paid off which leads to the discovery of radioactivity.
In the initial years of our life, we form certain ideas about the world. Those ideas served us as a compass to navigate the complex challenges of our life. Any information that confirms our preexisting beliefs will be accepted and the contradictory information will be rejected by us. Contradictory information creates cognitive dissonance. We become the victim of Confirmation bias.
Confirmation Bias is the tendency of the people is to favor information that confirms their beliefs while disregarding the contradictory information. Creative thinkers are aware of this bias. There exists a chance of improvement when expectations don't meet the reality. When Charles Darwin formulated the Theory of Evolution, he spent eight long years to find shreds of evidence that will falsify it. Unable to find the contradictory pieces of evidence will strengthen his Theory of Evolution. Always be on the lookout for exceptions to gain a better understanding of the world.
Paying attention to the absent information: In the beginning, Medical Researchers thought that outside particles like germs, bacteria, etc. will be the cause of human diseases. Biochemist Fredrick Gowland observed that something is missing in the above theory. He found that the presence of germs is not only the cause of diseases but the absence of something can also cause the disease. He was interested in finding the root cause of scurvy. By doing extensive research, he found that the absence of Vitamin C is the root cause of scurvy.
Sherlock Holmes had mastered this skill. While solving one of the cases, he found that the murder happened but the dog hadn't barked. It means the dog knew the murderer otherwise the dog will definitely bark on seeing a stranger. Paying attention to the absent information is the most arduous task. Always pay attention to the social silence. Sometimes we need to reverse our perspective for solving complex challenges.
Master the above tools by practicing them in day-to-day life to become a creative thinker. Creative thinking will help you to improve your decision-making process. Wise decisions will help you to live a happy and content life.
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Quite Impressive ✨