been talking about.
Heuristics: These are approximate ways to achieve an approximate goal.
For example, "to organize a presentation in a coherent fashion, use a
thesis statement and an outline."
You can also have heuristics for "mind/body activity" -- examples are
the two instructions you sent, on "doing nothing" and "being
receptive".
A heuristic is not an algorithm with specific definitive steps.
Different heuristics can be used whenever they seem suitable -- for
example, this heuristic could be combined with the one about
organizing a presentation: "If you notice your audience's attention
drifting, you might try drawing them back in with a concrete
application."
And of course, one is not obliged to put every heuristic into use --
although it is possible to examine a heuristic and decide whether or
not to use it. Thus, you can get chains of heuristics related to
choosing a good heuristic, and perhaps this way things get a bit
complicated.
Well, when I was waking up today, the phrase "if you are going to
think, just think!" occurred to me. It seems that I've spent a lot of
time thinking about and experimenting with "ways to think", that is,
heuristics for thinking, ways to regulate my behavior. No doubt this
can be helpful, but it can also make for trouble. A related zen adage
is: "do not cling to words" (for, the words usually encode a
heuristic, which goes equally well for this adage).
If every time you spoke you had to prepare an outline first (or if
every time you stated a mathematical proposition, you had to have a
proof in mind), that wouldn't work very well -- even though the
notions that you should understanding what you are talking about,
think before you speak, and speak to be understood are all quite
reasonable.
I believe that "if you are going to think, just think" is quite
similar to "Receive everything that comes to you without selecting and
without thinking about it." Especially if what "comes to you" is
"thoughts" -- although of course there are typically bodily feelings
or emotions or mental images that aren't thoughts per se. Still, when
a person experiences these things, there is probably some brain
activity, and maybe that could be called that a thought. Anyway,
whatever the relationship to these types of phenomena are, there will
almost certainly be some "thoughts".
Maybe "brain activity" is a good word to use, because it is general,
there is less chance for it to be confusing. (I feel like the lexicon
of "thinking", "noticing", "heuristics", etc., is getting a bit
overwhelming... I'd rather if it was simple.)
If one tries to manage brain activity (on a semantic level, say, to
justify or condemn; or on a mnemonic level, to organize thoughts for
later or relate them to other ideas; or on an experiential level, by
"returning your attention to your breath" or trying to assuage some
emotional discomfort) then certainly that can get in the way of at
least one of: thinking, experiencing, being receptive. Some of the
heuristics are designed for that purpose, so in that case it is no
surprise!
Of course, managing brain activity is a pretty popular and relatively
ubiquitous in our society. E.g. road signs do this; people are
expected to do certain things and to feel certain ways about it;
people go to school to learn skills and techniques, etc. Some
techniques for managing brain activity seem to make things simpler or
to make direct action more feasible; others seem to make things more
complicated, maybe delaying action until side-problems are sorted out.
Well, I don't suppose any of this could be said to be "wrong" or
"right", at least not without saying more about the applications and
effects. In any event, somewhere before I wrote all of this, there
was a moment of clarity. Writing is certainly a brain activity
regulating behavior -- one good effect is as a landmark for further
reference. I hope you don't mind me sharing this somewhat rambling
reflection. I have enjoyed your writing; perhaps this will elicit
further remarks, at your convenience.
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