Open mindedness

Open-mindedness

Some people proudly claim that they are open minded, open to a whole spectrum of new theories. However, no matter how open-minded you try to be, surely you will be inclined to dismiss the ridiculous. Is it productive to teach children in school the idea that there are two possibilities of where they came from; One being that they were conceived and carried in their mother’s womb or that they were carried in hanging from the beak of a stork? A truly open-minded individual would regard the latter as being unworthy of any proper consideration because it cannot be substantiated in the same way as the former. You can witness the baby coming out, you can see the tummy get bigger and bigger, you can use a scanning machine to have a look. You can even watch a sperm make its way to an egg. People are adamant that their version of events is correct. Saying that we all arrive by virtue of a stork is a metaphor for countless other unlikely propositions. We can show people that their thoughts are misguided, taking the time to explain rather than putting them down.

After years of discussion, looking at things from many angles, tedium sets in. Why bother to re-examine certain topics when we are most likely going to come to the same conclusion. We stick to past experiences and put a mental seal around things that we consider to be the best policy. We become tired of the debate. The older we get the less likely we are to explore new avenues of thought. Not everyone locks down, but it is worth knowing that they may have when we try to argue with them.