I've been wonderingz!! Can one single human being truly think for one'z self without being told what to think? Is da human ideal of individualism truly screwed?

THEN i thought...well 2 get some sort of representation of an answer 2 dat question...hypertheticallyz...imagine if we had FOUR participantz per continent, with some cities on the border as well 2 give a broader perspectivez.

Each of these participantz will be from different or varyin culturez, sex and religious or non-religious or spiritual beliefz etc. They will also be between agez 18 and 35.

The first test carried out will depict their initial stance and will give us information about them, the nature of their perspective and even let us gauge how open-minded they are.

The second test will cover a year in which they are given different sources of information on a vast variety of cultures, thoughts, history, perspectivez. From this we will ask each participant 2 keep a journal- where they can express what ever comez 2 mind. Have some sort of structure 2 what content we want- but not 2 much otherwise it will defeat da purpose of da experiment!! MUHAHAHAH!

From this we can gather and gauge appreciation, empathy, disagreement due 2 bias, agreement due 2 bias, then guage all thoughtz dat seem out of pattern with the resultz in their first test- this will gauge influence of thought- whether it is aesthetic (ie because it came from an authoritive source therefore it IS) or genuine (ie sparkz off new ideaz previously unexpressed by participant and limitedly suggested by sources of information they are exposed 2.)

I would be so interested if this kind of experiment could ever be possiblez and how it would go. Even though im aware of it'z limitationz, i'm still curious.

Im sorryz- i usually try not 2 share the ideaz i get while showering- but this just really got me goingz!!!

Hope y'all are wellz!!!

Most people stay within the given norms of society, so no, they are not really individuals but adhere to the status quo. Then there is the question of morality, our moral boundaries are subjective and influenced by our up bringing. Either you take on the moral values your parents instilled in you or you form your own, (still influenced by society/friends etc) which can be in extreme opoosite to those of your parents or you strike a happy balance. I dont think people are truly individual or we would all walk around naked playing the Kazoo without batting an eyelid.

These are just my personal opinions and probably make no sense whatsoever.



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[Edited 8/3/05 5:34am]

Lleena said:

Nah nah i getcha Datz exactly one of the ideaz i had as a conclusion to this thought- with or without experimentation

I like da idea of the Kazoo and bein nekid!!

lilmissmissy said:

Some people do express unique and very individual thought processes, such as the artist Dali for instance. These people are usually classed as "geniuses."

Lleena said:

Ah! But what i wouldn't mind havin a closer look at is precisely what makez these thought processez individual!! Dat is something i haven't had da chance 2 look in2. Do u know of any bookz dat discuss this?

lilmissmissy said:

It is interesting, I dont have any books, but I can look some up missy!

I think that maybe some people have an innate and unique way of thinking, this would imply that they are born with it rather than that they have their personalities shaped by society. You know the whole nature vs nurture debate.

We all like to think of ourselves as individuals, but I think we are still influenced by society, even if we try not to be.

or do you mean in the sense that why we do we have individual personalities? for instance, why dont people do things in exactly the same way?

e.g, why would I prefer the colour blue as my favourite and you might prefer red etc.

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[Edited 8/3/05 6:02am]

Lleena said:

Well i think maybe...perhapz...the 'genius's thought process is different 2 da rest of society because it maybe less logical or perhapz harder 2 articulate? Perhapz it in some casez needz 2 be borderline insanity or complete insanity dat drawerz them apart from the more 'average' percieved individual? But then from this does this conclude dat there has 2 be some sort of brain deformity (dat obtructz a human from being consciously or sub consciously influenced by outside sourcez) for them 2 be a genius, or not?

Yeah actually í'd love 2 have some referencez 2 look up- this has intrigued me 4 the longest timez!!!

lilmissmissy said:

I think the few people that are definitely not influenced by society are those that are autistic as they are unable to process the regular modes of communication, i.e body language, eye contact, emotional attachment etc. Maybe the person cosidered the genius is labeled as "insane," because we dont understand them and how their minds work. I really dont know what makes a genius missy. Are they born that way for instance?

Lleena said:

They'd have 2 be- because then their parentz would be geniuses 2!! I wanna know what makez a genius nowz!!

lilmissmissy said:

Btw, I'm using the term to describe people like Einstein and Tim Berners-lee, the guy who invented the World Wide Web not in the way it is thrown around loosely. btw, I have to go for now, thankyou for the thread I do like to waffle on sometimes and today was one of them days

Lleena said:

Yeah i know what u mean

And anytimez feel free 2 wafflez- i can do it forever when given da chance myself