Ted Agon - Author
"You'll never look at a question the same way again."
“The next best thing
to being wise oneself
is to live in a circle
of those who are”
I have not done this website alone. There are observations from over 30 individuals throughout this website. I call these my "consultants", "contributors" and "co-writers".
After discovering the central power presented in the book and now this website, I wanted to see what others have said on the subject.
It appeared that they were just waiting for me to seek them out. Their observations have retained integrity over decades, centuries and millennia.
(Their observations are in quotation marks. and their names linked in blue to their backgrounds similar to C.S. Lewis's observation above.)
Let's get started.
Rational / Emotional
.
If we were totally rational we wouldn't be humans, we'd be machines. If we were entirely emotional, we wouldn't exist.
.
We are predominantly emotional creatures. Emotions are instantaneous. Reasoning takes time. Even when attempting to make rational decisions, emotions can positively or negatively sway our rational decisions, choices and actions.
.
As immediate and powerful as emotion is, and it is powerful, it is only a rational process that is capable of counterbalancing unfounded destructive fears and prejudices. Our ability to be rational is our vessel’s rudder that safely takes us through the challenging seas of destructive negative emotions, misinformation and disinformation.
.
On the other hand, the winds of positive emotions propel our vessel to lands that enrich our rational decisions around relationships with family, friends and community. We survive and thrive because of the healthy combination of the rational and emotional. This makes us humans human.
.
With the exception of kindness, is there anything more important than the ability to think?
.
The information in this website is based on the book "the human key" and focuses on the rational / logical and intellectual process of thinking.
It is as impossible
to withhold the truth
from the questioning mind,
as it is impossible
to force it upon those
who do not question.
.
You will begin to notice
how often you will find
you are asking yourself
questions.
This is
an unconventional website
presented
in an unconventional format
Being conventional
is remaining where you are
Don’t we have to be
unconventional
to move forward,
improve – to learn?
INTRODUCTION
This Introduction is all about
How to Gain a Positively
Unfair Advantage in Life
This page
includes:
A Revelation
A Problem
>>A Solution<<
A Challenge
A Choice
.
.
.Let's take our minds
for a walk.
If you are out
to describe the truth,
leave elegance to the tailor.
.
My Obligation
.
It would be irresponsible and possibly unethical not to share what was discovered through 14 years of research and writing. It is the basis on which we adapt, survive and thrive. It is a process of only 6 everyday words.
The above statement may seem exaggerated or an unrealistic claim. It is supported on this INTRODUCTION page in a 10-minute podcast appropriately titled "Challenge This!".
Extraordinary Claims
require
Extraordinary Evidence
Carl Sagan
Astronomer
Astrophysicist
Science Communicator
The Podcast is followed by a sobering amount of additional supporting evidence, observations and logic. It fulfills Carl Sagan's requirement of Extraordinary Evidence.
I strongly encourage you to challenge and attempt to decisively invalidate the 6-WORD PROCESS with observations, evidence and logic. Do your own research on it or any other information provided on this INTRODUCTION page. I will repeat this challenge later in this page. When you cannot invalidate the PROCESS, you then inherit the same obligation that I have to responsibly share.
(Who would not share information that will help you, families and communities adapt, survive and thrive? Unfortunately, there are some who will not.)
As mentioned, the book the human key is the outcome of 14 years of research and writing based on observations from living in seven countries and cultures. (When you have time please see: My BACKGROUND page.)
BOOK TRANSLATION
.
Additionally, the human key has been translated into a language spoken by 83 million people in southeast India; 96 million worldwide. Peddi Sambasiva Rao translated the book. He felt the information so important that, after investing over 4 years of his life translating the book, he published the translated book on the internet so that it could be read, for free, from cover to cover.
I have done the same here on this INTRODUCTION page. Peddi Sambasiva Rao (he is called Rao by his friends) and I both recognized that only so many individuals purchase books and the most effective way of getting vital information out to the public is with the world-wide internet.
(There will be an opportunity to later read more about the fascinating story of Rao by clicking on the BOOKS tab on the main menu and selecting FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATION.)
-----<>-----
Important Note:
Words or names
that appear in blue and underlined
like these examples,
go here or Albert Einstein,
are links.
You may wish to click on them
for further information.
This is a feature not available
in a book.
-----<>-----.
the human key
.
The book, the human key addresses the most basic elements of human existence - thinking, learning & communicating. These three elements are universal to all of us on this planet.
.
To be highly skilled in all three of these elements would be an immeasurable advantage.
.
"Learning is not compulsory . . .
neither is survival."
Engineer, statistician,
professor, and author
A Recommendation
I highly recommend that you read this INTRODUCTION page before investing in the book the human key. What kind of author, you ask, says don't buy the book first?
A website is a living document. It can be added to and modified as new perspectives appear and clearer ways of expressing concepts. This is not possible after a book has been published. The book adds material that the size of this website does not easily accommodate.
As mentioned, the other aspect is that only so many people buy books. If you want to get vital information out to the world, the internet is the vehicle.
Let's address the primary challenge
Improving
the
Skill of Thinking
This begins with this fundamental
.
Our ability to think sets us apart from all other creatures on the planet. Unless we are sitting in a jungle and naked, everything from spears to spacecraft comes from our ability to think. This includes our clothes, the ability to communicate, to prevent and cure illness and determine our future.
..
Our ability to think
is the reason
we exist, survive and thrive.
.
We all want to improve our ability to think to achieve better life outcomes. More importantly, although children are only 40% of the population, they are 100% of our future. We must insure their ability to think achieves their best life outcomes.
This brings us to this
thought-provoking question
.
.
What is thinking?
.
W. Edwards Deming, American engineer, statistician and professor observed:
.
”If you can’t describe
what you are doing as a process,
you don’t know what you are doing.”
