Intelligence...

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

It was a few days back, when I first came across these words of wisdom, on Gtalk. (A smart fella had the cheek to keep this as his status message.). And the more I started "entertaining" this thought, the more fascinated I was by its sheer brilliance.

Think about it. We are in a world today, where formal education is no longer something we awe about. (Unless you are an Ivy league graduate.) However, what I did observe in almost all of us (that is sad, really); is a specific way of looking at life. When we come across a situation in life, what do we do? Well, to begin with, we may think about it. We try to remember if we have come across such a situation before. And in case anything matches; well, we try to implement the same solution (if there was one).

Now, here's a catch in this entire process. We think of experiences in our lives, as patterns. Patterns, which we believe (or love to believe); repeat themselves. However; what we do underestimate or ignore, is a fact that patterns may sometimes be similar, not same. Every "next time" you come across a situation which looks similar at the face of it; may not be SAME. Same and similar are different, even if their differences are subtle.

What does this mean? To put it in very simple words, is to understand the quote on the first line of this article. The next time you face a situation, just try doing this. Simply think of the situation as a collection of thoughts. Imagine. Imagine that each of these thoughts, is an individual string. Take that string in your mind, and play with it. Turn it upside down, stretch it, twist it, pull it. Tie two of them together, and see how it looks. Let it play in your mind, without you having to accept it. Eventually, you will start realising where this takes you - to a whole new world of possibilities. Where you can simultaneously look at various angles of a situation, individually assess each one, and then chose the best.

I believe that this is an art; which if learnt, can significantly improve our ability to make decisions in life. It can help us to individually acknowledge every situation in life, as a unique one. It will enable us to see the unique angles which we might have overlooked; had we been pre-opinioned. And at the end of it all, it is an infinite source of learning for us. Experience is what You get when you didn't get what you wanted. Think about it.

I know that this article must have (at it's best response), played a firework thoughts in your head. And this is exactly what I intended to do. I want you to tHiNk about what I just wrote, as individual thoughts. Consider this as your first exercise, in educated thinking. See how well you can entertain individual thoughts, without accepting or rejecting any particular ones. What comes to your mind, as you go back to the words you just read? What comes to your mind, as you see the image of the chessboard? I suppose this article will serve as a feedback system for you; enabling you to learn as you think. And think, as you learn.

To end this note, I will mention the creator of this beautiful thought. It was none other than Aristotle, the Greek philosopher. I believe that this thought of him is something which can be pondered upon, for atleast the next 200 years. Think about it.