Thoughts on thinking
Over the last few days, I was reflecting on the various paths we traverse mentally when we think, and I was curiously fascinated by the different types of thinking that emerged in my mind, although they appear quite obvious in hindsight.
First things first! A clear distinction between thinking and feeling, which seems difficult in absolute terms. They are indeed different, but I would suggest that the bridge between the two is an alternating asymmetric and dynamic continuum. However, if I do have to relate the two, I would say that feeling is equal to thinking plus emotion.
If I were to list out the various types of our mental activities non-judgmentally, it would probably look like this (not in any order of importance)
1. Remembering/ recollecting/ mental scanning
2. Speculating.....what if?
3. Comparing.....similarities/ differences or superior/inferior
4. Imagining....visualizing, dreaming
5. Calculating....computing
6. Comprehending....trying to make sense of/understanding
7. Relating....linking/making connections
8. Reasoning.....logically deriving....inductive/deductive/generative
9. Pattern sensing and matching
10. Extrapolating...extending an idea/thought
11. Searching....looking for
12. Questioning....what/why/how/when/where/who/which?
13. Analyzing....mentally identifying and separating elements of an object or situation
14.Creating...conceptualizing, synthesizing
15. Agreeing...... coupled with feeling, this can transform into belief
16. Flash of sudden insight?
17. Focusing....paying sharp attention to something?
I am not for a moment claiming that the above are mutually exclusive or collectively exhaustive. Some of them may overlap with each other. We often move seamlessly between these activities either consciously or unconsciously, depending on situations.
I would tend to believe that human beings are not equally skilled in all the above mental activities, thanks to our diverse and heterogeneous mental wiring.
Switching to the judgmental mode, which mental activities would we value most, if we were asked to rank-order them?