Eric Barker writes a popular blog “Barking Up the Wrong Tree”. The other day, he posted a statement that said these days people carry a device in their pocket that can access all of mankind’s information but gets used to look at pictures of kitties and get into arguments with strangers. The implication is supposed to be that amazingly powerful devices are used for trivial or mistaken purposes. However, I want to take a moment to think about it.
What part of mankind’s information do I most want? Do I want any information? If we find that pictures of kittens is an effective source of cheer, let’s look at them. Maybe I am a genius who naturally sees life in a different way and strangers often take offense and berate me for my views. I have considered and reconsidered my views and I will continue to hold them lightly. But, it might be a natural development that my ideas or way of putting things offends some. Besides, people don’t need a strong challenge to get motivated to argue. Just suggesting something out of the ordinary is enough to shake some people, including people who habitually turn to argument or protest or lecturing if they run into a new idea.
It is a big burden on our essentially overdeveloped ape brains to question every durned thing. Yet, that is a major feature of the modern world: questioning, verifying, experimenting, including some pretty weird and far-out ideas. As we get used to thinking and questioning, we realize that our lives are too short to question everything. So, we are even forced to think critically about critical thinking. No wonder a YouTube video of a kitten is a relief!
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