Thinking is a process. If we can't describe thinking as a specific process, we don't know what we are doing. Without a specific process with which we can follow and apply it to train our mind to think, we cannot specifically and intentionally improve our ability to think.
As an example, if we don't have cooking or baking experience and were asked to make an apple pie without a recipe, a specific process, we wouldn't know where to begin. By not knowing the recipe, not only could we not make an apple pie, we obviously couldn't knowingly improve the process and outcome of a recipe we didn't know.
If we don't have the specific process of thinking, the recipe, we can't know how we can improve our ability to adapt, survive and thrive.
To repeat: Without a specific process with which we can follow and apply it to train our mind to think, we cannot specifically and intentionally improve our ability to think.
This website will provide the specific process of thinking and provide Extraordinary Evidence to support it.
Teach how to think,
not what to think.
~ Richard Feynman
Theoretical Physicist
1965 Nobel Prize in Physics
.
So, what is
the process of thinking?
1. I have asked this question of hundreds, in groups and individually, from all walks of life, and not one of them had been asked the above question.
.
(When they were given the opportunity to provide an answer to this question, their answers were general in nature and no two individual’s answers were alike.)
.
2. I asked them if they had ever asked themselves "What is thinking? or What is the process of thinking?" They had not been curious about what it means to think. As a consequence, they had never asked themselves
.
3. Additionally, I ask if they had ever gone to a dictionary to look up the definition of thinking. They had not.
.
From this experience, it is reasonable to say that you have not been asked this question, asked yourself this question or have gone to a dictionary to look up the definition.
.
(You might wish to ask your friends the above three questions and listen to their responses.)
.
.
the Revelation
.
We use the words think, thought and thinking uncountable times a day.
(I think your right. What is your thinking on this? I think so. He was deep in thought.)
We do this without being aware that we are using words we cannot specifically define.
It is strikingly obvious that we haven't given thinking a second thought. Contrast this with the fact that we only exist, survive and thrive as a result our ability to think. Where does this leave us?
.
We have taken thinking for granted even though thinking grants us everything.
.
the Problem
The big problem
is when we don't realize
we have one.
W. Edwards Deming
One would assume that dictionaries would describe the only process that allows us to survive and thrive. Dictionaries do not describe the process of thinking. They only offer non-specific generalizations or synonyms. (You may wish to look it up.)
.
The synonyms they offer are “reasoning” and “considering” as definitions. Looking up the definitions of “reasoning” or “considering” bring us back to the word “thinking” as a definition. This is circular logic; a traffic circle with an entrance but no exit that leads to a measurable and useful process.
.
If there was a description of the thinking process, you would believe it would be in common use. There hasn't been one. (This is about to change.)
Without a specific and defined process of thinking, inconsistent and bad-quality decisions, choices and errors are unavoidable. (We have all made them.)
.
How could we have been so indifferent about something that makes all the difference in our ability to survive and thrive?
.
It all comes down to this. Without a specific process with which we can follow and apply it to train our mind to think, we cannot specifically know if we are doing is correctly or intentionally improve our ability to think.
..
The 10 Minutes of Clarity podcast
provides
6
the Solution
.
A specific process
of the thinking process
in six everyday words
..
10 Minutes of Clarity
.
.
The process of thinking
provided in the Podcast is:
.
Thinking is:
the process of
asking ourselves questions.
.
"Do you disagree, agree
or not sure
about this process?"
.
-
In response to the above question you find yourself reflexively asking yourself the question. "Do I disagree, agree or am I not sure about this description?" Though you are in the process of thinking, your mental response comes out as a process of questioning. This is the initial indication that thinking is: the process of asking ourselves questions.
-
You cannot choose between the above choices unless you ask yourself a question. Which one shall I choose? Choosing is a process of questioning
-
Since a thought is an answer which comes from the process of thinking and answers come from questions, then the process of thinking must be the process of questioning.
-
- The brain
is a thinking organ
- The brain
is an analytical organ.
- Analyzing
uses the process
of questioning.
therefore:
- The brain
is a questioning organ.
-
If you doubt the process, doubting is a process of questioning.
-
If your answer is that you disagreed with the process, you would have confirmed that the process is accurate. How is this possible? You could not have arrived at any answer unless it is preceded by a question. It's Simple Logic.
-
You can decide to research, fact check or investigate this process of thinking and use a search engine. Deciding, researching, fact checking, investigating and searching are all questioning processes.
The process of thinking is:
the process of
asking ourselves questions
----<>----
"When you stop learning
you start dying."
~ Albert Einstein
.
Questions
are the path to learning.
.
When you stop asking questions
you stop learning and
you start dying.
----<>----
Without questions
there cannot be answers
|
v
Without answers
there cannot be knowledge.
|
v
Without knowledge
there cannot be
understanding.
|
v
Without understanding
there cannot be
wisdom.
|
v
Without wisdom
there cannot be
truth.
|
v
TRUTH
The Question is the Foundation
of
Answers, Knowledge,
Understanding,
Wisdom
&
Truth
^
|
For a clearer example of
the above, please click here.
Without the question
we can not
adapt, survive and thrive
"Any fool can know.
The point is to understand"
Albert Einstein
To understand, one must apply knowledge and learn from experience. It is an active process.
"Knowing is not enough;
we must apply.
Willing is not enough;
we must do,"
scientist 1749 to 1832.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What follows
is a sobering amount of more
supporting evidence,
observations and logic
of the process of thinking.
They include
1. Simple Logic
2. Curiosity
3. Cognition
4. Critical Thinking
5. Parenting & Education
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V V V V V V V V V V V
Simple Logic
-
Our answers come from the process of our thinking
-
There cannot be an answer unless it is preceded by a question
-
Based on number 2. it follows that our process of thinking must be questioning
-
Therefore our process of thinking is the process of asking ourselves questions.
