Understanding your thinking | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Understanding how we, as humans, think and behave requires knowing a bit about the way life developed. As far as we know, humans are the most intelligent and complex life forms in existence. Our capacity for understanding the world has surpassed what is required for us to survive. This doesn’t in any way mean that we are all geniuses; it simply means we might all be capable of understanding much more than most of us seek to understand.

    Some believe that our large brains are actually an internalized form of sexual ornamentation. Our capacity for the arts and our ability to create beautiful things are factors in how we select a mate. As crazy as this may sound, our intelligence might be comparable to peacock feathers or a giant rack of moose antlers. Evolutionarily speaking it makes no sense for peacocks to have giant colorful feathers because it actually makes it harder to avoid predators. A moose similarly might do better with a smaller rack to carry around, and he might even require less food to be healthy. The reason big feathers and a big rack are a product of evolution is because they are fitness indicators. They allow members of the opposite sex to see right away that not only are these guys able to protect and care for themselves, they are even able to make a big show of it. In much the same way, our ability to imagine and think through things often leads us to limiting beliefs and can greatly hinder us if not put to good use. Like a moose with a big rack, someone who has worked through their issues, is confident, and understands how to enjoy life is attractive to others.

    Our brains have developed into what they are for a wide variety of reasons, and sexual ornamentation is probably a little piece of the puzzle. Another piece might be explained by the Triune Brain Theory. There is a considerable amount of evidence to support the idea that our brains are actually made of three largely separate brains working together. These three parts are the Reptilian brain, the Limbic System and the Neo-Cortex. The Reptilian Brain being the oldest controls our most basic functions and desires. The Limbic System evolved in mammals, and is largely responsible for emotion. The Neo-Cortex is found only in higher order mammals and is responsible for logic and reason. It is because our brains are actually made up of three nearly separate parts working together that we often have conflicting desires. I would imagine that most of us have had the experience of meeting someone we are interested in and wanting to call them RIGHT NOW, even though we know it’s probably not a good idea. Your emotions are telling you to call, while logic tells you to wait a day or so.

    We are getting these mixed signals on all different levels at all times about a whole bunch of things all at once. The things that anchor our thoughts, so to speak, are our emotions. Emotions are actually just chemicals produced in our brains that we can become very addicted to, whether good or bad. Our emotions can completely run the show if we are not careful; they can cloud judgment, and close us off to new information. These associations, good or bad, are a part of our system of filters and beliefs that everything must go through. Whether we are just taking in information from the world, or we must decode a message that someone else is attempting to communicate, everything must first pass through our belief system. For this reason believing is often seeing and not vise versa as the saying goes. Emotions are an important part of what we are, and they can make our lives very wonderful; however, we must be careful not to let them keep us from thinking through the decisions we make.

    Generally speaking, we all believe that we think before we act; although, more often than not, the parts of our brains that developed farther back in time control the newer parts. The portion of our brain considered to be the Reptilian Brain controls our drives for food, sex and territory. It is for this reason that we often have strong emotional swings and our actions are least logical when we are hungry, when dealing with issues in relationships, and when we fear something is being taken from us. Many of us often do things in a somewhat haphazard and random way and then go back and use our ability to think logically to create a story as to why we did them. This may work for many people a large majority of the time, but this sort of behavior is what leads us to things like group think and a mob mentality. Developing the ability to and making a habit of thinking clearly and quickly before acting or making a decision without letting emotions get in the way is very important. In fact, it may actually be the most important thing we can do. It is this ability that separates us from most other life on earth.

    In order to think clearly and make a logical decision about a particular issue we must first understand whatever topic is at hand. It is a lack of understanding and generally an irrational fear of social rejection (as an imagined response to our lack of understanding) that leads so many people into the dangerous behavior of acting and then thinking. Once you start down this path it can quickly become a difficult habit to break. It can be a difficult thing to think before you act; it requires you to be more honest with yourself and with everyone around you, whatever the cost. You may find all sorts of reasons why you cannot be honest with people or why it is better to just keep doing things the way you have been doing them, but this is just an addiction to your current situation. Changing any behavior generally requires us to leave our comfort zone and face the possibility of unknown outcomes and reactions.

    Individually or in small groups it is true that we all have the capacity for intelligence on a level that far surpasses what is necessary for us to survive. However humans have grown to such great numbers on this planet that our survival on this scale is completely dependent on our capacity for logic and reason. That is why it is so important for us to work to better understand ourselves. The more we understand about ourselves the more self control we are able to develop, and in turn the more efficiently we can direct our energy toward important issues.
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( May 1st, 2010 @ 12:23 pm )
 
Jeffrey, I would like to publicly thank-you for your well-considered and well-written fist submission to BCN. I can certainly see that you too have your mother's love of science, and it works quite well as a logical platform to explain why folks should take stock in themselves, and their actions.



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