thinking about thinking.

How can one possibly define what thinking is? Thinking seems more than just a sign of brain activity. After all, your brain is always in action, carrying out all the autonomous functions in your body even as we speak. Thinking is definitely more than this.

Let's take this to a higher level. Should we consider doing homework, learning a new skill, pondering on the day's events as thinking? True, they are indeed thoughts that occupy our mind now and then; but how can one truly think when one seems to be either 1) taught how to do it, or 2) merely reflecting on what has already happened?

Of course, all this is based on the premises that thinking involves the creation of something new; of a new thought that no one has come up with as yet. But this poses another question: what is creativity?

Is there such a thing as creativity then? After all, it seems that the invention of something supposedly new is always based on previous discoveries; and these discoveries would then be based on even earlier ones. If a creation of something 'new' is based on the old, how is it to be termed as something 'created', as something totally new and unheard of? No matter how far-fetched an idea may seem to be, it can always be traced back to fundamental principles already laid in place before you and I came to existence.

Creativity, in this sense, is elusive to all mankind except God the Creator. He is an exception; because He created (genuinely created) the universe out of nothing. All of man's subsequent 'creations' (so-called) stem from His. Ultimately, it is not our role as Man to be creative - we simply do not have the capacity to be so.

What does this tell us about thinking? If thinking is indeed the creation of a new idea in our minds, do we all lack the capability to truely think for ourselves? This might be the case, if we define thinking with such a narrow definition of genuine creativity. But to accomodate us humans, we should just stick to the definition of thinking to be the generation of ideas based on previous ones.

Humbling as this may be, we humans do need to learn how not to overestimate our intellect and realise our limitations. Limitations ought to be challenged, one may say, but who are we to talk about breaking boundaries when we are limited by our ability to be genuinely creative? We ourselves are subjected to the boundaries of being uncreative, whether we like it or not. So, one thing to learn here is that there is a danger for the pride we have for our intelligence leading to our downfall, and to prevent this we might just have to accept this truth.

Think about it.