Reply #16: Is it self-lies, or something else??? [View All]

I have a cousin who was a professor of electrical engineering. A phrase he often used was "who will design the next generation of software?" He taught young people, using computers, that had no notion of how to think original thoughts. I've often thought about that: We get so much "stuff" fed to us pre-digested by all the talking heads, that we aren't required to do any critical thinking about anything.

I"ve often considered that a university not considered "liberal" by the neocons is not a place of learning. "Learning" by definition is "to become informed", which is not a prerogative of those who wish to control others. A good teacher (instructor, professor, mentor) is one who invites others to use their mind, to think for themselves, rather than follow others on a rote path which may well lead to nowhere.

What I see as the major problem in this day and age is the lack of critical thinking. The ability to do research, to find opposing views, and then to make a decision based on a person's own belief system and to act on that decision. Its much easier to listen to someone who sets themself up as an "expert" on a subject than it is to learn. What most people don't realize is that "expert" can be defined as "an old drip under pressure".

Sound bites are easier to digest than a seven-course dissertation.