Abstract Thought
Abstract thought has many dimensions. Some examples of these are; metaphors, and being able to view an object in your mind as well as to rotate it for a view from different perspectives. Being an artist is also a form of abstract thought, being able to transfer (by words, sketch or music) a mental concept into something physical.
Language is largely abstract, you have the perfect idea of what you want to say, but you need to word it in a manner that would have the listener understand exactly what you want to say. For this to happen you need to know how the listener will interpret your word, what emotion these words will awaken in the listener and how the listener will react to all of this.
As a learner/teacher this could make your life harder or easier, learning has so many dimensions to it that we hardly ever explore. Perhaps the time has come to start thinking about some of these ideas and to start using them to aid ourselves and the people we mentor.
Abstract intelligence
Not only is art associated with abstract thought but we find abstract thought in the deeper understanding of language, math, spatial reasoning, logic and musicality. All of these are skills that could be learned, some of us are fortunate and we started developing some of these skills early on in life, for others (like myself) these skills did not come naturally.
It is believed that abstract thought should be developed during our teenage years, yet some people never develop it while others can understand abstract concepts from an early age. There seems to be a cultural impact on the development of abstract thought. If a culture is rich in metaphors, wisdom and good mind building music we tend to see the development of these thoughts in the children of this culture. In history, we can also see that some of those cultures excelled and were highly respected for their advancements.
Abstract thinkers are more likely to take risks and be outcome-focused, they can see the outcome of what they want, focus on it and move forward through the tough times. All innovation that has ever taken place is because of the fact that the thinker kept going through a tough time before him/her and kept their focus on what is to come. A great example of this was the invention of the electric lightbulb or the first aeroplane, these people failed time after time yet they strove to do something that was never done before, it was even thought impossible by most of the people of their times.
Abstract thinking is the key to an unexplored field of wisdom in every direction. It is a skill that could be learned, through enough practice we can learn almost anything, your brain should simply be stimulated with the concept that it is unfamiliar with. Your brain is an amazing mechanism that wants to find the solution to everything it encounters, the question is, do you allow it to go through all the needed processes in order to develop the new skill? Everything that you encounter and find difficult is an aspect that your brain has room to improve on. Keep stimulating it, even if you only get a little better after a month, if you have twelve months of a little growth per month, you have improved a lot!
I believe with daily dedication and hard work, you could achieve anything!
Join me and let us explore the boundaries that have been placed on our minds, let’s enlarge those boundaries every day and see the magnificent results.
April 8, 2020
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