The burden of intelligence and abstract thinking

I have always found great pleasure as well as mental solace by pursuing theoretical mathematics. I know it's not for everyone, but you could always give it a try...

Yeah, Maybe I should try to go back to work and spend time spending money. I am kind of tired of buying things. I did that for many years, spending others money on their homes. Being a builder meant I spent others money on supplies to do the job. Now all I want to spend is money for food. The essentials in life.

See, I must be a little nuts.

a reply to: rickymouse

No not nuts ... I feel the same way ... the simple things in life are the best

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: intunewithmyself

I want to find out how to unlock my brain to work with my thoughts and inner workings. I know something IS there. I just CAN'T figure out what it is.

Start writing. There's no better way to get your thoughts out and view them from the outside.

lol, LesMis...I'm just reading this thread now...and enjoying it so far. I was about to reply the EXACT same thing to intunewithmyself...I was going to say, "You should write!!"

onequestion...S&F...great thread! I'm going back to keep reading now, lol...

jacygirl

a reply to: onequestion

Thinking deeply and in an abstract manner is, for me, no burden what so ever. These things allow me to absorb concepts beyond my mathematical understanding, and imagine them visually, rather than numerically. For example, I would be lost and damned all to Hell on Earth, without the ability to think about the structure of black holes, or about the fantastic plethora of possibilities that one is presented with, when considering the potential variations in planetary bodies in the whole breadth of the universe. These are but a few examples of the things I put through my head in deep thought.

Poetry, dramatic productions, political theory, music, ethics and morality, the nature of the divine, visual arts, all of these things also require the ability to think deeply and in an abstract manner, in order to assimilate to a significant degree.

What is a burden however, is nothing to do with abstract thinking, or even deep thought. What is impossible to deal with sometimes, is to see things happen in the world, which one knows to be wrong, which one has already run through the scenario for, or seen as a part of a repeating pattern in historical terms, and be powerless to stop the inevitable result. This is something I battle with all the time, and have done since I was able to think for myself, and had read a little history in my spare time.

Whether one is talking about something deeply wrong happening in someone's personal life, or in the wider, community, societal, or geopolitical sphere, the foreboding sensation when one notes a tell tale of one or another bubble waiting to burst can be overwhelming, and living with that constant sensation in times such as these? Tricky. I would go as far as to say, that it is a damned good thing I was insane from the get go, because if not, I would probably go quite mad with things being what they are!

Another thing that is tricky, is watching the worlds population repeat its mistakes from a position of powerlessness, while understanding that even if one had the power to alter the course of these events by applying some measure of power or influence, that in fact, to do so would be tyrannical in aspect, and that change for the better has to come from the people, not from individuals or collections of individuals, who mistakenly believe they are leaders, or owners of the territories concerned.

Some see articles on government matters, policies, scandals, cover ups, and the like. I just see the first spark of a nuclear detonation, glinting at me from the eyes of the talking heads, corpses piled twenty deep in the writings of political pundits when they reference inequality and foreign affairs, and hear jackboots echoing on a parade ground whenever I hear vastly biased commentary uttered in the media, which is all the time.

That, one might say, is somewhat burdensome. Given the choice, I would much rather think in abstracts, about the deep structure of the universe, than know the many dooms of mankind with such grating familiarity as I seem to. The former paints more pleasant images in the mind, than the latter, by a margin which is right next door to the infinite.

i love you man. preach.

well, Bloom's Taxonomy values this style of thought and analysis. And being a bloom fangirl myself (yay educational brainwashing lol) I find that to be rather coolio. Just food for thought.

I think you'll find your niche. I belieb in you.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Thinking deeply and in an abstract manner is, for me, no burden what so ever. These things allow me to absorb concepts beyond my mathematical understanding, and imagine them visually, rather than numerically. For example, I would be lost and damned all to Hell on Earth, without the ability to think about the structure of black holes, or about the fantastic plethora of possibilities that one is presented with, when considering the potential variations in planetary bodies in the whole breadth of the universe. These are but a few examples of the things I put through my head in deep thought.

. . .

What is a burden however, is nothing to do with abstract thinking, or even deep thought. What is impossible to deal with sometimes, is to see things happen in the world, which one knows to be wrong, which one has already run through the scenario for, or seen as a part of a repeating pattern in historical terms, and be powerless to stop the inevitable result. This is something I battle with all the time, and have done since I was able to think for myself, and had read a little history in my spare time.

I think the opposite is true. The more you spend time in abstract immaterial thinking, the more powerless you feel when comfromted by the real world and the more burdensome it becomes over time.

