Take Time to Think
I recently saw a program on television wherein the participants discussed how present day computer technology has contributed to our economy, our well-being and our ability to communicate. They pointed out the many ways that this technology was already obsolete and that further refinements will impact our future in ways we dare not imagine.
This scares me.
This advancement precipitates an increasing reliance on computer skills and “push the envelope” technology. This over-emphasis tends to wean people away from original thinking. Over the years, I’ve seen many very bright people let their computers do their thinking for them. Without realizing it, they became the victims of somebody else’s thinking and robbed them of their individuality.
I’ve been a student and practitioner of creative thinking all my life. I was a creative consultant long before the Internet was a factor. From my admittedly bias point of view, I think the time has come to champion a new technology. The next technological breakthrough should be a re-discovery of creative thinking.
• The kind of individual creativity and innovative genius that built our free enterprise system.
• The kind of uncluttered common sense creativity that is devoid of academic “isms” and “ologies”.
• The kind of creativity that existed (and worked!) long before time and technology distorted its simplicity and relevance.
Webster defines creative thinking as “the ability to be productive through imaginative skills”. Notice he makes the point that we must be productive. His definition of productive is “to establish results, benefits and profits”. And how does he suggest that we do this? He says it should be “through imaginative skills”.
Notice that he makes no reference to technological skills or training. He says nothing about academic proficiency, administrative talents or scanning the Internet. He refers to only one method: using the imagination which he defines as “the forming of mental images (ideas) of things not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived”.
IDEAS!
As important as modern day technological tools are, it should be realized that throughout all recorded history, nothing was ever accomplished, no goal was ever reached, no need was ever met and no problem was ever solved that didn’t begin with an idea!
Ideas are the substance of the imagination. They are the effects of creative thinking. When people ignore or overlook new ideas and concepts, they risk becoming the victims of another’s creative initiative regardless of their technological competence. While any activity should take advantage of the best technological aids available, it behooves us to be alert to the necessity for balance and make specific, conscious efforts to increase our imaginative skills. We should be constantly scanning our mental horizons for opportunities for growth and advancement and become aware of the events and circumstances that can contribute to our productivity: “establishing results, benefits and profits…through our imaginative skills”.
Your mind, which embodies this “thing” called “creativity”, is the source of all ideas. (See my Website: www.livingbetterforever.com) Your consciousness is the best computer ever devised. However mind-boggling the next generation of computers may be, that master computer between your ears is the only “mechanism” that can generate new, original ideas and be responsive to the flow of mental images of the imagination.
These images are a glimpse into the future. It is vision which is defined by Webster as “the act or power of perceiving mental images (ideas) in the imagination”. Jonathan Swift noted that “vision is the art of seeing the invisible”. Helen Keller was quoted as having said, “Worse than being blind, is to have no vision”.
Remember, the computer and all its associated technologies are merely the outward manifestation of someone’s creative thinking. Remember too, that an effect cannot, and never will, initiate any action of its own. It must forever be subservient to its primal cause and source: creative thinking.
It was Victor Hugo who reminded us that “there is nothing more powerful than the right idea whose time has come”. That time is NOW!
Take time to marvel at the computer with all its wonder, with all its contributing technologies and its capacity to make such a significant contribution to our way of life. But always reserve a quiet place in your mind where you can retire from the pressures imposed by the “real world” and take time to THINK.
About the Author
Davis Goss has had more than 50 years' experience as a creative consultant with particular emphasis on problem solving. His latest book, "The Science of LIVING BETTER FOREVER" details his unique scientific approach to problem solving.
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