The above logic should be sufficient so I could stop providing observations, logic and evidence at this point. Having stated this, I will continue to follow Carl Sagan's directive that "Extraordinary Claims require Extraordinary Evidence" and will continue to provide a boatload of evidence.
To Continue . . .
Two Processes > Same Outcome
.
.
|#1
The process of thinking
produces
answers
#2
The process of questioning
produces
answers
Logic
Processes that produce the same products are the same process by different names. (This is similar to a sun and a star. Both produce the same products - heat and light. They are the same process known by different names.)
Nothing can be
investigated,
researched,
quantified,
measured,
examined,
qualified,
decided,
verified,
created,
solved,
or
cured..
without a question
(without thinking)
Two Processes > Same Outcome
Without
the process of
questioning
we could not exist.
We would not ask:
Where can I find food?
How can I grow food?
Where can I get water?
How can I design
or make clothing
to protect myself
from freezing to death
or protect myself from the sun?
How can I cure illness?
Without
the process of
thinking
we could not exist.
Two Processes > Same Outcome
Thinking and questioning
produce the same
paths to existence
and are, in logic,
the same process
.
The process of
asking ourselves questions
and the process of thinking
are identical twins
with different names.
CONCLUSION
.
Asking ourselves questions
equals Thinking
.
Being the same process,
Improving questioning,
effectively and for all practical purposes,
improves thinking.
v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
> <
> Those who ask <
> more and better questions <
> will succeed over those <
> who don't <
> <
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Truth is what works.
Philosopher
Pragmatism
"The mind that questions
is the mind that grows."
French philosopher & writer
1713 – 1784
The process of thinking is:
the process of
asking ourselves questions
----<>----
You may not know
you asked a question
The question can be a conscious or an unconscious question. How is this possible? Neuropsychologists say that we are not aware, unconscious of around 95% of our brain activity.
The brain is an analytical organ. The brain is always analyzing. Analyzing is a process of questioning. This means that we are not aware of 95% of our unconscious questioning/analyzing.
(For four, of an unlimited number of examples of unconscious questioning, click here.)
The
Irrepressible Question
-------------
Anytime a person provides any form of an answer which includes:
a response
a reply
feedback
critique
denial
advice
criticism
a view
an opinion
a sentiment
a shrug
a nod
a head shake
a recommendation
a laugh
(This list may be endless)
All these answers must be preceded a conscious or an unconscious question because there cannot be an answer unless it's preceded by a conscious or unconscious question.
-------------
We are classified as "homo sapiens". Translated from Latin means "wise mankind”. We should be called “homo quaerens", which is Latin for "questioning mankind". Why? This is because all answers, knowledge, understanding, wisdom and truth come from the process of questioning. See Truth Pyramid by clicking HERE.
Copy the test from top red-dotted line down to red-dotted line. Paste it into an research-based AI program similar to "Perplexity" , which is grounded in real-world sources, or "Google AI". Either will provide you with more information.
Please continue to do your own research to confirm or refute any information on this website.
The 3 Choices
.
After listening to the podcast and as you continue to read this INTRODUCTION page, there are three choices. The THREE CHOICES are:
..
-
Accept the description of the process of thinking apply it to improve life outcomes and pass it on to others to improve their lives and futures..
-
Provide a more effective description of the thinking process supported by observations, evidence and logic
. -
Effectively challenge and decisively invalidate or contradict the process of thinking supported by observations, evidence and logic.
If you cannot accomplish #2 or #3, please return to #1 to pass it on
We will revisit these THREE CHOICES later.
For more on this, click:
Theory vs. "Scientific Theory"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Curiosity
Development
of
Humankind
You
were born questioning
What is the irrepressible innate desire to acquire knowledge and understanding? It is curiosity. It is an inherent in all humans.
Infants, soon after birth, exhibit curiosity. They pick up an object, turn it around, squint at it and put it in their mouth, bite and taste it . Curiosity is the urge to ask questions. Questions are the path to answers, knowledge and understanding. Young children ask what seems a million questions. Nobody teaches them how to ask a question. Their questions are the uninhibited outward expression of their inward analytical/questioning brain.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
We are so blind!
Adults mistakenly believe that children can or should only learn from them. Yet adults ignore the vital process children show us; their inborn art of questioning. Adults are irritated at the repetitive questioning and tell them to be quiet. Children have something to teach adults, if we'd only pay attention. Questioning is the process that allows humankind to adapt, exist, survive and thrive. Could there be a more important natural process to learn from children? We are so blind.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Curiosity is attributed to the development of humankind. As one of many examples, the average life span in the United States in the year 1900 was 47 years. Today it is 77 years. This is 60% more life. Much of the gain was through medical science; scientists asking questions and researching (a process of asking questions) and obtaining answers. The 1st step in the Scientific Method is to ask a question. (More about this later.)
We must go to the questioning brain to satisfy curiosity`s desire. We are born asking ourselves questions. We are born thinking.
Stimulus -> Curiosity -> Question -> Answer (knowledge & understanding)
Curiosity is triggered and initiated by a stimulus. This stimulus can be external through one or more of the senses. A stimulus can also be internal from innate curiosity or through a prior intellectual experience. These stimuli can be either conscious or unconscious.
Curiosity
is nature's emotional urge
to be your own teacher
Asking ourselves questions is a fundamental, inescapable drive of the human brain. It bears repeating; It allows us to adapt, survive and thrive.
"The most important thing
is to not stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason
for existing.
.
Never lose holy curiosity."
Albert Einstein
Curiosity cannot be taught
but can be nurtured.
Formative Years
The first 8 years of a child’s life are called the Formative Years. This is when curiosity and their questions are formed or destroyed. This is the period that forms them for the rest of their lives. You are formed by your parents and your children will be formed by you. This is a profound responsibility.
