Future thought is mental growth

Someone (a very pompous, arrogant, PhD guy) told me the following yesterday:

Your know what your problem is? You are always pretending to look forward when you are really stuck in a dream. All that new wave thinking is rubbish and doesn’t have a leg to stand on against realistic, present day thinking.

I guess he was expecting a long, drawn out defense of new wave thinking (whatever that is) and futurism from me. Not I. He’s too wordy to get into a long debate and I wanted to watch Amelie on DVD. So I replied:

Amazing how realistic, present day thinking developed new technologies, new engineering feats, and new medical breakthroughs. No need to think ahead when the actual present is one second long.

Needless to say, converstation ended with my comment (thank goodness). But he did call me a royal asshole before ending the conversation. Such harsh words from the card-carrying intellectual. Maybe he was constipated on too much of that realistic, present day bullshit he was preaching to me.

Future thought drives human innovation, allows us to see the big picture, and work through possible solutions (even if it takes alot of work to get there). Future thought exercises the mind and keeps it fresh. If we stop thinking about or limit creative future thought, we limit our mental growth as humans. Just don’t brush off collective mental growth as some Scientology nonsense. Look at various aspects of our society and the world and tell me that some serious collective mental growth isn’t needed?

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my grandfather (80 years old) told me that he used to be set in his ways until he bought a computer and got on the Internet a year ago. He said that the Internet made him feel younger because of all the “opinions and information out there”. He concluded by saying that “the future looks bright with all those ideas floating around on the Internet”. The wisdom of elders indeed.

3 Responses to “Future thought is mental growth”

1. Lynn S says:

   December 2, 2005 at 12:15 pm

   I used to get called names a lot when I was hanging out on message boards. This may sound strange but it always gave me a feeling of satisfaction and validation. I felt it proved that if the best this PhD person could do was call names I was smarter than him/her in spite of him having wasted all those years and all that money at a university to get a piece of paper that says otherwise.
2. Mahndisa says:

   December 2, 2005 at 1:20 pm

   12 02 05

   Wow T-Steel: You are quite enlightened. Interesting interaction too. On the post I did yesterday, I talk about some young physics students I came across online. They are all Leftists, which is tolerable, but they are so irreverant and use such foul language all the time. I even said that I figured studying quantum mechanics would’ve expanded their minds pass cussing because (from Malcolm X) a man only cusses when he doesn’t know the right words to say. So much for education opening up the mind. I find that in this day of specialization, very little integrated thinking is needed, wanted or appreciated. A good example: I study physics, yet am a theist. I say the Big Bang begs the question of our origins. Yet some other scientists put me on the chopping block for even wishing to explore the idea. I can go on ad nauseum, but your points are well taken.

   The only way the world can become a better place is for those who DO think forward; think ahead; conceive of things that NO ONE else conceives of. The guy who made the spaceship and went on a suborbitial Earth flight a couple of years ago said how he knew he was on to something when others told him it would never work. I can give other examples, but needless to say I couldn’t agree with you more; Progess is caused by those who think outside of the box. Keep doing so and positively affecting our collective consciouness. Excellent, thought provoking post:)
3. Rogue says:

   December 5, 2005 at 9:07 am

   I disagree with the comment on cussing. Some people cuss because they like to cuss. And, sometimes no other word will actually do.

   This coming from someone rehabilitating themselves from cussing entirely too much (for religious reasons) and with an above average IQ.