A Bright, Vibrant Blue Diamond
A Bright, Vibrant Blue Diamond
John Æonid, Reflections in a Personal Web Site
John Æonid, Reflections in a Personal Web Site

Anti-patterns of Thinking — Preamble

Nov. 8, 2019, John Æonid — VERY ROUGH DRAFT, YET TO BE PROOFED

I've been drafting and re-drafting an article for some time now, and I'm beginning to realize that the topic is too big for just one article.  So, I'm just going to have to break it up into multiple articles and hope that I can keep it orgianized enough to remain coherent.

It's about the way we think.  And that's the problem: "It's about the way we think."  I want to point out the failings of our way of thinking in a world of minds that have failings in the way they think.  I'm not a Zen master; I haven't yet mastered the tricks to shock a mind into seeing.  And, it happens that I really love thinking.  It's fascinating to see how I can find the weaknesses of the thinking within my own mind.

This touches on logic, epistemology, pshycology, and neurology.  And, this is just a preamble to the rest of the topic.  I've titled it "Anti-patterns of Thinking" based on a Comptur Science concept.  As the field of object-oriented programing emerged a couple of decades or so ago, there came with it an obersavation of kinds of programing structures that were emerging.  Seeing these as patterns, there were those that it those patterns had a similarity to a concept that had emerged in archetecture called "Design Patterns".  Without going into an specifics, these are simply the noticable patterns that arise in archecture and programs that recurr because of their usefulness.

So it happens that shortly after this concept emerged in software development there then was proposed a concept of anti-patterns.  And, these are the dysfunctional patterns that arise when projects head down a misguided path.  And, this is the sort of thing that I've been trying to write about for, I think, over a year now.  But, they're out there.  We have thinking patterns that exist only to serve certain categories of problems, and they don't work very well for others.  In fact, they cause problems.

The key example is the decision mechanism that we have to deal with fight-or-flight situations.  It's meant to force us to make snap decisions, when we would otherwise die if we didn't act.  But, it leads to jumping to conclusions and making mountains over mole hills.  I get into this more deeply later.  But, this is really a key entry point into this topic.

For now, just start looking for the thinking traps.  Alternatively, if you want a more traditional approach to exploring this, go do Zen.  That's where it's going to end up anyway.  If you're not ready to do Zen, well then, welcome; this is a preamble to seeing the folly within our minds.

News

Nov. 8, 2019 Shadow
I've replaced the home page, though the old is retained, and I'm going deeper into shining light on the shadow, taking more risks..

May 14, 2017 Listing
I'm now generating a chronological list of postings here (in addition to the sitemap).

Jan. 14, 2017 WOT
I now participate in WOT.

Oct. 20, 2016 New Website!
This is truly in its infancy.  There is much that I want to share, yet it's just beginning.

Print | Sitemap
© 2018 John Æonid All rights reserved
End-User License Agreement — MUST READ