To stifle curiosity
in a child
is against nature.
It's unnatural.
Those who don't learn
don't ask questions.
Those who don't ask questions
don't learn.
“Every kid starts out
as a natural-born scientist
and we beat it out of them."
(The Scientific Method begins
with a question.)
Carl Sagan
Planetary Scientist
Astronomer
Science Communicator
"Kids
are born curious
about the world.
What adults primarily do
in the presence of kids
is unwittingly thwart
the curiosity of children."
astrophysicist
author
science communicator
When curiosity
is robbed from a child,
their future growth is robbed
Those
who are intensely curious
require no teacher.
Those who lack curiosity have
Question Deficit Disorder
(QDD)
The Apposing Force
.
"Nothing in life is to be feared;
it is only to be understood.
.
Now is the time
to understand more,
so that we may fear less"
The only person
awarded two Nobel Prizes
in two different sciences.
Fear is the strongest emotion and it comes from the fear of the unknown.
The emotion of curiosity brings us to know and understand more so that we may fear less. Curiosity (the urge to question which results in knowledge) is the apposing force against fear.
Any education system that is not based on inquiry (questioning) and doesn't stimulate curiosity (which triggers questions), fails the students.
"No one is dumb
who is curious.
.
The people
who don't ask questions
remain clueless
throughout their lives."
~ Neil deGrasse Tyson
astrophysicist, author,
science communicator
"Knowledge is of no value
unless you put it into practice"
~ Anton Chekhov
physician and playwright
1860 – 1904
Cognition
Do Some Research
with Me
Put "Is thinking cognition?" in your search engine.
The dictionary definition of "cognition" is:
noun: The process of knowing, of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought and through the senses.
A question is the only path to acquiring knowledge and understanding. Knowledge and understanding are answers.
Going further; the word "cognition" comes from the Latin word “cognoscere”, which means "to get to know".
How do we “get to know?
We get to know by asking questions.
The question is the only path to knowledge, understanding, wisdom and Truth. (for a graphic that makes this clear, click here.)
We only have to scratch the surface to find another indication that thinking is the process of asking ourselves questioning. We do it by using the very words the experts provide us.
To limit
a child's questions
is to limit
their intellectual growth.
We Are
Massively Ignorant
We are all massively ignorant. If you pinch a piece of paper between your index finger and thumb, even that is less than we know.
Let me illustrate this with a series of questions.
Do you know how your shoes were made?
Do you know how the floor you are standing on was made?
Do you know how your blouse or shirt was made?
Do you know how to build a 10-story building?
Do you know how the internet works?
Do you know how far the sun is from earth?
How old is the Earth?
How do smart phones work?
How many of the 25 major languages do you speak?
I could ask and endless number of questions similar to these and your answer would be “No”.
We are immeasurably ignorant.
The only way to remove our ignorance is to ask a question. Your livelihood, your life, and if you have a family, their lives could depend on you asking questions. Ignorance injures and kills.
“All our knowledge
begins with the senses,
proceeds to questioning,
next to the understanding,
then action.
There is nothing
higher than action"
German philosopher
Central Enlightenment thinker
1774 - 1804
Action is Power
They say knowledge is power. It is not. Action is power. Knowledge without action is useless. It gains nothing. In contrast, action always gains knowledge. Further, action with knowledge with action is more powerful. Therefore, knowledge is a power amplifier, not power.
If you do not use the knowledge contained in this website, others that do will survive and thrive and leave you behind. And that knowledge is to ask more and better questions. If you don't use you power, action, to question, any knowledge you gain from this website will define yourself as a looser.
"No one
will place the truth
in your mind;
it is something
you must discover
for yourself."
American professor
"the father of modern linguistics"
B. 1928 (age 96 in 2025)
(We discover Truth
with questions)
Those who have
a Limited Ability
to
Question
Shorter Life
.
In 2021 adults in the United States with less than a high school diploma, had a life expectancy that is about 9 to 11 years shorter than those with a bachelor's degree.
High Prison Rates
.
In 2016 62% of State and 57% of Federal prisoners did not have a high school diploma. (You may wish to research this information.)
Critical Thinking
is
Critical Questioning
Put in simple logic, the goal of critical thinking is to obtain an answer to a problem or to a need. The only way to obtain an answer is with a question. Critical thinking is critical questioning.
The more expanded view is:
Monash University is Australia’s largest institute of learning.
Below is the response that I received from the Monash University’s site after putting “critical thinking” in my search engine.
“Critical thinking is a kind of thinking in which you question, analyze, interpret, evaluate and make a judgement about what you read, hear, say, or write. The term critical comes from the Greek word “kritikos” meaning “able to judge or discern.”
The processes Critical Thinking offered by Monash University's site (above in blue) from are:
Question - (obviously a process of questioning and it produces an answer)
Analyze – (analyzing is a process of questioning and an analysis is an answer)
Interpret – (interpreting is a process of questioning and an interpretation is an answer)
Evaluate – (evaluating is a process of questioning and an evaluation is an answer)
Judgement – (judging is a process of questioning and a judgement is an answer)
First Conclusion:
It is apparent from Monash University's choice of words in their response that Critical Thinking is a process of asking Critical Questions.
Then there is:
“kritikos” meaning is “able to judge or discern.” Judging and discerning are processes of questioning
Second Conclusion:
The adjective "Critical" "kritikos" in Critical Thinking is also a questioning process. Critical Questioning then becomes Questioning Questioning. This says that we should question the effectiveness of the questions we use to insure to acquire critical answers or outcomes.
Getting deeper into the weeds . . .
