A thinking Society

[sravna]

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Dear Members,

Some of you may be aware that I am involved in the coaching of students for higher education. I have been reflecting all along about the course of my career and I now feel that my expertise is best utilized if it can contribute towards the real betterment of the society.

The idea is to teach innovative techniques in reasoning. Since reasoning is the basis of any scholarly pursuit I think it needs to be given its due importance when it comes to education. This emphasis is sadly lacking in the education systems. Once there is good grounding in this, students would be well prepared to think originally and contribute a lot more productively to the society.

I welcome and urge the experts who can help bring this idea to reality to join in or contribute.

I also welcome suggestions from the experts about what should be the nature of this organization, the legal requirements to start the organization and many such issues.

The ability of a society to think originally is the foundation for great accomplishments. I request the gifted and knowledgeable members to contribute in whatever way they can in developing such a thinking generation

For my part I plan to devote 100% of my time to this task. I can be reached by email at [email protected]

 

[renuka]

Dear Sravna,


I just an ordinary person here but I would like to contribute a little to this thread.

I have realized that life is basically simple but we make it complicated by THINKING too much.

There is a saying in Sanskrit that goes:

I will summarize in half a stanza what crores of religious text have said..Harming others brings demerit and helping others brings merit.

This saying looks simple but it summarizes the very reason for our existence itself.

Love Ever and Hurt Never.

One should love one's self and others and not harm one's self and others.

Some might argue that if we are too good to be true we will lose out in the rat race.

The problem is all rats are chasing only for money at any cost...cos money alone and money alone seems to be the yardstick of success.

My son was telling me recently that he wants to a Paleontologist when he grows up.

I have looked up here and there about the scope of this field and it's a very limited field in terms of employment.

So I advised my son to get a solid basic degree first for secure future and then he can also study Paleontology as another field of interest so in case one does not work out well he can always depend on the other for survival and a job.

My son then told me that he wants to pursue a life that has meaning and not just work for money alone.

This is a child's mind..so I did not want to instill the desire for money alone in him and that's why I suggested a dual degree for him so that he can have his cake and eat it both.

But I am sure many parents these days actually want their children to study and work hard only for money.

When the drive in life is purely based on money that is where human values decline.

I am not saying it is wrong to think of earning money but it is just that we should keep in mind that money alone does not make a person.

I wish the present education system is holistic and not make it too specialized.

For example even an MBBS degree..I only wish it could be revised into a Major and Minor for example MBBS degree would be divided into Majoring in MBBS and have another arts topic as its Minor.

So that makes a person holistic and not a machine which only regurgitates data.

Education should aim to make a person a Human and not an ATM machine.

 

[sravna]

Dear Renuka,

Thanks for your valuable thoughts. A person who thinks deeply would definitely subscribe to your views. We definitely need to go beyond this shallow idea of money as a source of happiness.

 

[SANDHYAV]

ariveh kadavul by barathiar is a poem which i will vote for as your theme song

 

[SANDHYAV]

and here are those paras:

ஆயிரம் தெய்வங்கள் உண்டென்று தேடி
அலையும் அறிவிலிகாள் -பல்
லாயிரம் வேதம் அறிவொன்றே தெய்வமுண்
டாமெனல் கேளீரோ” என்று பாரதி கேட்கிறார்.


வீரமிலா நெஞ்சுடையார் சிவனைக் காணார்
எப்போதும் வீரமிக்க வினைகள் செய்வாய்
பேருயர்ந்த ஏஹோவா அல்லா நாமம்
பேணுமவர் பதமலரும் பூணல் வேண்டும்

 

[sravna]

Dear Sandhyav,

Yes Arive kadavul. Right thinking is divine.

 

[C RAVI]

Quite interesting and the need of the hour, Shri Sravna!!!

Though I am not gifted, though I am not much knowledgeable and though am not an expert, I love such initiatives/ideas that got something to do with mental stimulation, creating interest to squeeze one's brain and come up with no. of Whys? and Hows? e.i. a lots of reasoning!! This would put forward lots of probabilities, alternatives. and the best solutions.

Some interesting and puzzling case studies on certain topics, the topics that revolves around in our society, in all the aspects, can be presented on which students can ponder over and come up with their own independent reasoning, ifs and buts.

The institution can be just a Personality Development Center in some catchy name and style. For example "Think Beyond Limits", "Why? How? Ifs and Buts", "Questioning and Reasoning", something like that. And, I don't think there can by any legal complications in establishing such an innovative institution.

