Pushing the Boundaries of Knowledge

by Posted on

For years, I have been an information consumer. Since I developed the ability of thinking for myself, I have always asked questions about almost every situation I have ever found myself in and thought about. Why do we do this? How did that come to be? What is the purpose of this? I sought answers to these questions in many ways, and still find myself seeking answers today. My method for answering most questions usually goes something like this;

  1. I observe something, whether it is a static object, or a sentence spoken by someone.
  2. I ask why. Why is that there? Why did that happen? Why did they say that?
  3. Thirdly, I think the situation through in my head. I consider the causes and implications of an event, and attempt to follow these chains of thought until I reach known ground, or discover something new.
  4. At this stage, I often open up a search engine, and start researching the subject in more depth. I read what others have written, and see whether it supports or contradicts my own views.
  5. If it contradicts, I loop back to number two and follow through the process again.
Books of Knowledge

Now I can get to the reason for writing this post. In the past, following the thought process above, at stage four things would become very difficult and slow down severely. Instead of going onto the internet in pursuit of information, we would be forced to turn to books, journals, videos, and of course the creator of such content, people. At one time, this would have been seen as standard procedure, but in today’s world, it would limit the advancement of knowledge seekers tremendously. The internet has allowed us to link chains of information faster than ever before. Where books are limited to one subject, and professors, to one discipline, the internet is limited only by the imagination of the person using it. Our information uptake is no longer defined by subject boundaries. This gives us the opportunity to gain a wider understanding of what is, and allows us to realise how two things, seemingly unrelated, are linked in ways that can have a dramatic effect on the way we live our lives.

For years, I have consumed information written by others, the product of someone else’s thinking. Lately, I feel as though the questions I keep asking myself are allowing me to broaden my perception of the way the world works. At all levels, whether the focus is on society, philosophy, physics, spirituality, religion, politics and so on, I find myself pursuing chains of thought leading to certain realisations that seem not to be discussed on the internet, at least not widely. For this reason, I am starting this blog. It will give me the opportunity to share my ideas and realisations, and most importantly, provide a platform for others to comment and discus.

Note: I wrote this post for my first blog back in 2014, and figured it was worth reposting.