Additionally, we have researched the word cognition and found that it is a word for thinking. There is another word which is metacognition. The definition of metacognition is Thinking about Thinking. We have established in this and previous explorations, that thinking is questioning. With this in mind, Thinking about Thinking becomes Questioning about Questioning. This falls in line with what we have found up to this point.
The Scientific Method
.
The 1st active step in the Scientific Method is to ask a question. The questioning process is the thinking process that scientists use to acquire answers/knowledge. It is the only way to achieve knowledge/answers. The word “science” comes from the Latin word “scientia”. “Scientia” translated into English is . . . “knowledge”. This makes sense. Scientists seek answers – knowledge.
We all ask questions to seek knowledge/answers. So in this sense, we are all scientists.
"The whole of science
is nothing more than
a refinement
of everyday thinking"
(of everyday questioning)
~ Albert Einstein
"He who asks a question
is a fool for a moment,
but he who does not ask
remains a fool forever"
Considered
the model of excellence
in Chinese Wisdom
551 – c. 479 BCE
"The journey to truth
begins with wonder
and
the courage to question."
~ Plato
Foundational thinker
in Western philosophy
428–423 BC, died 348/347 BC
"It is not that I'm so smart.
But I stay with questions
much longer."
Albert Einstein
How do you ask
better questions?
Just like you eat
a nutritious meal.
One bite at a time.
Conscious practice
becomes an unconscious practice
The question
is both the inoculation against
and the antidote for
ignorance.
Parenting
&
Education
Parents
Formative Years
The first 8 years of a child’s life are called the Formative Years. This is when curiosity and their questions are formed or destroyed. This is the period that forms them for the rest of their lives. You are formed by your parents and your children will be formed by you. This is a profound responsibility.
A country with children who can't question adults becomes a society of people who can't question their leaders. Give kids the space to ask hard questions, get real answers, and form their own opinions.
"Education is not
for the learning of facts but
the training of the mind
to think."
Theoretical Physicist
He also offered:
"The most important thing
is to not stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason
for existing.
.
Never lose holy curiosity."
Albert Einstein
.
We would expect Albert Einstein to have an insight on the subject of thinking. Unsurprisingly, his observations makes sense.
-
The goal of education is to have students acquire knowledge and understanding.
.
-
The process of questioning, as with the Scientific Method, is the means by which knowledge and understanding are acquired.
.
-
As a consequence, students must be trained in the process of questioning to insure they have the best opportunity to acquire knowledge and understanding - the goal of education.
..
Providing students with information and facts may help them while they are in class. Train their minds to think, train them to ask questions, and they will be able to acquire their own answers, information, understanding, wisdom and truth throughout their lifetime. They will continue to grow and prosper.
Law Tzu's
way to say this was simpler
"Give a man a fish
and
you will feed him for a day.
.
Teach him how to fish
and
you feed him for a lifetime."
Chinese Philosopher & Writer
521 BC..
Any education system that is not based on inquiry (questioning) and doesn't stimulate curiosity (which triggers questions), fails the students.
Any education
that isn't
heavily invested in questions
is underfunded.
"One of the very
important characteristics
of a student
is to question.
.
Let the students
ask questions."
~ A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Aerospace scientist
former President of India
If students were invited to spontaneously ask the teacher questions in class while the subject is being taught, the teacher would know what the student knows or doesn't know. The teacher would immediately be able to address this and not wait until after the test and then have to do remedial work. If this practice were used, theoretically, there would be no need to test.
"Judge a person
by their questions
rather than his answers"
~ Voltaire
Writer, Philosopher, Historian
An additional benefit is that the teacher, instructor or professor get to measure how effective they are at their ability to embed information and knowledge as well as bring understanding.
(Much more on this on Pages 206, 216 & 217 in the book "the human key")
Notable Thinkers
The question as a central to human thought has been recorded for at least 2,400 years. To read how Notable Thinkers employed questions in their life-altering discoveries, Click here!
Thinking is:
the process of
asking ourselves questions.
The Podcast supports the description of the process of thinking with six observations of evidence and logic. A sobering amount are included below on this INTRODUCTION page.
.
31 pages of evidence, logic and observations in the book the.human.key. further cements the validity of the process.
.
-
One observation is an occurrence.
-
Two may be a coincidence or confirmation bias
-
Three is a pattern.
-
Substantially more in agreement
makes it fall under the definition of a Universal.Truth.
(Click here for Universal Truth definition.)
.
When it comes to evidence that allows us to adapt, survive and thrive; overdone is better than underdone. This fulfills Carl Sagan's requirement of Extraordinary Evidence. All this to support a process of just 6 everyday words.
Change your questions
and you
change your life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have taken our minds for a walk. So far we have seen that both thinking and questioning produce the same products. Through this we also see that our thinking, analytical brains are questioning organs and that thinking is asking ourselves questions.
This is now reinforced by the observation that the emotional urge that we all have from birth, our curiosity, demands that we ask ourselves questions in the quest know and understand.
As mentioned in the above paragraph, these are the same products of the process of thinking. The process of thinking is the process of asking ourselves questions. Let's continue to take our minds for walk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V-<><><><><>-V
What follows is an extensive amount of supporting evidence, logic and observations. When it comes to the ability to adapt, survive and thrive, overdone is better than underdone.
Perspectives and observations by individuals in quotations marks are offered in brief statements. They are centered on the page and in short paragraphs.
Stop at any point
that you feel is sufficient.
You can return to the top of the page or the MENU by clicking on the up arrow "^" (for a smart phone) or Go to Top of Page (computer)
^-<><><><><>-^
Podcast Review
and
additional
.
.Observations
Evidence
Logic
and
Comments
>Segment #1<.
(For your convenience,
this REVIEW and COMMENTS
has been divided
into 6 segments.)
Extraordinary claims
require
Extraordinary evidence.
Our decisions are only as good
as the information
on which they are based.
the Claim
.
