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Thinking: A Neglected Art
Carolyn Kane

1 1It is generally agreed that the American educational system is in deep trouble. 2 Everyone is aware of the horrible facts: school systems are running out of money, teachers can’t spell.
2 1 Most of us know or think we know who is to blame: liberal courts, spineless school boards, government regulations. 2 It is easy to select a villain.
3 1 But possibly the problem lies not so much in our institutions as in our attitudes. 2 It is sad that although most of us profess to believe in education, we place no value on intellectual activity.
4 1Americans are charitable and humane. 2 We have institutions devoted to every good cause from rescuing homeless cats to preventing World War III. 3 But what have we done to promote the art of thinking?
4 Certainly we make no room for thought in our daily lives. 5Suppose a man were to say to his friends, “I’m not going to PTA tonight (or choir practice or the baseball game) because I need some time to myself, some time to think”?
6 Such a man would be shunned by his neighbors; his family would be ashamed of him. 7 What if a teen-ager were to say, “I’m not going to the dance tonight because I need some time to think”? 8 His parents would immediately start looking in the Yellow Pages for a psychiatrist. 9 We are all too much like Julius Caesar: we fear and distrust people who think too much. 10 We believe that almost anything is more important than thinking.
5 1 Several years ago a college administrator told me that if he wanted to do any serious thinking, he had to get up at 5:30 in the morning – I suppose because that was the only time when no one would interrupt him. 2 More recently I heard a professor remark that when his friends catch him in the act of reading a book, they say, “My, it must be nice to have so much free time.” 3 And even though I am an English teacher – a person who should know better – I find myself feeling vaguely guilty whenever I sneak off to the library to read. 4 It is a common belief that if people are thinking or reading, then they are doing nothing. 5 Through our words and our actions, we express this attitude every day of our lives. 6 Then we wonder why our children refuse to take their studies seriously and why they say to their teachers, “this stuff won’t do me any good because I’ll never need to use it.”
6 1 It is easy to understand the causes of this prejudice against thinking. 2 One problem is that to most of us, thinking looks suspiciously like loafing. 3 Homo sapiens in deep thought is an uninspiring sight. 4 He leans back in his chair, props up his feet, puffs on his pipe and stares into space. 5 He gives every appearance of wasting time; he reminds us more of Dagwood and Beetle Bailey than of Shakespeare and Einstein. 6 We wish he would get up and do something; mow the lawn, maybe, or wash the car. 7 Our resentment is natural.
7 1 But thinking is far different from laziness. 2 Thinking is one of the most productive activities a human being can undertake. 3 Every beautiful and useful thing we have created – including democratic government and freedom of religion – exists because somebody took the time and effort to think of it.
8 1 And thinking does require time and effort. 2 It is a common misconception that if a person is “gifted” or “bright” or “talented,” wonderful ideas will flash spontaneously into his mind. 3 Unfortunately, the intellect does not work in this way. 4 Even Einstein had to study and think for months before he could formulate his theory of relativity.
5 Those of us who are less intelligent find it a struggle to conceive even a moderately good idea, let alone a brilliant one.
Another reason why we distrust thinking is that it seems unnatural. Human beings are a social species, but thinking is an activity that requires solitude. Consequently, we worry about people who like to think. It disturbs us to meet a person who deliberately chooses to sit alone and think instead of going to a party or a rodeo or a soccer match. We suspect that such a person needs counseling.
Our concern is misplaced. Intelligence is just as much a part of human nature as sociability. It would certainly be unnatural for a person to retreat into total seclusion. It would be equally unnatural for a person to allow his mind to die of neglect.
If Americans ever became convinced of the importance of thought, we would probably find ways to solve the problems of our schools, problems that now seem insurmountable. But how can we revive interest in the art of thinking? The best place to start would be in the homes and churches of our land. Ministers should admonish their congregations to do some purposeful procrastination every day, to put off one chore in order to have a few minutes to think. Family members should practice saying such things as, “I’ll wash the dishes tonight because I know you want to catch up on your thinking.”
This may sound un-American, possibly sacrilegious. But if we are to survive as a free people, we will have to take some such course of action as soon as possible because regardless of what some advertisers have led us to believe, this country does not run on oil. It runs on ideas.