"You'll never look at a question the same way again."
Ted Agon - Author
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.
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 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. I will repeat this challenge again in this INTRODUCTION page. When you cannot invalidate the PROCESS, you then inherit the same obligation I have to responsibly share.
(Who would not share information that will help 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 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 about Rao by clicking on the BOOKS tab on the main menu and selecting FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATION.)
-----<>-----
Important Note:
Words or names
that appear like these examples,
go here or Albert Einstein,
are links.
You may wish to click on them
for further information.
-----<>-----.
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? You will read why.
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.”
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 the specific process of thinking, the recipe, we can't know how we can improve our ability to adapt, survive and thrive; the pie
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.
Teach how to think,
not what to think.
~ Richard Feynman
Theoretical Physicist
1965 Nobel Prize in Physics
.
So, what is
the process of thinking?
I have asked this question of hundreds, in groups and individually from all walks of life, and not one of them had been asked this 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.)
.
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
.
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 these same 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. I thought so. 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 abstract 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 think 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 and 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
-
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. (There cannot be a product unless it is produced (preceded) by a process.) Simple Logic.
-
You may not know you asked a question. The question can be a conscious or an unconscious question.
- The brain is an analytical organ.
- Analyzing is a process of questioning.
- The brain is a questioning organ.
Most of this thinking/analyzing/self-questioning process goes on unconsciously. Neuropsychologists say this is around 90%. This means that we are not aware of 90% of our unconscious questioning/analyzing.
(For four, of an unlimited number of examples of unconscious questioning, click here.)
-
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 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
(For more on this, click:
Theory vs. "Scientific Theory".)
We will revisit these THREE CHOICES later.
ex
To limit
a child's questions
is to limit
their intellectual growth.
V V V V V V V V V V V
Two Processes > Same Outcome
.
.
#1
The process of thinking
produces
answers, diagnoses and solutions.
#2
The process of questioning
produces
answers, diagnoses and solutions.
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.)
Without thinking
we could not exist.
Equally,
Without questioning g
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?
.
Thinking and questioning
produce the same
paths to existence
and are, in logic,
the same process
.
Questioning and 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.
Truth is what works.
Philosopher
Pragmatism
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Curiosity
Development
of
Humankind
You
were born questioning
What is the irrepressible innate desire, an emotion, to acquire knowledge and understanding? It is emotion of curiosity. It is an inherent in all humans. Babies exhibit curiosity. Young children ask what seems a million questions. Nobody teaches them how to ask a question. It is the uninhibited outward expression of their inward questioning brain.
Curiosity is attributed to the development of humankind. As one example, the average life span in the United States in the year 1900 was 47 years. Today it is 77 years. 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.
We must go to the questioning brain to satisfy curiosity`s desire. We are born asking ourselves questions.
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.
Asking ourselves questions is a fundamental, inescapable drive of the human brain. 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.
After age 5, curiosity begins to wane. It's no surprise. Unbridled questioning irritates parents. Parents and adults suppress it. It's an unintended form of child abuse.
To stifle curiosity
in a child
is against nature.
It's unnatural.
"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.
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 question) is the apposing force against fear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 a walk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the Claim
.
A specific and effective of process of thinking was provided in the Podcast. Again it is:
.
Thinking is:
the process of
asking ourselves questions.
Extraordinary Claims
require
Extraordinary Evidence
Astrophysicist .
.
The Podcast supports the description of the process of thinking with six observations of evidence and logic. A sobering amount are included below in 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, 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.
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)
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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 = questioning
Questioning relates
to all human endeavors
the question's range
applies to all human life
^
.-----<>-----
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
Those who lack curiosity
have
Question Deficit Disorder
(QDD)
(I just had to play)
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 can't 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.
-----<>-----
Do Some Research
with Me
Put "What is the process of thinking?" in your search engine and you will read several very general explanations. Many specifically mention thinking is cognition. Then, follow along with me, put "cognition" in a dictionary.
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 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.
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.
-----<>-----
Those who don't question
don't think.
.
Those who don't think
don't question.
Critical Thinking
is
Critical Questioning
This is the response that I received from the Monash University’s site after putting “critical thinking” in my search engine. Monash University is Australia’s largest institute of learning.
“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 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)
"kritikos" - judging and discerning are processes of questioning
Conclusion:
The processes of Critical Thinking are critical questions. Critical Thinking is Critical Questioning. To acquire critical answers and solutions to problems require critical questions. You must always aim and aspire for asking more and better questions. It is all about intentional practice.
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 go to this topic on Monash University site, 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.
Thinking and Emotion
.
This introduction page has so far examined thinking as a rational/logical process. Yet we are predominately emotional. Before continuing, you may wish to examine the interplay between our EMOTIONAL and RATIONAL/LOGICAL natures. If so, click HERE
.
V-<><><><><>-V
What follows is an extensive amount of supporting evidence, logic and observations. 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.
----<>----
Nothing can be
investigated,
researched,
quantified,
examined,
qualified,
decided,
verified,
created,
solved,
or
cured
without a question.