A specific and effective of process of thinking was provided in the Podcast. Again it is:
Effective Theory
.
The Theory of Thought (ToT), that thinking is the process of asking ourselves question, falls under the description of an Effective Theory.
.
It will be well worth your time to click HERE
(After you have refereed to the
Effective Theory,
press the back arrow
to return HERE)
-----<>-----
v
Einstein's Observation
"A theory
is the more impressive
.
the greater is the simplicity
of it premises,
.
the more different
are the kinds of things it relates
and
the more extended
the range of its applicability."
|
|
V
The simple premise is:
Thinking
is the process of
asking ourselves questions
Questioning relates
to all human endeavors
the question's range
applies to all human life
^
.-----<>-----
Intentionally
Change
Your Future---->
Establishing the brain as a questioning organ places the "question" as the single mental process that allows us to adapt, survive and thrive. With this knowledge, we must consciously put questioning at the forefront of our daily lives for our children and community. But knowledge is not power. Action is power. Action always gains knowledge. Knowledge without action gains nothing.
Don't worry about future. The future cannot be created in the future. It is only what you do now, in the present moment, that creates your future.
Now is the only time you can change your or your children's future.
Asking ourselves questions
equals Thinking
Being the same process,
Improving questioning,
effectively and for all practical purposes,
improves thinking.
This will change your
or
your children's future
-----<>-----
"To know and not to do
is not to know."
Stephen Covey
The question
is both the inoculation against
and the antidote for
ignorance.
-----<>-----
Those who don't question
don't think.
.
Those who don't think
don't question.
You must always aim and aspire for asking more effective questions to acquire critical outcomes. The ability to adapt, survive and thrive depend on it.
How to Gain a Positively
Unfair Advantage in Life
This is how to gain an advantage over those who don't intentionally improve their questions.
If you wish to read Monash University's response mentioned above, click here
Question / Thinking
Exercise
With the exception of the state of Alaska, I come from the state with the 2nd largest wilderness park. Which one is it? You now find that you are asking yourself: "Which one is it?" When anyone is asked a question they must reflexively ask themselves that same question prior to to attempting to answering the question.
How do we use this knowledge?
Below the age of five children ask us what seems to be a million questions. To discourage them from asking questions is an unintended form of child abuse. Instead, as they advance past this age, we must ask them more and more challenging questions relative to their developmental stage. They will, in turn, ask themselves those challenging questions. This is an invaluable questioning exercise to develop their questioning brains.
Books vs. Internet
.
As an author, I know that Books are excellent for organizing and disseminating knowledge. In today's world, the best way to get vital information to the greatest number of people around the world, in the shortest time, is with the internet. Rao understood this when he published his book translation on line for anyone to read.. As you read you will understand why he titled the translation "Prasna Enduku" (Why Question).
When you accept the description, please responsibly share this INTRODUCTION page with others. This open-source, information-based website is part of my obligation and commitment to freely share.
Extraordinary claims
require
Extraordinary evidence.
Our decisions are only as good
as the information
on which they are based.
----<>----
Bigots will not question.
Fools can not question.
Slaves dare not question.
.
Questions
take us out of servitude
into freedom.
-----<>-----
Click this blue link for a chart of 84 commonly used words for the process of questioning. Why so many? It demonstrates the persistent pattern of how our brain thinks.
Questions
we ask
or
do not ask
determine our future.
If we do not sufficiently encourage children to ask questions, to form independent judgements, becoming more knowledgeable, mindless sheep are what they will be.
-----<>-----
Why so many?
Put “books on questions” in your search engine and you will discover more books than you probably want to count. You will find more than 120 books. Do you know of any other book written on just one topic? Why so many books on thinking? It is the process of how we think; solve problem, gain knowledge and understanding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thinking is:
the process of
asking ourselves questions.
First Principle
.
The process of questioning can be classified as a "first principle". It is a basic assumption that cannot be deduced any further.
.
Aristotle, (384 - 322 BC) 2,300 years ago, would have described the process of thinking as a "first principle: the origin from which a thing is known."
.
The origin, the genesis, of all things known by humankind comes from the process of asking questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The very nature of life
is discoveries,
and the best of discoveries
are the ones you don’t expect.
A Personal Note
.
The discovery of the process of thinking was one that I didn’t expect. I was asked for a book on the subject of communicating. While writing, I stumbled over the 6-word process of thinking which changed my direction, research and life.
The Wise
Much of what I have gained
is from those wiser than myself.
I invite you to visit them.
They are my co-writers.
by clicking here..
(Press back arrow
to return)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Podcast Review
and
Comments
>Segment #2<
"The aspects of things
that are most important to us
are hidden because of their
simplicity and familiarity."
Philosophy of
Logic, Mathematics, Mind & Language.
This process of thinking, the use of questions, is most important to our existence and is simple and familiar to us. We use questions uncountable times a day. We didn't know what the process of thinking was so could not improve it. We do know the process of questioning and can knowingly improve it.
"Simplicity
is the ultimate
sophistication."
Engineer, Scientist, Theorist, Painter.
The complex
is a combination
of the simple.
Master the simple
to comprehend, control and
conquer the complex.
In thinking,
there are only
processes and products;
questions and answers.
Thinking is:
the process of asking
ourselves questions.
Being the same process,
Improving questioning,
effectively
and for all practical purposes,
improves thinking.
This resets our mindset.
Warning!
Questioning
can seriously
damage ignorance.
Question Engine
There is a company that started a business in 1999 with $100,000. In its 6th year of business its market valuation was $6 billion. Its only service was to provide a path for people’s questions. Which company? Google.
A search engine is only used when someone has a question. Searching, in itself, is a process of questioning. A search engine is a question engine. Googling is now another word for questioning.
To understand
is to
have arrived at an answer.
.
