{My thoughts on a shallow list of things attributed to being a “deep thinker”.}

“You might be a deep thinker if…”

-“you are highly intelligent”
Not typically. Math, memory, and puzzle-solving skills have little correlation with deep thought. The crucial factor of deep thought is integrity.

-“Deep thinkers always leave space for doubt.”
False. There are things we cannot be unsure of, and things we should not be unsure of, just as there are things we cannot be sure of.

-“you love the fact that reading gives you the opportunity to escape the boring reality.”
This is shallow (as least as described). A deep thinker can have interest in, gain insight from, and learn from whatever surroundings in which he finds himself, he understands that they do not constitute all of reality, and he loves reading because it expands these surroundings.

-“You keep your mind open”
It depends on what is meant. Often what people mean by this is the idea that “anything could be true”, similar to doubting everything, which is false.
Something one could say instead is that a deep thinker has the integrity not to defend an idea by hiding it from scrutiny or discussion. This does not mean that he has any obligation to listen to or respond to every challenge that may be brought.

-“Deep thinkers often feel like they don’t belong anywhere and don’t fit in with other human beings.”
It is true: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” – Am 3
However: “When a man’s ways please Yahweh, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” – Pr 16
I have been able to “fit in” even with Baptists and Catholics, though fundamentally divergent from their thinking.

-“hate small talk”
This is a preference, not a sign of deep thought. A deep thinker often recognises the profound roots and implications of small talk.

-“You feel repulsed by popular culture”
The current mainstream English-speaking culture has twisted values, but it is shallow to apply this right judgement as a fundamental concept. A deep thinker is free from cultural prejudice, free from the complete acceptance or rejection of only the system he is immediately surrounded with, and is an appreciative and reasonable judge of all cultures in all times and places.

-“You often find yourself disconnected from reality and lost in thought”
To be deep in thought is not to be lost, much less to be disconnected from reality. It is merely to be disconnected from one’s immediate surroundings (it is shallow to think of one’s immediate surroundings as constituting reality).

-“don’t care about other people’s opinions”
Deep thinkers take responsibility for their own conclusions, and so value others’ opinions more than those who blindly follow others’ opinions without considering or judging their value at all. It seems to shallow people that deep thinkers don’t care, because shallow people make agreement and disagreement primarily about themselves and their own feelings; they put themselves before truth.

#SabbathPosts 2023/09/16