Thinking is an integral and mildly suffocating part of my day.
It’s terrifying to want to write because I can never allow myself to say, “I’ll never need to know that.” The daunting part of writing is the articulation of the understanding of everything.
How do Shakespeare’s tragedies tie into philosophy? Why does the individualistic worldview in my COM 130 readings seem contradictory and self-destructive? Isn’t it fascinating how C.S. Lewis, as a child, felt the same unnurtured emotions that he would later embellish by experience in academia? How can that translate into how I write in my Intro to Fiction class?
As a result, I find myself longing to turn on the most unengaging and least mentally stimulating television program that I can find to avert my restless and inattentive eyes.
Why do I desire to listen to music rather than an insightful podcast? Why do I turn on garbage reality programs like Keeping Up with the Kardashians instead of a TED talk on poetry or socio-economic equality to further my knowledge on a topic?
I physically feel my brain sigh in relief when ceasing the cerebral, but are genuinely we pushing ourselves enough intellectually?
It is becoming admired for parents to disallow “screen time” for children in the developmental stages. Because of this media block, children spend more time being physically active outside and intellectually conscious by drawing and writing or even playing with pattern blocks (scientifically proven by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, NCTM, to help children develop early problem-solving skills).
If intellectual stimulation and development are valued during childhood, why must society neglect those same principles during adulthood? Are we initiating humanity into cognitive depletion by building our intellect up until we can’t muster the strength to anymore?
I would love nothing more than to stop “screen time” and give pattern blocks to adults and children.
A Healthline article states, “A UK study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that binge-watching television programs could lead to cognitive decline down the line.”
This isn’t an anti-television essay, but I do feel that television is one of the many scapegoats that society utilizes to procrastinate who they are meant to become.
Television can be the equivalent of another’s social media addiction, which can also equate to excessive time in the gym, failure to get out of bed, or ironically enough, self-induced intellectual blockages founded by our laziness or notion that we, in turn, lack the very intellect that is needed to be “intellectual.”
Have we come to distract ourselves from the everyday struggles of life and intellectual obstacles that threaten our lack of eunoia with simple-minded entertainment? Will we continue to numbingly entertain ourselves, unknowingly extracting all helpful knowledge from our system?
Should I be fixated on a shirtless Justin Bieber dancing under neon lights right now as a coping mechanism to procrastinate tasks that could, possibly, add up to my looming success?
Irish Playwright and 1925 Nobel Prize winner, George Bernard Shaw, wrote this:
“If you’re not producing as much as you consume, or perhaps a little more, then clearly we cannot use the big organization of our society for the purpose of keeping you alive, because your life does not benefit us, and it can’t be of very much use to yourself.”
That was a drastic and slightly Darwinist way of saying, “We need you to try harder.” I would not take my contribution-to-the-common-good philosophy this far, but I challenge people to utilize their invaluable intellect to further society.
So, how do we integrate mental nourishment into our daily lives?
When I go to bed, I like to listen to a podcast. I have this knowledge that I’m not going to soak up all of the information. Still, at least it directs my thoughts to merely one tidbit of information that can help me in the future rather than an unhelpful memory potpourri of my ex.
Or an individual can actually read the assigned books given in classes. I honestly never read assigned material until recently, but I have to say that most of it is very helpful (sorry to students).
All of this to say, push yourselves, work a little longer in the evenings, don’t be afraid to become immersed in the class material, and connect it with your formed ideologies.
Consuming material that advances knowledge and enhances intellect is a good thing. Often much better than the default alternative.