Are average people capable of deep thinking?

Question

Or just too lazy?

Im not talking about thinking for the purpose of solving a
problem. Im talking about an earnest ponderance.

People seem to only grasp concepts in terms of either/or. For example, right and wrong - much of this is a grey area that requires a great amount of deliberation, but people seem to only adhere dogmatically to what others have told them.

When a person is put on trial the goal is for him to "win" the case. The jury is asked to pick a winner, not to determine the actual truth and arrive at an fair resolution.

It appears that in order to be understood by the laity complex concepts need to be broken down to opposing choices.
It appears as though people often avoid activites that require strenuous thought.

Is this the case?

Answer 1

Yes, I think it's probable that some people are lazy.
And it's likely that others are mentally over-worked.
On the other hand, I think a lot of people are just too damned stubborn to consider anything other than what their minds are "set on".

Answer 2

Great question, but since the majority of the world is made up of "average" people, I would have to respectfully disagree. I think a lot of the problems in the world come from people stumbling around in the gray, trying to pick a side, and just missing it.
The "average" person usually works hard at a job they hate for low pay, good benefits, or what have you. When they get done with the day, they want to put their feet up and watch Friends reruns. Does this make them lazy after the hard and emotionally and physically draining day they had...I don't think so.
However, I work at a stress free job I love and have plenty of time to read and play around on the computer. and learn new things. I just read a great book on Egyptian myths, but if I had been working at Burger King all day, there would be no way I'd have the energy for that.
So I guess my answer that for some it is the case, but most of those people would rather have it be another way.

Answer 3

I happen to agree with you. Most of the time people do not stop to think that they are followers of whatever is said and done, rather than taking the time to think, then act, and create a new thought or idea to become a leader.

I recently had a revelation about why some of my friends I get along with better than others; it's because I think deeper and more abstract. It sometimes seems that deep thinkers are an odd lot, but I am really proud!

It is hard to have a discuss with someone who has shallow thinking because they aren't able to "step outside the box." I don't know if it is genetics or not, but I find that "shallow" thinkers seem lazy.

Thanks for your question!

Answer 4

Thinking comes naturally to human beings but knowing how to think is something that has to be taught. It's the reason we shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars on our education. There was a time when a public school education was adequate but with increasingly laxed standards, over crowding and the variable cornucopia of other problems that plague the American education system, the basic fundamentals that you and I took for granted are not being taught to thousands of children around the country. Couple that with the dissolution of the family unit, the marginalization of our elders who were, at one time, respected for what they are: wisdom, and shifting views of parenting and you are left with a society that is predicated on catch phrases and distraction. The brain is a muscle and just like every other muscle in the body it can be conditioned. Average people are capable of very deep thinking, but until we see the forest through the trees we're going to continue to have chimps scoring higher on IQ tests than college students.

Answer 5

Not lazy, and not incapable. They are just not aware of the grey area. People have to learn to think differently, just as everything else is learned/discovered.

An example off the top of my head would be the concept of zero. There was no zero before someone discovered it but once it was discovered everyone integrated it into their thought processes. Maybe I'm stretching it but there you go.

Answer 6

Yes I think that's true. I think the case is that there just to lazy. That's how most people are today. A bunch of lazy asses.

Answer 7

I actually have to totally agree with you on that one. So many people just let the truth pass by and guess on whats right and wrong.. although it turns out gray. Awesome question :)

Answer 8

i never think in black and white (no pun intended).
I know that there's always a gray area and i actually like to examine if what i believe is really true.

I suppose that I'm part of the average crowd