Why people fear reason
Let me know if you've also observed this, but I notice that people who are rational tend to become more and more rational, while people who are irrational are inclined to act and behave more and more irrationally.
It's as if reason, or unreason, were a virus that propagated itself in the mindspace of a person.
Or maybe thinking rationally (or irrationally) is just a habit. As Warren Buffet said, "the chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too strong to be broken."
My point is that it seems many people fear reason. To be more precise, it seems as though they avoid reasoning or logic. Perhaps it's because there was no course called Logic 101 or Reasoning 101 at university or in college. Perhaps it's because we are too proud to admit that we often don't think logically and could use some help. Or perhaps it's simply because we don't know what reasoning or logic is all about.
A philosopher once wrote: "A conclusion is the place where you got tired thinking."
I wonder how many people can honestly say, "You know what, I've been thinking about this subject for the last two hours. I'm exhausted!"
More likely, most people use shortcuts whenever possible to avoid thinking. In short, most people jump to conclusions; they don't jump to analysis!
During the 1995-2001 dot com craze, a great many smart and educated people make the mistake of investing in companies that generated revenues, but no earnings. Over one trillion dollars (that's $1,000,000,000,000) was invested (and lost) into dot coms and IPOs before the crash in 2001. And that's not even including the $1.247 trillion made by financial brokers and attorneys and investment bankers on the back of the ordinary investor.
People let their emotional side take over their rational side. Whenever this happens, a person can expect a lot of trouble to come her way.
The secret is to realize that one's reasoning skills create a kind of "Bubble of Rationality" inside one's mind. The more this bubble grows, the more the Bubble of Emotionality will shrink.
The key is to realize that reason CAN be learned, and that the more skillful you become at reasoning, the more wealth and happiness will flow into your life.
It's as if reason, or unreason, were a virus that propagated itself in the mindspace of a person.
Or maybe thinking rationally (or irrationally) is just a habit. As Warren Buffet said, "the chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too strong to be broken."
My point is that it seems many people fear reason. To be more precise, it seems as though they avoid reasoning or logic. Perhaps it's because there was no course called Logic 101 or Reasoning 101 at university or in college. Perhaps it's because we are too proud to admit that we often don't think logically and could use some help. Or perhaps it's simply because we don't know what reasoning or logic is all about.
A philosopher once wrote: "A conclusion is the place where you got tired thinking."
I wonder how many people can honestly say, "You know what, I've been thinking about this subject for the last two hours. I'm exhausted!"
More likely, most people use shortcuts whenever possible to avoid thinking. In short, most people jump to conclusions; they don't jump to analysis!
During the 1995-2001 dot com craze, a great many smart and educated people make the mistake of investing in companies that generated revenues, but no earnings. Over one trillion dollars (that's $1,000,000,000,000) was invested (and lost) into dot coms and IPOs before the crash in 2001. And that's not even including the $1.247 trillion made by financial brokers and attorneys and investment bankers on the back of the ordinary investor.
People let their emotional side take over their rational side. Whenever this happens, a person can expect a lot of trouble to come her way.
The secret is to realize that one's reasoning skills create a kind of "Bubble of Rationality" inside one's mind. The more this bubble grows, the more the Bubble of Emotionality will shrink.
The key is to realize that reason CAN be learned, and that the more skillful you become at reasoning, the more wealth and happiness will flow into your life.
posted by Super Peter at 11:55 PM
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