The only way
to arrive at an answer
is to first ask a question.
.
The question is the only path
to understanding.
There's no question
that without the question
there wouldn’t be any
Nobel Prize winners.
The question
brings order
out of chaos.
The THREE CHOICES are:
..
.
-
Accept the description of the process of thinking and apply it to improve life outcomes and pass it on to others.
-
Provide a more effective description of the thinking process supported by observations, evidence and logic
. -
Effectively challenge and decisively invalidate or contradict the description of thinking supported by observations, evidence and logic.
If you cannot accomplish #2 or #3, please return to #1 to pass it on
Podcast Review
and
Comments
>Segment #3<
The more a person
has an opinion
driven by emotion,
the less they question
its validity.
Let's begin with:
a problem cannot be solved
without using a question.
Now lets look
at Voltaire's
observation.
No problem
can withstand the assault
of sustained thinking.
Voltaire
writer, philosopher and historian
1694 - 1778
|
V
Taking Voltaire's observation
and changing "thinking"
to "questioning"
makes sense.
|
V
.
No problem
can withstand the assault
of sustained questioning.
.
No problem can be solved
without asking a question.
Our strongest weakness
is not taking action.
.
Our Goal
.
We want to improve our and our children’s ability to think to obtain better life outcomes.
.
We didn’t know what the process of thinking was. We couldn’t knowingly improve what we didn’t know.
.
We do know the process of questioning and this process can be measured and improved.
.
With the observation that the process of asking ourselves questions and the process of thinking are the same . . .
|
|
v
Improving questioning,
effectively
and for all practical purposes,
improves thinking.
Again,t
this resets our mindset
To ask a question
is the
beginning of knowledge
.
When this process is adopted, and over time, it will impact the process of education, depth of understanding, intellectual growth and the quality of decision-making.
Democracy
.
.
"If a nation expects
to be ignorant and free,
in a state of civilization,
it expects what never was
and never will be."
Thomas Jefferson
3rd President of the United States
Author of the
Declaration of Independence
The consequence of Thomas Jefferson's conclusion will allow democracies to flourish through more engaged and informed citizens. Dictators, fascists, extremist religions and dogmas will not be questioned. It threatens their existence. Furthermore, questions are the path to removing ignorance. When you keep citizens ignorant they are easier to control. ("I love the uneducated.") As a side reality, of those who had less than a high school education in 2016, 40% of state prison and 57% of federal inmates have not completed high school. So it appears, as Tomas Jefferson states, the ignorant can not expect to be necessarily free in a state of civilization.
Additionally, followers of cult leaders are told how to think. The leader plays on their fears. (The emotion of fear is a powerful motivator and obstructs rational thinking.) The leader's word is the only true word and everyone that says otherwise is lying. Cult followers are those among us who do not question. Because of this, they are easiest to fool and mislead.
Questioning
is the only path to the truth
.
A habit of critical questioning exposes destructive baseless conspiracy theories, misinformation, disinformation and dispels fear.
Primary schools
fight against fake news
in the country of
Finland
With democracies around the world threatened by the seemingly unstoppable onslaught of false information, Finland – recently rated Europe’s most resistant nation to fake news – takes the fight seriously enough to teach it in primary school.
In secondary schools, such as the state-run college in Helsinki, multi-platform information literacy and strong critical thinking (critical questioning) have become a core, cross-subject component of a national curriculum that was introduced in 2016.
For more on this article go here.
"The curiosity
(the urge to question)
of the human mind is essential
if you want citizens who think
rather than accept
the first nonsense they come to."
Nobel Prize 2013
Theoretical Physicist
.
It may seem ironic but, this is also the same process that must be used in any attempt to invalidate the description of the process of thinking.
A person
who does not question
is not interested in the truth
or is frightened by it.
.
..
Survive & Thrive
.
Without the question we could eat (Where do we find food? Which one is poison? How do we grow food? How do we protect ourselves from freezing? etc.)
The ability to question is the ability to adapt to life's inevitable changes..
.
The question is responsible for extending the average life span in the United States from 47 years in 1900 to over 78 today; 68% more life – 31 more years.
.
(This is substantially due to Education, Medical Science - preventive and curative, the Scientific Method (see below), and research (a process of questioning). Through these methods and processes, understand and address the challenges of viral pandemics, cancer, heart disease, public hygiene, food-born toxins and workplace/vehicle safety . . . and much more.) Click here to see the question's effect on the world at large.
Cancel the page to return HERE.
Those who don't question
don't think.
.
Those who don't think
don't question.
------<>-----
The THREE CHOICES are:
..
.
-
Accept the description of the process of thinking and apply it to improve life outcomes and pass it on to others.
-
Provide a more effective description of the thinking process supported by observations, evidence and logic
. -
Effectively challenge and decisively invalidate or contradict the description of thinking supported by observations, evidence and logic.
Podcast Review
and
Comments
>Segment #4<
“A wise man can learn more
from a foolish question
than a fool can learn
from a wise answer.”
- Bruce Lee
More can be learned from a person's questions than from their answers. Answers can be shallow. A person's questions indicates how they think, what they think about, their level of knowledge and their willingness to learn. A person who doesn't ask questions is a challenge to themselves and their community.
No problem
can be solved
without a question.
Conscious practice
become
unconscious practice
Consciously
asking more questions
results in better
unconscious questions
(results in better thinking)
We are all students in the school of life. We want to improve our and our children's thinking ability to achieve better life outcomes.
Any education process
that isn't
heavily invested in questions
is underfunded.
Questions
we ask
or
do not ask
determine our future.
------<>------
.
.. It is difficult to overstate the significance and effectiveness of this six-word description. The questioning process acquires all knowledge and changes everyone's lives and history. Albert Einstein's finding, E=MC2* , was only possible because he used this six-word process. *This website platform does not support superscript.
