By meeting two characters, Vlad and Ivan,
we’ll learn how thinking for ourselves makes us more unstoppable, but also, why people
stop thinking for themselves in the first place. Since he had first started driving, Vlad always
used his memory to navigate through his city: Vancouver. As a result, he developed an excellent internal
map of the city. With a few minor directions, he could find
his way to any location. And as he grew older, his internal map only
became better. He quickly learned how to navigate in other
cities too, due to the knowledge he had developed in Vancouver. He intuitively discovered deep patterns embedded
in the construction of every city. He sharpened his directional instincts to
the point that he was practically incapable of being lost. No matter where Vlad wanted to go, he could
get there. He was free. Ivan, on the other hand, had always used a
GPS to navigate through his city. He refused to train his mind. He never thought about where he was driving,
only about whatever else was going on in his life: his work, his relationships, his schoolwork,
and so on. As a result, he never developed a strong internal
map. He never developed his directional instincts. And so when his GPS broke down, he easily
got lost and was incapable of finding his way to certain places. He was always at the mercy of his GPS. Because Vlad thought for himself, because
he trained his mind to solve his own problems, because he refused to outsource his thinking,
because he didn’t depend on an external authority, he had more control over his destiny
than Ivan. Unlike Ivan, Vlad struggled to find his way
in the beginning, but over time, this struggle gave him more freedom. The more Vlad thought for himself, the better
his knowledge of the world became. And the more knowledgeable he became, the
better he became at thinking. Thinking improves knowledge, and knowledge
improves thinking. The process is self-reinforcing. And the better you get at thinking, the more
control you have over your destiny. Independent thinkers are like trees. They struggle at first, but once their roots
grow and expand, they grow faster and faster. They become stronger and more unstoppable
in their self-expression. And thinking for ourselves is relatively simple:
all we need to do is ask ourselves why. Why can’t I get to my destination? Why study this subject? Why work this job? Why dress this way? Why keep quiet when we have something to say? Every why fertilizes the mind to receive the
seed of knowledge and prepares us to learn. But if we sincerely look at ourselves, many
of us might find that we left our innate curiosity behind a long time ago. We stopped asking why because we found it
difficult to bear. A kid who asked why too many times got put
into time out. They were found to be annoying. They were labeled a trouble-maker. An adult who asked why too many times ended
up like Socrates: imprisoned and left for dead, labeled as a corruptor of society and
the youth. In his essay Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson
wrote that, Society everywhere is in conspiracy against
the manhood of every one of its members…The virtue in most request is conformity. From a young age, Society, with a capital
’S’, trained us to submit to authority. Society taught us not to ask too many questions
or be annoying. Society taught us to be “good” little
boys and girls. In the eyes of Society, a “good” child
is one that uncritically accepts what the grown ups say, one that follows all the rules
imposed upon it. As Nietzsche might say, in the eyes of Society,
a good kid is like a camel, bearing the burdens of others, without making too much of a fuss
about it. When we asked our parents why we should eat
our veggies: because I said so. When we asked our teachers why we had to keep
quiet and put our hands up: because I said so. When a cop unjustly asks us to get out of
the car and we ask why: because I said so. Everywhere society requests that we conform
and submit. But if all we know is conformity and submission,
who will be left to ask the tyrants why? Who will be left to question the usefulness
and beneficence of the rules imposed on us? And if there’s no one left to ask why, we’ll
uncritically accept the groundless justification for these rules: because I said so. A mind that accepts because I said so becomes
barren, unable to learn and grow. Because I said so is the oppressor of independent
thought, the oppressor of our curiosity, the oppressor of our why. And because society is made up of individuals,
without independent thought, society itself can’t survive and thrive. An independent mind refuses authority. There’s no authority but the truth. Everything is subject to questioning and criticism,
and if something can’t be questioned or criticized, that means we’re in the presence
of a tyrant. And perhaps the greatest threat of tyranny
exists between our own two ears. A true thinker doesn’t accept the authority
of his own past thoughts. They subject their own mind to the same questioning,
criticism, and scrutiny they do every other mind. A thinker doesn’t accept because I said
so, and so they retain their why. Why keeps the mind fertile to receive the
seed of knowledge, and from the seed of knowledge grows the fruits of creativity. And the independent mind’s greatest creation
is its own life—its own destiny. So never stop asking why. And if you’re wondering why, I just gave
you my reason. It’s up to you to question it, criticize
it, and decide for yourself whether it’s true or not.