 

[sravna]

Dear Ravi,

thanks. You are indeed gifted and knowledgeable as is every other member of this wonderful forum. So I seek the knowledge of each and everyone so that the initiative can take off and succeed.

IMO reasoning is not just about right deduction. That is the easy part. It is more about what we choose as premises. That is done by intuition. The challenge is to therefore make people choose the right premises. To some it comes naturally but I have a feeling it can be learnt.

 

[C RAVI]

Dear Ravi,

IMO reasoning is not just about right deduction. That is the easy part. It is more about what we choose as premises. That is done by intuition. The challenge is to therefore make people choose the right premises. To some it comes naturally but I have a feeling it can be learnt.

I agree, Shri Sravna!!

What I feel is, questioning and reasoning is the foundation to identify the right premise and then act upon it. When a person comes up with out of the box ideas, it is out of the ability to think, comprehend and to make 360 degree analysis. When such an analytical ability is achieved, the person's intuition gets stronger, gradually. Getting deep into the core of the given case and doing the same every time would help a person gradually improving his/her intuitive skills.

The ability and inclination towards 360 degree analysis of every case would in due course of time enable a person to predict intuitively about the most possible positivity or negativity of the not so known case, much closer to its realities.

I feel, this is the only way to help people to acquire intuitive skills who all naturally can't choose the right premise intuitively.

 

[sravna]

I agree, Shri Sravna!!

What I feel is, questioning and reasoning is the foundation to identify the right premise and then act upon it. When a person comes up with out of the box ideas, it is out of the ability to think, comprehend and to make 360 degree analysis. When such an analytical ability is achieved, the person's intuition gets stronger, gradually. Getting deep into the core of the given case and doing the same every time would help a person gradually improving his/her intuitive skills.

The ability and inclination towards 360 degree analysis of every case would in due course of time enable a person to predict intuitively about the most possible positivity or negativity of the not so known case, much closer to its realities.

I feel, this is the only way to help people to acquire intuitive skills who all naturally can't choose the right premise intuitively.

Intuition is critical to good reasoning skills. In my opinion, even right intuition can be developed. One needs to change one's thinking philosophy but I believe it is something that can be worked upon and improved.

Basically we need a radically different perspective of looking at things. That fundamental change in perspective can make the difference. As you rightly said with constant practice and drilling it can be accomplished

 

[suraju06]

Dear Sravna,

It is quite interesting that you thought about it. Instead of throwing the net wide and far without an aim why don't you formulate something and then ask people to add to it. You can prepare a scheme of action with basic essential processes and then ask people to add to it. I think that will work better. In the last 8 posts after your OP I find people generally again and again agreeing with you in several ways without coming out with anything concrete because you have yourself not given anything. For the present it remains just a nebulous idea with each one looking at it from different angle and perceiving different things. Please come out with something more detailed.

Cheers.

 

[sravna]

Dear Shri Raju,

I agree with your suggestion. I will come up with something more concrete.

 

[sravna]

The present age is too much conditioned by a certain set of faulty assumptions about reality. Since these fundamental assumptions are required as a basis for the development of solutions in any sphere of activity, this would be detrimental to ourselves in the long run, and is something that needs to be seriously addressed.

We need to change at the most fundamental level if we are to extricate ourselves from the snare we have fallen into. The real problem is we are oblivious that our minds have been imprisoned. The most serious trap we have got ourselves in is in thinking that any mind is ultimately fallible. That is, the mind is subordinate to the external world. All our "vision" either directly or indirectly is based on the premise of a fallible mind. In addition, we need to shed off a lot of other pre-conceived notions and assumptions that is obstructive to deeper analyses of a problem. There is a number of contradictions among the assumptions because of this lack of depth.

So given the above skeleton of the problem, the idea is to offer people a new paradigm, a paradigm that is strongly conducive to innovation in areas where people need to be innovative and more importantly help them develop a set of values for their life philosophy based on premises free of contradictions. The latter would remove the many conflicts that beset thinking which I believe is a source of many ills in the society.

The focus would be on developing ways to instill the new thinking paradigm in place of the existing one. In other words it would be an endeavor to help people to develop their intuition capabilities. In my opinion a good intuition is always close to reality and since I think reality favors harmony, this would pave the way for an enduring good to happen to the society.

 

[SANDHYAV]

thinking and thought processes have been addressed here. if there is a TRAP in the mind, then i use SCOPE to untrap it. i.e. Stop clarify Options proceed and evaluate. u need to recognise there is a trap and stop it first for a minute clarify what is bothering you and look at the options and take action or proceed and finally evaluate with the feedback available.

360 degree analysis is a formal assessment can be used for an individual or organisation to evaluate things.