Thinkaholic

a reply to: Itisnowagain

The idea that thinking is done by the brain is just a concept

Agreed.

what is the direct experience of thought?

I'm not certain.. but it CAN be monitored/observed via changes that occur directly in the brain depending on what one is directly experiencing at that time.

There may be many thoughts but there is only the one observer of thought.

If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it does it make a sound?

Can any thing (thought) appear to have existence without the observing presence?

Can any thing (the observer) appear to have existence without the thinking presence?

Who or what "rejects" the thinker when it relies upon that rejection to obtain an identity?

a reply to: ProsceniumProtagonist
I can see a wall without thought, I can smell a rose without thought and I can hear music without thought.

'I' is the 'assumed' identity - yet 'I' is just a thought.

Really there is just seeing, hearing, smelling - sensation does not depend on thought.

Thought is just a sensation but it speaks.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

Are you a Thinkaholic?

Guilty. Besides living dangerously, thinking dangerously is my favorite pass-time, and I indeed spend a large portion of my day engaged in thought and its subsequent expression.

People spend so much time and money to avoid their own thoughts these days that thinking is becoming a lost art. I remember reading somewhere that in the days of old, a certain philosopher, who when struck with a thought, would stop mid-stride in the street and wouldn't move for hours until he had had a sufficient go at it. Rather, thinking seems no longer an artistic dance and playtime for some people, but a burden.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: ProsceniumProtagonist
I can see a wall without thought, I can smell a rose without thought and I can hear music without thought.

'I' is the 'assumed' identity - yet 'I' is just a thought.

Really there is just seeing, hearing, smelling - sensation does not depend on thought.

Thought is just a sensation but it speaks.

Perhaps in the animal kingdom (right brain) you can see/hear/smell things without a thought, but we as humans can be aware of being aware (left brain) and make choices based on that awareness of being aware.

If we so choose anyway.

a reply to: ProsceniumProtagonist
Can you look at a thought as it arises? Where does a thought appear?
Are you able to choose the next thought?

a reply to: SystemResistor

Are you serious?

You should make a thread about the quest!!!!!

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: ProsceniumProtagonist
Can you look at a thought as it arises? Where does a thought appear?
Are you able to choose the next thought?

You can visualize a thought and it appears in the "minds eye". Sometimes visualizing a thought really helps to solidify "it".

Would visualizing/seeing a thought still be considered thinking?

Words are a pain. If only we could communicate with images. =)

I can consciously choose to have my next thought, or I can unconsciously let them wander.

a reply to: Bleeeeep

He shouldn't just make a thread about the quest, he should write a book about it!

originally posted by: Dark Ghost
Are you a Thinkaholic?

I wish more people were thinkaholics.

Maybe they'd understand the system of humanity that enslaves them. When I talk to family/friends, not about conspiracy theory, but facts that impact their lives more than stuff like Kim Kardasian or the supposed North Korea hacking, I get stares. Stares like I have a 3rd eye. Most people have strong feelings about religion, sports, politics, etc. but can't come to an agreement or even an awareness about who the true owners of us are.

Bring on the thinkaholics getting drunk on the truth.

Check out "Thinking as a Hobby" by William Golding for a thinkers' thoughts on thinkers.

a reply to: thepixelpusher

Well, if everyone was to become a "thinkaholic" it still doesn't mean we would all agree.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

Thinkaholic probably describes me, I am constantly mulling over ideas in my head. What fascinates me isn't so much any particular idea but rather the why behind the idea. On the Miggs-Breyer test I am INTP/INTJ depending on my mood as I take it. What that basically means is that I love to take things apart, and look at how the sum creates the whole. That could be a mechanical object or it could be an idea. I also have a healthy dose of that always looking for a better way to do things personality trait, which often times requires breaking an idea down into it's parts in order to figure out what should be changed.

The answer I've eventually come to is that some things just are, the why is beyond our comprehension. As humans we're not meant to know everything, and there's instead value in simply understanding our place. To take the idea of life elsewhere in the universe. Lets assume that's true, you could have just as easily existed there as you exist here, and they could have been in your place instead. What things would change? It's really quite humbling to see how interchangeable we all are.

Lately when I find an idea I want to explore, I've taken a different approach to thinking about it. I turn the idea itself into art. I break the idea down and program it into a game/app/whatever, I try to 3d model it, or express it as sound, or as numbers instead of words. Doing so allows me to look at the same idea from multiple perspectives.