Dale Easley's Favorite Quotations
| Teaching Thinking |
| de Bono, Edward |
| Statistics have almost wrecked science because statistics seem to
generate knowledge. It is felt (quite wrongly) that if you generate
enough data an idea will emerge. So funds are poured into data-mongering,
with never a thought for the ideas that used to provoke science in the old
days. (p. 14). There was a time when society was comparatively stable and, since things did not change much, repetition was a good substitute for thinking. The political systems tended to be elitist and a few people did the thinking for the rest. To make personal decisions and problem-solving easier there were the guidelines laid down by religious doctrine and moral codes. Much as we may like to revert to the good aspects of those more stable times, we must acknowledge that society is no longer stable because the rate of change, fuelled by technology and social aspirations, has accelerated. in such a complex society the need for thinking is greater than ever. (p.18) It could be said that the advance of science has been due solely to those scientists who were emotionally equipped to be dissatisfied with the current explanation and to seek better explanations. This is by no means a natural property of the mind. Very rarely does logical inconsistency in the current explanation force us onwards. On the contrary apparent logical consistency reinforces our arrogance and conceit. (p.70) |