37. Do You Really Think?

“A lot of people become unattractive when you find out how they think.” 

I can’t help but agree with this statement. When I share my true thoughts, my potential friends scatter in all directions.

I value good friendships based on discussions about wisdom, the nature of life, learning new things, and achieving rationality, because I believe they are essential not only for stability and survival but also for directing our attention toward optimization, growth, and improving our performance.

I sound like an annoying fly attracted by the carbon dioxide exhaled by my interlocutor: “I require right now that you explain to me what justice means to you. Outline freedom. Let’s discuss it to synchronize our mental settings.”

My friend and I must be in harmony with the principles of justice and freedom to avoid misunderstandings. If these abstract concepts aren’t defined, they seem unimportant. Will they set a boundary if I refuse to go to their birthday party without justification? Big question!

But most people are not ready for this kind of discussion. They don’t consider it important and, therefore, haven’t formed an opinion yet. When they hear me asking about such things, they naturally derail from the conversation, because the preset cultural script doesn’t include these topics. So, they glitch, staring at me blankly, then the panic sets in. “Oh, sorry, I have something urgent to do.” 

“Sure, take your time. I’ll wait patiently, friends. Be back soon!”

You can’t find out what other people think until they open their mouths. I’m sorry I scared you. Sigh.

Sometimes you don’t even know what to think because you don’t understand the new environment well enough. You’ve activated your learning mode, but at times, your reasoning is erratic because you carry over patterns from your previous culture. However, you were sincere, which counts.

No one can see a thought, but everyone knows it exists. But does anyone really think? That's the question that troubles modern society. To be or not to be is the dilemma of the past; forget about it. To think or not to think is the crossroads of the current AI-generated wobble.

Thought is something fantabulous, an imperceptible phenomenon, but when it strikes, it strikes hard. From this perspective, you can't deny thought in anything – randomness becomes a derivative of simulation. You can deny pain when there's no nervous system, but the absence of pain doesn't confirm the absence of thought. Thought is private, so, hypothetically, even a brick might think too – “My outside face is getting too hot, let's start that thermal lag.”

It's only because you can verbalize it that you demonstrate you are processing information. But do you really think?

Every thought you have is based on someone else's thought. You can't think of something you've never known. A new Aristotle couldn’t be born on a desert island. If we break it down, thinking is like braiding hair. Why think if you don't intend to bend someone stronger than you to your will, even if that someone is you with your selfishness, your cowardice, or your greed?

Every physical structure is an idea; you have to look closer. Reality is deeper than the snapshot you take as you pass it by.

You recognize patterns if you dwell on them long enough and contemplate the energy costs they require. If equilibrium in energy exchange is impossible, then it's time to think about how to achieve it or distance yourself.

Thinking means recycling your memories in various ways, like in a kaleidoscope. Memories are not just a mental replay of events. They are words, numbers, symbols – everything you've ever seen and done. By connecting remembered information with the newly acquired one, you can draw parallel and perpendicular notional lines as you wish. You remember what matters, what seems important for your survival. So you sift every flashback with the survival filter. Some things are rubbish, and others are not. When you try to piece together ephemeral fragments of information stuck inside your head to create a mosaic picture that represents a larger whole, you think. Otherwise, you react according to a cultural preset scenario without really thinking. Thought is, in a sense, a piece of art. When the idea is formed, you write it down in the most poetic, lyrical way you can and use your knowledge of literature to establish a brand-new preset scenario.

But I don't want to “just survive” continuously; I also want to enjoy my mental journey. In the absence of real danger, some people equate enjoyment or the achievement of a goal with survival. That's a very dangerous trap where, if you don't experience joy or fail to achieve something, you can get very upset. Screw this!

That’s why I consider it important to synchronize views on topics such as wisdom, freedom, and justice. If my companions and I are not in sync, our journey will be tough. Our rivers of thoughts might run into a swamp instead of a sea. What a pity.

The river of thought flows into the swamp only under one condition: when it is a canal dug by someone specifically towards the swamp. It's useful to learn what authoritative voices command my future friends' minds.

What if their gurus hope to turn the swamp of their toxic imagination into a sea of money, directing our flows of thoughts to that cursed place? These people clearly don't know geomorphology. Their understanding of the Earth's crust is comparable to that of a labyrinth mole.

The useful life hack is: if science isn't a major topic of daily conversation in our circle, then the swamp beyond the horizon is as inevitable as tomorrow's dawn.

The natural river of thought that flows in its own streambed presents a colorful, multi-layered landscape. The water in the canal moves smoothly between concrete walls. You never know, maybe it will fall into the sea, maybe it won't. Normally, the river of thoughts chooses its path freely, attracted by the force of gravity of curiosity.

It's only when you need to solve a difficult problem that you intentionally enter a thought tunnel, allowing yourself the opportunity to exit whenever you want. There's no other reason to trap yourself in a wormhole.

If you think you're dealing exclusively with what you observe superficially, think again. You must keep track of all the variables in the equation if you want to reach a perfectly balanced conclusion. This activity takes time. You can’t rush this process.

In the absence of imminent danger, directing survival energy towards immediate risky pleasures or insignificant goals without careful consideration is not a very smart move because, even if accompanied by an emotional sense of relief, they are merely snapshots of personal reality. Following the feeling of solace, boredom will set in, and you'll once again need to pursue pleasure or a new victory.

This is where all the admonitions to achieve something in life right now, to reach for the stars through hardships tomorrow come from, which is wonderful in itself, but why must one always push through hardships?

Man-made emergencies, created through sheer ignorance, strengthen the struggle for survival and keep people on their toes, but what's the point? How do you plan to use this result? What/who do you lose? If intelligence is not directed towards ensuring our physical and psychological safety and quiet time to reflect on experiences, the struggle for survival will never end. Nobody can stand on the survivor’s pedestal forever. Get off it and join a new race. Humster wheel, another humster wheel, again and again. I imagine how the Earth, revolving around the Sun, strives for survival: “Today is December 31st, let’s push harder, moving to the next round. Come on, I must overcome myself!”

Let's chill out and learn to remember things just because they might be useful for our long-term, beautiful mosaics. Let's find joy in a holistic approach and bless ourselves with every move we make.

If we want to stop trembling with fear for survival and start living as dignified creatures, we must enrich our thinking with more and more pieces of the puzzle, reflecting harmful energies without absorbing them, thus avoiding being cooked by other people’s negativity before we begin to weave the beautiful mosaic carpet of our conscious existence.

Life then becomes a never-ending creative process, in which every new task is an artistic challenge to our vivid intellect. AI can help us avoid acting haphazardly by giving us useful information. We must decide for ourselves which piece of the puzzle is most appropriate for a given situation and our personal potential.

The question of whether to think or not will not arise when the habit of thinking in terms of saving personal time and energy becomes as much a part of existence as breathing.

Wrong steps can lead to low self-esteem, which can push us back into the struggle for survival and prompt us to seek wise men who will teach us how to live properly. This potentially contributes to the rejection of independent thinking and its channeling.

A good life is not made up of beliefs, but of situations in which we have behaved correctly, saving our time and energy. And the best life is the one that fills us with positive energy that leads us gently towards the stars without thorns on our way.