Quote of the day:
If education expands the mind, why don’t those that hold a PHD have a greater imagination then children?
About the Quote:
Education is supposed to expand the mind and open us up to new worlds of possibility. While it doesn’t take much to see that is could have and should have been that way, I ask you, is your imagination as strong as it was when you were a child? While this has been such a part of our world for so long we say … “The Imagination of a Child”, however do we ever take a moment to wonder where did that imagination go?
One of the frightening aspects of education is that it is a perfect opportunity to teach someone limits so that they now have boundaries to their imagination. This is done by introducing concepts of structure to our individual World Views. In the concepts certain ideas are presented as “Unquestionable Truths”. These “Unquestionable Truths” are the very foundation of the World View. So in order for the structure of the World View to exist, these “Unquestionable Truths” must be believed to be valid. Should these “Unquestionable Truths” be shown to be lies the world view would crash. Psychologically humans draw security from a well known world view, sort of like criminals feel safer in prison after being within the prison for a while. As such we defend threats to the world view we live within up to and including acceptance of ridiculous information as true because if it was not, it would call the these “Unquestionable Truths” into question. This self imposed protection of our world view is so strong that it places boundaries on our imagination. We become psychologically incapable of imagining anything outside the boundaries of our world view.
An example I can give that explains this is to think of two house cats. One is born and lives in the country and spends its days in the wilderness around its master’s home. The other was born to city and was never let outside except maybe on a balcony. When the cats are say 10 years old, the one born in the country is more concerned with being locked in the house, while the one born in the city is fearful of stepping outside and having the door close behind them.
Remember the “Kitten who could walk through walls?” The kitten could do that because no one ever taught him that walls were solid.
While the author was using this as a metaphor, it does bring home the most important point. Most of us as children had a fantastic imagination and we had no limits. Today the boundaries of our imagination are much closer and more clearly defined. As we advanced through our “Education” we learned so about many things that we can’t do. Our educators laid out the view of the world they wish us to have including its boundaries for us to absorb.
To make matters worse, today’s children never exercise their imagination any more. Why should they when they are feed graphical images of imaginary worlds. The key difference between these worlds that are provided and those the kids would create in their minds are that these worlds support the accepted world view complete with rules and limitations.
Popular TV attacks imagination as if it is a sin. Have you ever noted that serial killers on TV always speak of a world without controls and without limits? The implication is clear what we would do with our imaginations should they not be limited
Imagine if you can a world where someone has placed limits on what you can imagine and made some things off limits. Can you imagine a world without government and everyone does as they do now, just live their life? If no, then why not? Do you believe that without the “rule of law” you would be out looting, killing, and committing rape? If you said law or no law you would not behave that way, then what makes you think the same is not true for everyone else?
Imagine if you can a world where illnesses like Diabetes and Cancer can not only be cured, but avoided completely without the need of some miracle medicine? Can you imagine a world where Muslims were just like other people and didn’t wish to kill people because they weren’t Muslims? Can you imagine a world where everything on the news was scripted and a lie?
If you are honest with yourself and realize these ideas never crossed your mind, then I submit to you that your imagination has been bound within a box. You need to unlearn all the things you can’t do.