.
(without thinking)
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.
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”. 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
-----<>-----
"Education is not
for the learning of facts but
the training of the mind
to think."
Theoretical Physicist
.
We would expect Albert Einstein to have an insight on the subject of thinking. Unsurprisingly, his observation 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 information and understanding throughout their lifetime.
"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
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.
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")
Change your questions
and you
change your life
-----<>-----
Homo Sapiens
We humans are called
homo sapiens.
Translated from Latin means
"wise mankind”.
-
Can we be wise without knowledge?
Wisdom is the quality of having good judgement based on knowledge
So, knowledge is required to be wise.
|
|
. v
-
And, knowledge is an accumulation of answers.
|
|
. v
-
And, answers come from questions..
Following this top-down logic, the root of mankind’s wisdom is the ability to question. With this perspective, shouldn’t humankind be called “homo questioner”? (Just thought I'd ask)
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Notable Thinkers
“You can't connect the dots
looking forward;
you can only connect them
looking backward”
Steve Jobs
Co-Founder of Apple
Let us see what notable thinkers, down through history, have said about questions. Let's begin with Socrates. There is a pattern. Let's look backwards to connect the dots.
I have no special talent.
I am only passionately curious.
~ Albert Einstein
Curiosity drove these great thinkers to ask themselves questions. This led to their historical reputations and accomplishments.
Socrates
Socrates, (470–399 BC) a Greek who lived in Athens 2,400 years ago, is credited with developing the Socratic Method. He used this method to challenge assumptions and encourage critical thinking in his students. They included some of the most famous philosophers in history, such as Plato. For many decades law colleges have been using the same method to teach.
The Socratic Method is where the teacher/professor instructs by asking students questions to cause students to think - to ask themselves questions. The Socratic Method is the Questioning Method.
“I know you won’t believe me,
but the highest form
of human excellence
is to question oneself
and others.”
~ Socrates
Founder of Western Philosophy
“I cannot teach anybody anything.
I can only make them think”
Socrates
NOTE: A link to the book "The Socratic Way of Questioning" by publisher Thinknetic can be found at the bottom of this page.
Peter Abelard
Peter Abelard (1069 - 1142) French “The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.” (Truth is an answer.)
Sir Francis Bacon
Scientific Method
.
Sir Francis Bacon (1566 - 1626) an Englishman developed the Scientific Method. Scientists are after knowledge. Knowledge is an accumulation or an amalgamation of answers. Answers come from questions/thinking. The first active step in the Scientific Method is to ask a question. To ask a question is to seek Knowledge.
.
Nobody teaches us as children or as adults the art and craft of asking questions. Yet, the question is the only path to knowledge, understanding, wisdom and Truth.
NOTE: A link to the book "The Scientific Method" by Gordon Holman can be found at the bottom of this page.
René Descartes
René Descartes (1596 – 1650) French mathematician who developed the system named after him; Cartesian Coordinates which we are all familiar with today. It is the X-Y-Z graphic system for 3-dimential space. He is also know for “Cartesian Doubt”.
“Cartesian Doubt” is a form of methodological skepticism associated with the writings and methodology of René Descartes (Cartesian doubt is also known as Cartesian skepticism, methodic doubt, methodological skepticism, universal doubt, systematic doubt, or hyperbolic doubt.)
To doubt
or be skeptical
is to question.
"In order to seek truth,
it is necessary once
in the course of our life
to doubt (to question),
as far as possible,
of all things."
René Descartes
mathematician - scientist - philosopher
There is no learning
without having
to pose a question
Theoretical Physicist
1965 Nobel Prize in Physics
The question is the only path
to knowledge, understanding,
wisdom and truth.
"I keep six honest serving men,
They taught me all I knew;
Their names are:
What?
Why?
When?
How?
Where?
and Who?"
Rudyard Kipling
1907 Nobel Prize in Literature
The power to question
is the basis
of all human progress.
~ Indira Gandhi
Former
Prime Minister of India
from 1966 to 1984
What Indira Gandhi recognized is true and yet the question accounts for much more. The power of the question is the basis for humankind's very existence. It allows us to adapt, survive and thrive.
Great Thinkers
are
Great Questioners
A Pattern
.
.
“To understand
is to perceive patterns”
Russian-British philosopher
The process of questioning is fundamental to human activity. Its known use and effectiveness has been a conscious, intentional pattern employed across a spectrum of different countries and cultures over a span of 2,500 years. Most importantly, these great thinkers recognized the question was fundamental to their quests for answers. This is not a coincidence. It is a universal pattern.
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..
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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 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 the 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.)
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.
How Finland starts its fight
against fake news
in primary schools
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<
More can be learned from a person's questions than from their answers. Their question 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
Asking more questions
result in better questions
(result 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:
Thinking/questioning also involves
memory retrieval.
This process is addressed in the book
the human key.
.
The query/retrieval process
is not possible to recall memories
without unconscious questioning.
(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; 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:
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