How weak minded are we?

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VIBE
VIBE Members Posts: 54,384 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited September 2011 in The Social Lounge
Overall?

I was watching tv and it made me say "? damn we are weak minded people". It was some guy pictching a tv on some shopping network.

So overall us humans are pretty weak minded, doesn't matter if we think we aren't either. I was extremely weak minded when I was younger, now I'm not as much at all but I know I am still a weak mindEd individual. How did we become so weak minded, what's to blame? ourselves? technology? government?

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  • DRO
    DRO Members Posts: 9,943 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Laziness is the cause.... We fall for whatever sounds good/looks good without investigating it
  • Hypernova
    Hypernova Members Posts: 1,227 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Sir, I'm not facilely manipulated.
  • genocide_cutter
    genocide_cutter Members Posts: 7,748 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Im not............
  • VIBE
    VIBE Members Posts: 54,384 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Laziness is the cause.... We fall for whatever sounds good/looks good without investigating it

    Religion is for weak minded people, not much goes into actually "investigating" the bibles claims. So you're too lazy to investigate what it claims?
  • Jonas.dini
    Jonas.dini Confirm Email Posts: 2,507 ✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    This reminds me of a quote I read the other day:

    "The power of the unaided mind is overrated"
    -Tim van Gelder

    The implication here is to say that humans are not engrained with logic and critical thinking skills. And if you think about it why would we be? Human brain is engineered to find food, shelter, a mate... not to critically analyze advertisements.
  • Craig Robinson
    Craig Robinson Members Posts: 2,819 ✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    What does the man pitching the TV have to do with it?
  • fiat_money
    fiat_money Members Posts: 16,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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  • funkdocdamc
    funkdocdamc Members Posts: 3,786 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    VIBE86 wrote: »
    Overall?

    I was watching tv and it made me say "? damn we are weak minded people". It was some guy pictching a tv on some shopping network.

    So overall us humans are pretty weak minded, doesn't matter if we think we aren't either. I was extremely weak minded when I was younger, now I'm not as much at all but I know I am still a weak mindEd individual. How did we become so weak minded, what's to blame? ourselves? technology? government?

    Damn, how many times can a person say weak minded in one paragraph? You used it in every sentence; You might not be "weak minded", but you redundant as ? lol
  • DRO
    DRO Members Posts: 9,943 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    vibe86 wrote: »
    religion is for weak minded people, not much goes into actually "investigating" the bibles claims. So you're too lazy to investigate what it claims?

    i said nothing about religion.. Im speaking life period..people rather do what the next man is doing just cause it seems easy/simple...

    They see the glory, but dont know the story
  • CapitalB
    CapitalB Members Posts: 24,556 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    i said nothing about religion.. Im speaking life period..people rather do what the next man is doing just cause it seems easy/simple...

    They see the glory, but dont know the story

    but aint that religion??
  • TANGLUNG
    TANGLUNG Members Posts: 806 ✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Young-Ice wrote: »
    I had my first modes of reasoning course today
    already realized my entire logic system needs complete overhaul

    'people used to argue with facts...'

    ? done changed

    Can you elaborate? What did they talk about in that class?
  • VIBE
    VIBE Members Posts: 54,384 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    What does the man pitching the TV have to do with it?

    He was pitching it to convince you it's absolutely the best tv, you must buy it now. Logically you can be like ehhh just a tv I can get it later or get won over being weak and saying I need to buy it now you hear what he's saying!?!
    fiat_money wrote: »
    n5lFS.gif

    You're ? the most high, you're excluded.


    Damn, how many times can a person say weak minded in one paragraph? You used it in every sentence; You might not be "weak minded", but you redundant as ? lol

    Tactic, trying to convince you you're weak minded, lol nah i dunno but I don't care
  • VIBE
    VIBE Members Posts: 54,384 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Young-Ice wrote: »
    We went over a lot of logical fallacies today and stuff of that nature, and he then proceeded to show us a bunch of news clips that contained many MANY of these fallacies. Just goes to show how little people are thinking. I am too often listening to things and accepting them as truths just because i like the person saying them. All day today I've been analyzing things people have said to me.

    The prof spoke about a student he had who had told him that class completely changed his social life. Dude confessed that prior to the class he used to talk with his buddies and all his ? would be factless, opinionated comments. Once he started thinking more critically, he realized that if what he was saying wasn't solely opinion based, he really didn't have a whole lot to say.

    I see i am a lot like that too
    especially on the IC

    i need to change that

    So you're being manipulated by your professor, now it's working his way? jk lol but yeah basically what I'm getting at. How do we change that though?
  • Jonas.dini
    Jonas.dini Confirm Email Posts: 2,507 ✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Young-Ice wrote: »
    We went over a lot of logical fallacies today and stuff of that nature, and he then proceeded to show us a bunch of news clips that contained many MANY of these fallacies. Just goes to show how little people are thinking. I am too often listening to things and accepting them as truths just because i like the person saying them. All day today I've been analyzing things people have said to me.

