How much time do I spend thinking about thinking? Not nearly enough. Two months ago I began to ask myself this simple yet complex question. How much time do I spend thinking about thinking? This is for Proof Of Brain but I am also not going to spend my entire time on this front end just thinking about brains or talking in circles for no reason. I have one main question I will restate as many times as I need to.
How much time do I spend thinking about thinking? I see that it is now 9:20pm and I have spent more than a few minutes formulating statements which are neither complete nor sufficient to convey the myriad thoughts I have had even while just considering this one central idea. I first determined that I spent either no time or not enough time thinking about thinking, so I should do it more often.
I began by thinking I aught to spend 20 minutes each day, but even 20 minutes a week may be too much to commit. Lately when driving I might randomly ask myself, how much time do I spend thinking about thinking? At least at that moment I am thinking about it. I also asked "How many of my thoughts are productive for me to have anyways?" Each day I might let 10,000 things pass my mind as I am solving problems or doing tasks. There are thoughts that are helpful and thoughts that are not.
Many of these things could be considered 'distractions' but most of the complex thoughts I would hope are productive ones. Between the thoughts that are helpful and the thoughts that are a distraction, it might be helpful to stop thinking altogether for a time. Thinking about how much time I spend thinking about thinking, has also lead to the question, how much time do I spend NOT thinking? And is it better to not think a thought than to have your mind occupied at all times with this or that?
I think about thinking as often as I can. I learned how to think when I was a child and my thoughts have grown more complicated over time. Over my lifetime I have learned how important the right questions are. In grade 3 my favorite comic was Calvin & Hobbes and often he asked very thought provoking and philosophical questions. The questions I ask are the key that opens the door to understanding, and learning to ask better questions is a skill I am refining. I have had many thoughts, but probably too many at times because my thoughts could be automatic and not intentional. Our behavior is influenced by that environment, but every individual strives to adapt to their surroundings.
Which of my thoughts are intentional and which thoughts are automatic? Are my thoughts my own or are they just something I have learned or observed previously? How many of the thoughts I think are my own and how many are thoughts from others? Thinking about thinking doesn't require adhering to a certain form of thought. Thoughts arise spontaneously as 'suggestions' and even while writing this, a flood of ideas come forth in my mind. Like a tug of war to form the sentence which can convey an idea accurately.
I spent less time thinking about thinking than I expected I would when I started, but I also didn't just start with a post about it on Proof of Brain thinking I even knew how to convey what I am talking about. So far it is insufficient except to say that I am thinking a bit more about what I spend my time thinking about than I have previously. Thinking about thinking is sort of a mental exercise. I have just one main question and allow my self to ask the question consciously and deliberately until I find other questions that can help me to understand more about the subject of thinking.
If I continue to think about thinking on a fairly regular basis, even if I don't spend a lot of time on the question, I hope to at least let ideas pour forth anyways. I am spending more time intentionally thinking about this question than I did before I began, and this process will not really lead anywhere because I circle back to the main question. How much time do I spend thinking about the things I think about?
How much time do you regularly spend thinking about the things you think about?
9:52 - 30 minutes spent Thinking About Thinking just a little bit.
Have you already done this mental exercise already? What is your philosophy?