The reason for this is quite simple. Without actually engaging in a real way and working to create a better world, you will never have any good karma to feel empowered by... No matter how pleasant you feel abstract thoughts are, if you don't work in equal measure for a better world when its as bad as it is, you will always feel that sense of regret for not having an ability to make a difference. I! Not saying in evey way, but in a bigger sense of knowing we live in an unjust unrighteous world yet continuing to day dream as if its not there, and not do anything about it.

a reply to: onequestion

When you research all the great names in history whom made significant breakthroughs
such as todays known Tesla, Einstein, to name a few, they understood "I never let my schooling interfere
with my education" [Mark twain] meaning they believed formal education stifled an inquiring mind,
which shows their education in Left Brained thinking - or abstract.

History is riddled with abstract thinkers such as DaVinci and Darwin.
They have the unique ability to see beyond academics flawed misinterpretations.

One day we shall return to these ways of the ancients.

Be well all.
E.NOCH

a reply to: onequestion

This is a complex question, because, we are dealing with sentiment.

What I think is that you are comparing yourself to others whom do not think to the extent that you do, and you wonder why there is any point to what you are doing.

You have made it this far, I don't think you should want to be an average person again that is "unburdened".

What you do not realise is how things are like for those that do not think inwardly, their world is so confoundingly simple and irrationally-driven that it would make you feel nauseated and also glad that you are not one of them.

For example, one of the things that we take for granted is the dominance of our minds over our emotions, when you cannot control your emotions and when they have a grip on your thoughts, you start to feel emotions like jealousy, envy, and your start also to want to be like everybody else, helpless against the will of the masses, whereas, one with a higher awareness is free from bondage to petty social and material concerns.

I wouldn't give up, depression is a good thing because it is really a withdrawal symptom, you are no longer a part of the "flock" and you start to feel lonely, once you start to take pride in who you are, you start to have confidence and you learn to take things a step further, and that is, control over the mind itself.

It is really funny when it comes to emotions and feelings, they have reached a level where they are depraved to the extent that many indulge in them like one would drugs.

It is important that you do not "want" to feel (or not feel) certain things otherwise the experience of emotion will translate into desires, and they will take their grip upon you.

When you regret feeling certain emotions, you must learn to understand why, as opposed to having a desire to simply feel something different.

When you lose understanding of your feelings, they stop actualising into meaningful sentiments, and you lose control over them.

As long as you know why you feel a certain way, know that feeling represents your intent, not just something that is the result of chemical sensations.

What you really regret is the fact that you are capable of what the average person is not, and from a compassionate sense, you do not want to feel isolated from society.

I am telling you to leave them behind and continue to progress, you feel burdened because you have not developed the capacity to handle what you are thinking.

When you can handle your thoughts, eventually you will be able to control your mind from the drivers seat, instead of being absorbed in it, though, introspective thinking is required so that you can map your subconsciousness.

It's just a matter of having some friends who think similarly, that you can talk to once in a while.

I tend to consider everything as very deep, and having many different levels to it, and have some difficulty focusing on the most superficial aspects....... I find those to be boring, I guess. But I consider it important to learn to do so.

I make effort to learn to do "small talk", to focus on superficial things, to use more rules of politess, rather than authenticity. It is a challenge for me.

With age, I came to recognize that as we focus on deeper meaning, we pull others into a depth of intimacy that they might not be comfortable with if they don't know us well; if we haven't built a relationship of trust and respect.
Deep aspects touch emotional and mental buttons for people, whether you mean to or not.

I would go into some philosophical pondering with someone, and they'd get all worked up, claiming I am trying to say something about them, or do something to them, in a round about manipulative way! When the truth was, they were the furthest thing from my mind - I was off abstracting into ideas I felt were beyond either of our personalities.

I think everyone is capable of that, but many people block that kind of focus when exchanging with someone they don't yet trust... they don't want to exit their personal walls and explore the universe until they are sure you won't use that opportunity to get in and wreck their emotional world.

I have one son that is in this phase of convincing himself others just don't understand him because he is deeper and some sort of intellectual wizard (superior to the common man). I want to smack him upside the head right now. But I know this is a phase, and someday he will come to recognize himself in all others, see they are just as capable, but that he needs to learn the social role playing which allows one to make gestures and words which convey the message that he is respectful of their mental and emotional boundries before doing those high dives with them.

Another son has both worlds down a little better- he knows how to stick to the superficial and material, use humor, and put people at ease...... but with a couple of good friends, partake in active discussions on philosophical and metaphysical aspects. He is a Physics major, who gets obsessed with the uncovering of the spiritual through science.
He is one of those rare birds that is able to be popular and cool, while also being part of the nerd group.

Versatility of mind is an awesome thing! I'm still working on it, but getting better with age.

a reply to: onequestion

If you live long enough you will slowly realize that we are all here to do, what we are all here to do

Your path in life may be completely different from mine

Your purpose completely unconnected to mine

Lets say you are a rat in a cage, all the other rats are happy, and you keep saying DUDE we are in a cage

Maybe you are supposed to be unhappy and they are supposed to be happy in the cage

a reply to: ketsuko

It let people specialize more and develop more complicated societies

Money did that? How so?

en.wikipedia.org...