    The prof spoke about a student he had who had told him that class completely changed his social life. Dude confessed that prior to the class he used to talk with his buddies and all his ? would be factless, opinionated comments. Once he started thinking more critically, he realized that if what he was saying wasn't solely opinion based, he really didn't have a whole lot to say.

    I see i am a lot like that too
    especially on the IC

    i need to change that

    Ask your prof what he thinks about 'Rationale' and other critical thinking computer programs, my understanding is that those joints are revolutionizing reasoning in a host of fields, from law to policymaking to marketing.
  • CapitalB
    CapitalB Members Posts: 24,556 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Young-Ice wrote: »
    we have to change the education system. People aren't being taught to think for themselves... which I think is the exact problem. We're spoon feeding students answers and expecting them to regurgitate it at will, without actually teaching them how to think for themselves.

    Although it may seem like were fueling rebellion, we need to get the youth to question things. Their environment, their teachers, their government, even their parents. We need to teach them how to think critically and speak with fact. Humans argue when they should be debating.


    damn.. never thought id see the day i co'signed u.. but here we are..
    STAY IN CLASS ? ! lol
  • soohot59
    soohot59 Members Posts: 11
    edited September 2011
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    Young-Ice wrote: »
    We went over a lot of logical fallacies today and stuff of that nature, and he then proceeded to show us a bunch of news clips that contained many MANY of these fallacies. Just goes to show how little people are thinking. I am too often listening to things and accepting them as truths just because i like the person saying them. All day today I've been analyzing things people have said to me.cartoons6.jpgcartoons7.jpgcartoons8.jpg

    The prof spoke about a student he had who had told him that class completely changed his social life. Dude confessed that prior to the class he used to talk with his buddies and all his ? would be factless, opinionated comments. Once he started thinking more critically, he realized that if what he was saying wasn't solely opinion based, he really didn't have a whole lot to say.

    I see i am a lot like that too
    especially on the IC

    i need to change that

    So you're being manipulated by your professor, now it's working his way?
  • -Vincenzo-
    -Vincenzo- Members Posts: 3,374 ✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    i think it was machiavelli who said if people live in peace for too long they become soft. spartans raised their kids the way they did to keep them from becoming weak minded. same goes for these buddha monks.
  • TANGLUNG
    TANGLUNG Members Posts: 806 ✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Excellent thread. Thanks young-ice for that info. This may be off topic, but I assume critical thinking is inherently learned? If so, what are sone other ways to increase critical thinking skills? I once saw something about lateral thinking. Could that be somewhat an underling of critical thinking?

    I didn't really use to question a lot of different things until I started to see the near implosion of the government and the economy. Now I'm trying to become more curious than ever.
  • EuropeanAndWhite
    EuropeanAndWhite Members Posts: 520
    edited September 2011
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    Young-Ice wrote: »
    I think the problem is we live in a society where rebellion is discouraged. The last real rebellion in the states was what, in the 60s with all the hippies?

    imho the problem is that our generation (im 23) doesn't understand what politics really mean. to "us" it's something boring, complex, sitting at meetings, debates. something old and "wise" (ahaha) people do. something we dont understand, something abstract.

    they don't realize that almost everything influencing their daily lives was created due to a decision made by politicians. at some point at least.

    everything gets depoliticized (not sure if thats even a word lol).
  • Lambent
    Lambent Members Posts: 1,936 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    -Vincenzo- wrote: »
    i think it was machiavelli who said if people live in peace for too long they become soft. spartans raised their kids the way they did to keep them from becoming weak minded. same goes for these buddha monks.

    There are plenty of weak minded people even during times of strife.

    Just take a look at all the people who were manipulated into throwing their lives away in wars. (not all were manipulated of course, a lot were forced to do it, and some wanted to do it)

    ? 's, Crusades, etc.
  • -Vincenzo-
    -Vincenzo- Members Posts: 3,374 ✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Lambent wrote: »
    There are plenty of weak minded people even during times of strife.

    Just take a look at all the people who were manipulated into throwing their lives away in wars. (not all were manipulated of course, a lot were forced to do it, and some wanted to do it)

    ? 's, Crusades, etc.

    true if we talk about weak minded in the sense of bein easily manipulated but if we talkin about weak minded in the sense of easily giving up i think my statement holds some truth.
  • VulcanRaven
    VulcanRaven Members Posts: 18,859 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2011
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    Laziness is the cause.... We fall for whatever sounds good/looks good without investigating it

    Like religion?