Thinking Vs Eating

THINKING Vs EATING

Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB

The ability to think has taken humankind to great heights and yet, we often take it for granted. Thinking is power! For a person to do something a choice has to be made and this choice comes with thinking. With thinking there is a weighing of the pros and cons especially when it comes to making or taking a decision. However, thinking is not just about making decisions only. Thinking has many other facets as well as for instance, mathematical thinking or thinking about finding a solution towards a particular problem and so on. The title of this article, as it is seen, is “Thinking and eating” and perhaps, you may be wandering as to what is the connection between thinking and eating. Well to respond or to understand it more clearly, let us try to understand these two aspects of reality separately.

            How does thinking take place? Do we think abstractly or is it possible to think abstractly? Well, perhaps, it is but thinking is not just about abstraction. Even if it had to be in abstraction, thinking always happens in images. If I have to construct the image of a square circle or a sphinx or a unicorn, I have to first know what are the things that go into making that particular thing. One of the best ways of stimulating the mind is to read. Reading ignites the mind and that helps in creating different images which facilitates understanding. However, reading should never be done in haste nor should it be done in an overdose and this is what brings me to the comparison between reading and eating.


            Have you ever tried stuffing yourself with food in the mouth without chewing the food and allowing it to digest? Well, it would be interesting to try it out. The natural consequent of such an act would either lead a person to puke or it could lead to indigestion. The food has to be chewed and masticated which makes it easier for the stomach to digest. Similarly, just as it is important for the food to be masticated in order to be digested, so it is the same with reading. In order for the ideas to seep down while reading, reading has to be done slowly. Reading in haste does not allow the ideas to really seep down and thus reading, in this way, becomes a useless activity. Reading slowly helps the ideas to seep through in the mind, thus helping the mind to be intellectually stimulated.  

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