The division of labour is the specialization of cooperating individuals who perform specific tasks and roles. Because of the large amount of labour saved by giving workers specialized tasks in Industrial Revolution-era factories, some classical economists as well as some mechanical engineers such as Charles Babbage were proponents of division of labour. Also, having workers perform single or limited tasks eliminated the long training period required to train craftsmen, who were replaced with lesser paid but more productive unskilled workers.[1] Historically, an increasingly complex division of labour is associated with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and of the complexity of industrialised processes. The concept and implementation of division of labour has been observed in ancient Sumerian (Mesopotamian) culture, where assignment of jobs in some cities coincided with an increase in trade and economic interdependence. In addition to trade and economic interdependence, division of labour generally increases both producer and individual worker productivity.

originally posted by: Bluesma
I have one son that is in this phase of convincing himself others just don't understand him because he is deeper and some sort of intellectual wizard (superior to the common man). I want to smack him upside the head right now. /quote]

Sadly some folks don't ever grow out of this. People in my peer group still think like this and I am nearly 40. LOL

edit on 12-2-2015 by Punisher75 because: (no reason given)

Ignorance is bliss.

a reply to: onequestion

It always has and always WILL be a burden. The reason for this is simple. The world is not run by the intelligent. It is run by the mediocre. Since mediocrity is rewarded, the paradigms are always controlled by mediocre.

Those people will NEVER have the insight that comes with superior intelligence and will always fight the thoughts and rational from the truly genius.

True genius' throughout history were ALWAYS snubbed by the paradigmically challenged.The nature of paradigms determined by the mediocre is that sometimes even exceptional people get caught up in the paradigms and have difficulty looking past them.

Don't feel you're alone, but also don't expect anything to change or feel that it was EVER different. The paradigms may change, but the biggest folly of those caught up in the paradigms is to believe that today's paradigm is any less false than yesterday's.

Jaden

You know an easy way to prove its all a distraction and governments are a dead theory from centuries past? World hunger. If people actually cared, the 'leaders', would mandate a law for every living person to grow a garden. Then take your supply and either sell the excess or give it away. Same goes for that boogy man about 'running out of water.'. That solution is even more simple. Every building we erect should be designed to catch rain and either use it or put it where it needs to be. It's all very simple, idiots voting in idiots make it complicated.

"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer."
Bruce Lee

a reply to: onequestion

I find it a heavy burden to think deeply and more abstract in the modern world.

HUMBLEBRAG!!!

a reply to: ketsuko

I have found for myself that if I see us as a "whole"....and view such things as wealth, fame, skill or talent as the out working of a need for the "whole" to experience such things. Then I am able to make sense of my surroundings on that level. There has to be contrasting experiences in order for those types of things to exist. If we were all famous it wouldn't be famous anymore... Or if we were all rich...being rich wouldn't stand out anymore.

It exists so that both sides can experience unique circumstances that generate various feelings. Think of it as the great whole divided so that it is trying to both judge itself and overcome itself through grace and mercy. It creates circumstances for it to become envious and jealous of itself and then finds ways to accept itself again. The only thing that can overcome judgement is mercy ...but when justice is pitted against a promise ... mercy must prevail...for the Lord's word shall not return unto him void.

I myself hang in a balance and I know not my fate......so that damnation and glory are about me always.

a reply to: onequestion

I very much feel the same my friend, I am a deep thinker and often I find this trait is like a double edge sword - while I may understand the nature of things, causality and sometimes a rare glimpse at fate in action I find that my deep thinking restricts me from taking part in the world around me.

The age of machines has taken man away from reflecting at the world around him - we are so consumed by what our social media status is that we do not take the time to slow things down and for a minute or two observe something of nature or ponder at the vastness of the universe:

"When I look up, does someone look down?"

At my age now I am all to aware at the finality of my life however I am also aware of how lost people are subservient to the very things they created i.e. technology. Instead of using these tools to free ourselves we have used them to create prisons restricting our humanity and becoming emotionally challenged people who need their fixation of technology and devices like social media to function correctly.

This world promotes the ego while the ego has only one purpose: to pull man down from transcending the material existence and becoming more spiritual and destroy the soul in the process (through desires, greed, lust, hatred etc).

Religions...they came about to set mankind free because some people were able to transcend and then teach others (whether they were divinely guided by god or enlightened, whatever your perspective), the purpose was the same, to rid man of their ego and allow their humanity to rise up and reach out the universe and connect with it.

Be kind to yourself first, that is very important then everything else falls into place.