Thought Erosion−A Modern Plague
There is a rising famine in the ability of the common person to think deeply. And it is scary that not many see it as a problem.
This has been attributed, among many factors, to the declining ability to stay focused in a highly distractible world and to the inability to evaluate knowledge in the information deluge.
In such a scenario, any one who expresses unidimensional awareness in their worldview, rises to be part of the intelligentsia. Narrow minded ideologies have emerged as a result of such shallowness and, in turn, continues to consolidate superficial knowledge.
As a result, humankind, wholesale, has slipped to being cynical of knowledge produced by the 'other' and have become skeptical of even having their own opinion. This has resulted in an unhealthy dependence on pseudo-intellectuals to do thinking for them.
Sense-making, rational-thinking, and opinion-forming, the privileges of the human species, have taken a hit. Dismantle that and there will be little to differentiate between our species and other primates.
Meanwhile, there is another challenge that some others need to overcome. This is deceptive because it can be confused with being sophisticated and intellectual when in reality, even this is an example of insufficient thinking.
This happens when someone has thought through a complex matter through thorough research but has not yet developed the skill to distill it down to its simplest essence. They could give a spiel on COVID-19 and its adverse effects on democracy but are unable to compress into three sentences their thesis nor give practical recommendations on it.
We live in an age where we are plagued by a crisis in thought. We are devolving and the socio-cultural conditions have facilitated this downward slide. The lazy and easy approach would be to blame it on technology or social conditions. Though they play a role, humanity has to take the blame squarely in this failure. Humankind has agency and has allowed this decline.
Such a negligence has resulted in the decline of democracy, lack of confidence in institutions, violations of human rights, ridiculous public policies, and degradation of the entire eco-system.
So how do we stop thought erosion? Like everything else, it is a muscle that needs to be exercised and developed. It needs daily practice and even mentoring. An engagement in critical thinking, collectively and individually, will move the needle forward and, eventually, facilitate the stemming of this crisis.