My noodle

Jordan Lewis, period 2

March 11, 2008

Thinking about Thinking

To think or not to think, that is the question…I think the answer is to think.  As I sit here writing this paper, my mind races with thoughts – thoughts about thinking and about how I think.  Now, slowly as I continue writing, my thoughts turn to confusion; I don’t remember what I am thinking.  When asked to write a paper on how I, Jordan Lewis, think, it takes some time and thought, if you will.  It is a deep subject, but after some analysis of myself, I have come to realize I think in three main ways:  choice, competition, and logic.  These three things are the ways in which my mind processes decisions and chooses the kind of person I will be and the actions I will take. The question has changed.  We know must ask ourselves, to choose or not to choose?  I am a man who is quick on his feet and usually know what I want.  This is because I prejudge situations and decide early on what I will do if ever faced with a tough choice.  For example, when I hear “Yo, J. Lew, let’s RAGE this weekend.”  I simply reply with a “No, I’m good.”   This is because before hand, I have thought through the pros and cons, and decided the “party scene” is not for me.  Yes, of course I will have something to do every Saturday night, and meet countless numbers of single women, as well as be with my boys and have a good time, but to me it isn’t worth it.  I am a leader around school, so how would it look if every weekend I made a complete fool out of myself by breaking the law, as well as putting myself in danger and disappointing my parents.  To me the cons outweigh the pros abundantly.  Therefore I am quick to answer and get the point to anyone who asks, that I have made the choice to stay away from that.  This method of thinking is not always effective, because sometimes the prejudgments I make are tainted.  For example, for the first 6 months that you get your license it is unlawful to carry another passenger in your car unless they are a family member.  As soon as I heard this law I made the prejudgment that I would not follow it.  Though the cons are about the same –  breaking the law, putting myself (and others) in danger, as well as disappointing my parents, the pros of freedom, and versatility, were endless,  thus proving that my prejudgments and choices were not always the wisest.             My thought processes are not only guided by choices, but also by competition. Whether it is friendly or a dangerous rivalry, I am always ready to compete.  It’s just how my mind works.  In athletics, it’s all about competition, and because I participate in many different sports, I believe that (competition) carries over into everyday life.  For example, this year our football team faced White River, a well know school rival, and anytime I was on the field I was so intense and excited that I played one of my best games.  I know this is because in the back of my mind all I could think about was how serious this  competition was, and that we had to win.  That same week, on the day of the game, we had a quiz in Spanish class, and I bet my friend, Niles, that I would do much better on the quiz than he would, because I was the superior bilingual, which made me strive to do the best I could.  Anything that comes in front of me, whether it be bets, dares, games, or just someone saying they can do better, makes my competitive nature kick in and I think, “We will see about that!”             Finally, Logic comes into play.  In my opinion, this is the safest and smartest way my mind thinks, but most of the time, it is the least used.  When a problem comes to me, for instance, in math or science, I dig through the files in my brain, and use what I already know to solve it.  Not only is this helpful in school, but everywhere I go.  When confronted about certain subjects, or asked my opinion, I use my prior knowledge to think it through and present a decent response.  My mind is filled with facts I have learned through all the years, and using the logic I know is there will make for wiser decision, but as I said before, this is not always my most popular choice.  I do know, however, that when I do use it I end up thinking better and more clearly, which of course, leads to the best results.             Prejudgments of pros and cons, logic, and competition, are the things I think of when asked to think about thinking.  It is a deep subject, that makes my mind fill with thoughts, and make it hurt to think.  The more I think about it, the more ideas come to me for this paper, so let me finish with, I think I need a break from thinking.