11.13.04
Non-linear Thought
I was searching the internet yesterday for info on no-mind. I stumbled to this article on Taming the Monkey Mind. Its a very interesting read with analysis contrasting eastern and western thought. The following stuck out as something i never really thought about:
Compared to the linear Left Brain, the Oriental Mind is a multiple processor able to process multiple data streams simultaneously – something that happens within the first 10 milliseconds of its impetus to action.
I did some looking, and i found the comparison is considered either linear vs. non-linear OR linear vs organic OR linear vs lateral thought. I saw one reference to lateral thought as chaos! I found the following on in this article on linear vs non-linear thought.
The WILLINGNESS to ACCEPT that there is uncertainty with regard to the future & complexity is an inherent feature within the issue for which solutions are being sought.Â
I think this might explain my inability to draw logical conclusions during conversations or in arguments. Sometimes I catch myself finding a lead thought only to pause and say to myself “i dont know if thats what they are referring to”. Many times i an just dumb-founded: “whats the point they are getting at?” Its either the NLT or my inability to draw conclusions- which is a charcteristic of linear thought.. if foo then bar else baz. I think my most common responses are: “I dont know”, “I’ll have to think about it”, or “I’ll have to sleep on it”.
I also found this page comparing eastern and western thought. Interesting read, but im not sure if i agree with everything.. For example, i think many asians are fairly materalistic. I suppose one could argue that its a western influence… but for most asians, money is king..
Peter ja'Pan said,
January 18, 2005 at 1:38 pm
“Compared to the linear Left Brain, the Oriental Mind is a multiple processor able to process multiple data streams simultaneously.” Hahahaha ohhohoho ahhahaha. What a bunch of claptrap!. I came to Asia 40+ years ago to find out about this vaunted Oriental thinking…the secret of this Oriental wisdom….and I found out THERE IS NONE. Pardone me…I don’t, for a second, mean there is no other way of thinking than, for easy of explanation, linear thinking — just that it has almost nothing to do with Asia or Orientals: it concerns individuals, not races, not countries or continents.
If there is anything to say on the topic that is somewhat related to races, contries, and continents, it would be more about Logical vs non logical thought, and is merely a statement about a learning problem. Many Asians have not had a “Logical” training, and so talking with them can be quite difficult — like trying to talk sensibly with a three-year old…their thought is quite linear, just nonsensible.
Ethel Stanton said,
May 4, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Hi Guys:
There are probably many types of thinking…….even some
we have not thought of.
My sister and I have just been discussing this concept.
When we feel like talking about mystical aspects of life, we
are probably using non-linear thought.
When we organize our thoughts in a step by step straight line,
perhaps we can call it “linear thinking”.
I agree that even though the Asian Oriental view is different than
the Western Occidental view of the way our minds work……probably there are many in the “Western” world who
are able to handle many streams of thought and weave them together or separate them as they move from one view point to
another. Amazing!
Ethel Stanton
Lowell Zack said,
December 31, 2006 at 10:52 am
I’ve been working on an application that processes interactive scripts (plays not programming code) for 10 years and the premise of the application is to process content (scenes) using nonlinear ways of organizing data. (gestalt)
We might find interesting multiple streams of thought if you are interested.
.
Lowell
Raymond Rivera said,
August 25, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Well where do I begin…?
Yes I know I will tell you a little more of my philosophy of multiple linier thought. Well you see ever since my mid to late teens, I had noticed people always repeating this one common phrase all of the time, and I mean all kinds of folks at one time or another making this one in the same statement. I can even guess that you as well as I have made this statement either in mind or out loud… And finally this catch phrase is this… Only if I knew back then what I know now things would have been different…right? I am sure everyone has said this at some time in their life…weird right?
Well believe it or not, this is how my idea of multiple linier thought began, I said to myself, Ray why do people always say this and what could possibly done to change it… Well of course the only way you could know back when what you know now, would be to travel back in time, and tell yourself what problems the future held, and what choices you should make that would benefit you. But of course we can’t do the impossible right?
Well it is true we can’t go back in time, but what we can do is think unlike we never have before, and how is that any help you may ask, well you see if I can’t tell what the future holds, I will no longer just think in one unchanging predictable pattern, which is known as linier thought. We think of everyday as one in a series of many which follow one after the other in a predictable line… so therefore we think in a predictable line.
So I thought to myself, what if I could take this so predictable pattern of my thoughts and multiplied them so that I could instead of trying to do the impossible and look back into time, I could just try and think of all the ‘what ifs’, that all my present actions could bring to pass, like ripples in a pond, or better yet every decision every choice a domino effect, So I ventured out to try and train my mind to think of not just one predictable outcome but of many. After years of doing this, it later became second nature to me, I no longer asked myself ‘what if’
Instead the ‘what ifs’ were already processed and discussed in my mind long before I even had to make a conscious choice that would effect a variety of outcomes. Sometimes people would ask me, Ray how the heck did you know that was going to happen? And I would just tell them that I just got lucky, I figured it would be a lot easier an answer then to have to give a long winded explanation like this. but like I said it took many years of training myself to think this way and all I can say is that it’s not fortune telling, it’s just a very complex game of probability that I learned to play in my head, and believe it or not it works, One of the biggest draw backs is that I can usually figure out most of the endings to most of the movies I watch, and that my friends really sucks. But nonetheless I would not change my discovery for anything, it is just wonderful, I mean you don’t really predict what will happen, you just learn to choose the most likely probability and 7 times out of ten you will be on the dime.