Are humans capable of original thoughts?

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   Electro-Denizenposted 8 years ago

   Are humans capable of original thoughts?
   
   The wider context of this is as follows: everything we know, everything we believe, and everything we think we believe, comes from people we know or from things we have read. Even our direct experiences are shaped by our tendencies toward certain beliefs... That being so, is anyone actually capable of original thought, and true spiritual freedom?

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   connorjposted 8 years ago

   
   
   This is indeed a complex question; however, I do believe original thought permeates our neural network on occasion. There is evidence of original thought throughout our history. However it is not very frequent. It seems to manifest from challenging misconceptions. For example, the incorrect yet widely accepted false-hypothesis that the World indeed was flat. Perhaps another example would include that "Man" could not fly? The Wright Brothers work in association with perhaps Da Vinci eventually proved otherwise...

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      Electro-Denizenposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      ...indeed, but on the other hand, concepts of 'fly' or 'not fly' come from a previous stock of knowledge involving birds and so on....  a variation of the them being, can a man fly?

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   tsmogposted 8 years ago

   Original to whom? What is a thought? The speed of thought also viewed as comprehension was measured at John Hopkins University by Dr. John Hart. M.D. in 1998. More can be found on the web. A short paper was presented in May 25, 1998. The thought / comprehension measured was recognition of ordinary images. The more familiar the image the quicker the response.
   
   Using a neural net on an open brain they measured it to be 250-300 milliseconds to recognize and understand. Another 250-450 milliseconds to comprehend. One may ask the question if the image is something never seen 'ever' before is that an original thought?
   
   There seems to be an indication the closer to original the longer the process. From that one can ponder the adage of being a slow thinker. Does that mean there simply are more original thoughts for that person thus slower comprehension? I ponder . . .
   
   Or, is it inclusive of geometric configurations combined with depth being familiar to begin with. However, once those were never before seen were they not. Further scrutiny we discover those same kind of measurements have been conducted with sound. Does that mean for instance a never before heard sound or foreign language is an original thought?
   
   Not sure and maybe I am in the dark. I do not know how to relate that curiosity regarding 'true spiritual freedom'. Yet it seems an original thought is both plausible and probable when considering for whom.

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      Electro-Denizenposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      ...so if a slow thought is an indicator of being closer to originality, perhaps what this really means, is that the overall thought process slows down so much that inspiration pops in... which suggests that all is given, not invented

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      tsmogposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Could be. Thought is considered a product of the process thinking. Does thought have to be rational? One question is if it is original to 'me' rather than another is it original? From birth? Original is dualistic - noun & adjective. Thoughts? :-)

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   M. T. Dremerposted 8 years ago

   Somebody had to come up with original thoughts for us to consume and reinterpret them. So, that would suggest it is actually possible. Admittedly, the more we learn, the less original thought we would have. But that's also assuming that we know everything, which we don't. So long as there are more things to learn, original thought will follow.

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      Electro-Denizenposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      great answer... perhaps, necessity being the mother of all invention, is the motive force behind an original thought

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   Ericdierkerposted 8 years ago

   It would seem that a thought that I processed ten seconds ago and then had again ten seconds later would be changed from my universal experience in the ten seconds that passed. Nothing can be viewed or realized exactly the same two times. We do not need years to evolve our own perceptions, it happens instantaneously, therefor each thought a millisecond later is a new thought.
   If we are talking about complicated complex thought combining premises and conclusions they will change from the time we begin our assumptions to the time we are done concluding.
   It would seem that perhaps a better question may be; "can we ever have a non-original thought?"
   Of course I just reread what I wrote and thought about it differently than when I wrote it. I suppose proofreading may be a fine example of ever changing, ever original thought.

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      Electro-Denizenposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      love this answer! every moment is original.....

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