.
"It is not that I'm so smart.
But I stay with questions
much longer."
------<>------
The THREE CHOICES are:
..
.
-
Accept the description of the process of thinking and apply it to improve life outcomes and pass it on to others.
-
Provide a more effective description of the thinking process supported by observations, evidence and logic
. -
Effectively challenge and decisively invalidate or contradict the description of thinking supported by observations, evidence and logic.
If you cannot accomplish #2 or #3, please return to #1 to pass it on
Podcast Review
and
Comments
>Segment #5<
.
"All truths
are easy to understand
once they are discovered;
the point is
to discover them."
Astronomer, Physicist and Engineer
The description falls under the realm of a "universal truth". It is universal to all humankind, everywhere, under all circumstances and throughout all time.
.
"Truth is the property of no individual
but is the treasure of all."
.
We must responsibly share this description of the thinking process with all. This open-source, information-based website is part of my obligation and commitment to freely share.
.
This description of thinking is the foundation on which we, our families, friends and communities succeed or fail. Doing nothing is not an option. Knowledge is not power. It is useless unless used. See: Action is power.
(Press back arrow to return HERE).
..
------<>------
.
To permit ignorance
is to empower it.
Author of "the Da Vinci Code"
------<>------
Today's conventional wisdom
was once unconventional.
.
Once, it would have been lunacy
to think we could stand
on the lunar surface.
.
Today's unconventional
will be tomorrow's conventional.
IQ Test
.
Testing
is a process of questioning.
.
Analyzing
is a process of questioning
.
With this in mind,
could it be that intelligence
is measured by questioning (testing)
the brain's ability to question
(to analyze) ?
-<><><><><><><><><>-
Note:
Questioning also involves
memory retrieval.
.
The memory retrieval process,
as with retrieving information
form a computer data base,
is not possible without a conscious
or an unconscious query.
(to "query" means to question)
-<><><><><><><><><>-
An old truth:
You can lead a horse to water
but you can't make him drink.
.
If you make him thirsty
he will drink.
Some say:
You can
lead people to knowledge
but you can't make them think.
.
If you ask them a question
it will make them think.
“I cannot teach anybody anything.
I can only make them think”
Socrates
Some will,
Some won’t
.
With my background I have few illusions. In regard to adopting and applying the description of thinking as asking ourselves questions; some will and some won’t. What I do know is that those who are diligent in improving their ability to ask questions will succeed over those who don't.
"Most people
would rather die than think.
In fact, many do."
Nobel Prize in Literature 1950
Mathematician and Philosopher.
"You can't handle the truth."
From the movie
"A Few Good Men"
Not asking questions
protects the ignorant
from the truth.
There are those who have a fear or dislike of the truth; and unwillingness to come to terms with it. There is a word for this - alethophobia. (You may wish to look it up.)
There is a Latin phrase that speaks to this fear. It is - sabre aude. Loosely translated it means; Have the courage to use your own reasoning (questioning) - dare to know.
Paradoxes
.If you doubt
that the process of thinking
is asking yourself a question,
you are asking yourself a question;
for to doubt is to question.
It's interesting,
that our reluctance
to ask questions
to become less ignorant,
is due to not wanting
to appear ignorant.
Pridefulness
prevents
progress
“Those who
are ashamed of asking
are ashamed of learning.”
Danish Proverb
Podcast Review
and
Comments
>Segment #6<
-
Question Resources
Curiosity, expressed through questioning, is the innate hunger of the analytical brain to know, learn and understand.
The question
is the most powerful weapon
we can use
to change our world
and our future.
Repetition is the process
of making conscious practice
an unconscious practice
No practice
No progress
.
Analytical exercises develop the analytical brain.
In the preceding statement, replacing "analytical" with "questioning" .
.
Questioning exercises develop the questioning brain.
Those who question
are those who
learn, adapt, survive and thrive.
Those who don't, won't.
Teach your children
how to think (question),
not what to think
American Physicist
Nobel Prize 1965.
Books
Below are sources
of questioning techniques.
Why are there so many books
on the subject of questions?
It's how we think.
Why am I supporting
the books of others
as well as my own?
It is my obligation
to advance the
process of thinking.
The Scientific Method
Author: Gordon Holman
The Socratic Way of Questioning
Author/Publisher: Thinknetic
The 7 Powers of Questions
Author: Dorothy Leeds
.
Author: Warren Berger
Now That's a Good Question
Author: Erik M Francis
The 4 Pillars of Critical Thinking
Author: Patrik Ian Meyer
Good leaders
Ask Great Questions
Author: John Maxwell
Most of these books listed
are from the research of
Rafael Castillo
Rafael currently has 186
youth and adult students.
Life is all practice
(I know, I'm over 80)
"Do or do not.
There is no try.
-<><><><><><><><><>-
The intent of the above INTRODUCTION was to draw attention to that which we have not paid any attention. Did it? Do you know of a more important subject to explore? Explore it as if our children's futures depend on it; because they do. The relatively small amount of time exploring the THINK.PIECE now, will yield a significant return on investment for a lifetime.
.
"It is wrong
always, everywhere,
and for anyone
to believe anything
on insufficient evidence"
Mathematician - philosopher..
.
31 pages of evidence in the book the.human.key. further cements the validity of the process.
.
-
One observation is an occurrence.
-
Two may be a coincidence.
-
Three is a pattern.
-
Substantially more in agreement is an exhaustive universal pattern.
.
When it comes to evidence, overdone is better than underdone. This fulfills Carl Sagan's requirement of Extraordinary Evidence. All this to support a description of only 6 everyday words.
The Appendix
.
Click here for a chart of 84 commonly used words for the process of questioning. Why so many? It demonstrates the persistent pattern of how our brain thinks.
.
To advance, click:
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.