Almost all of us have the ability to think slowly and deliberately, or instead to allow ourselves to think in a quicker, freer manner. Is one kind of thinking better than another, or is this like asking whether it’s better to paint with a wide or a thin brush?
In most things we do, there is a "speed/accuracy trade off". In general, the faster you do something, the less accurately you'll do it, whether you're ironing a shirt, or playing a song on the piano. And it probably goes for thinking as well. Thinking slowly means taking the time to get clear on what you're thinking about. The advantage to writing down the idea is that you can notice whether what you've written really makes sense. If not, you can bring it into focus. Thinking slowly requires taking your time. The payoff is clarity.
On the other hand, we've all experienced rapid insights, flashes of realization that wouldn't have appeared to us as a result of slow methodical steps.
My intuition tells me that the very process of applying 'effort' and 'control' to our thought processes is like swimming against the stream. My preference is to live a life doing what feels natural to me, going with the flow.
For me, that means thinking quickly, flexibly, freely. However, a fish swimming with the flow sometimes notices a juicy little fish it would like to eat - and catching it might require turning around and applying effort to swim upstream. Once in a while, thinking slowly is called for. I learned from my friend Wayne how beautiful and useful slow, deliberate thinking can be.
As I'm enjoying the feel of the water currents pushing me effortlessly through my life, it may be nice to know that I can get to that little fish, even if it's hiding in a crevice somewhere upstream, and I need to apply effort and deliberation to reach it.
In most things we do, there is a "speed/accuracy trade off". In general, the faster you do something, the less accurately you'll do it, whether you're ironing a shirt, or playing a song on the piano. And it probably goes for thinking as well. Thinking slowly means taking the time to get clear on what you're thinking about. The advantage to writing down the idea is that you can notice whether what you've written really makes sense. If not, you can bring it into focus. Thinking slowly requires taking your time. The payoff is clarity.
On the other hand, we've all experienced rapid insights, flashes of realization that wouldn't have appeared to us as a result of slow methodical steps.
For me, that means thinking quickly, flexibly, freely. However, a fish swimming with the flow sometimes notices a juicy little fish it would like to eat - and catching it might require turning around and applying effort to swim upstream. Once in a while, thinking slowly is called for. I learned from my friend Wayne how beautiful and useful slow, deliberate thinking can be.
As I'm enjoying the feel of the water currents pushing me effortlessly through my life, it may be nice to know that I can get to that little fish, even if it's hiding in a crevice somewhere upstream, and I need to apply effort and deliberation to reach it.
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