[Neurons] 2018 Neurons #13 INTELLECTUALLY LAZY PEOPLE

Mon Mar 19 03:20:30 EDT 2018

From: L. Michael Hall

2018 Neurons #13

March 19, 2018

Thinking is in Short Supply #9

INTELLECTUALLY LAZY PEOPLE

Recently in a discussion on the NLP Leadership Summit group, Lucas Derks
spoke about a subject and in his comments, he wrote the following.  Because
Lucas is a clear thinker and excellent researcher, I always pay special
attention to what he writes.

"[This term] obscures what is really going on there ... it satisfies
intellectually lazy people; now they believe they know something, but what
they believe is only a substitute for real understanding. ...   Using this
term in this manner discriminates nothing from everything."

I have separated this statement from the specific discussion in which it
occurred (e.g., which was on "energy" psychologies) because it strikes me
that this description can be applied to a great many things.  Given the
nature of language, and the way most people use language, the terms,
phrases, and descriptions that we use all too often does not promote clarity
or understanding.  Instead it "obscures what is really going on."  We all
know that this occurs a lot among politicians- they have the ability to
seemingly say something meaningful, but which can be interpreted by people
on all sides of an issue as supporting what they think.  It also tends to be
the language of news commentators- especially those involved in "fake news,"
the end result of their reporting is that they have obscured what's really
going on.

Even more dangerous, however, is that such languaging "satisfies
intellectually lazy people" yet all the while it deceives them.  The
deception?  Now they think they "know" something when, in fact, they don't.
To know the subject under discussion would require the effort of seeking to
understand, of critically thinking by examining the hidden assumptions, to
examining the language being used, and asking hard questions.  But they do
none of this.  They are content to embrace a term or phrase that sounds
intelligible, but which actually communicates nothing.

This fits the most common bias in human nature, the bias that affects us
all.  This is the bias that "we think we understand."  In my newest book on
critical thinking, I put this as the first cognitive bias.  As many of the
thinkers and researchers in Critical Thinking have noted, this is actually
an amazing bias.  That's because, given that the more research and science
opens up so many new areas of exploration and informs us of how little we do
know- you would think that there would be a hunger in most people's minds
for learning more, understanding more.  But no.  Most people are pretty
satisfied and feel that they basically "understand" things.  As a result,
they are not intensely curious.  They do not constantly check books out of
the library or buy books to discover what they don't know.  They are
content.  They feel comfortable.

What explains this?  They think they understand things!   Now this bias is
particularly dangerous because it invites all of us to either stop thinking
or at least to avoid thinking.  "Oh I know about that!"  We dismiss even the
possibility of learning something new.  Thinking we know, it is a small step
to thinking we know "all about it."  For anyone intellectually lazy, this
feels intuitively right-it feels comfortable.  And it makes a person feel
self-confident.  It closes the "search" program in the person's mind so one
can sleep more soundly.  It is the structure of being a human zombie!

To do otherwise requires effort- maybe even struggle- and for many that
isn't fun, it's uncomfortable.  It creates stress, and not the stress of
excitement (eustress).  It is also-for some- threatening.  It threatens
their sense of identity- who am I if I don't know?  Am I stupid?
Unintelligent?

Again, that's another indication of the lack of real understanding.  Here
people confuse their "self" with their thoughts and make their personal
value based on knowing or in being right.  Yet when they do that, they
completely mis-use their intellectual powers and think that "knowing" makes
you a somebody.  The truth is that you were born a somebody, because you are
a somebody, you can now use your intellectual powers for the exciting
adventure of discovering.  Now you can boldly declare that you don't know
and begin the human journey of finding out.

The very presence of intellectual laziness amazes me.  I don't understand it
at all!  There is so much that we do not know.  Every day I keep discovering
more things that I do not know, that I'm fascinated about and that I want to
explore.  I hope you do too.

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director 

Neuro-Semantics 

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

               1 970-523-7877 

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