Rational Thinking Quotes

“Everything that's worth anything in the world has been achieved by the inquiring mind full of questions, not by those full of rituals and prejudice.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sleepless for Society

“When someone assumes a two thousand year old book to be perfection, there is no reasoning with such a person.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Hometown Human: To Live for Soil and Society

“The quality of our thinking is largely influenced by the mental models in our heads. While we want accurate models, we also want a wide variety of models to uncover what’s really happening. The key here is variety. Most of us study something specific and don’t get exposure to the big ideas of other disciplines. We don’t develop the multidisciplinary mindset that we need to accurately see a problem. And because we don’t have the right models to understand the situation, we overuse the models we do have and use them even when they don’t belong.

You’ve likely experienced this first hand. An engineer will often think in terms of systems by default. A psychologist will think in terms of incentives. A business person might think in terms of opportunity cost and risk-reward. Through their disciplines, each of these people sees part of the situation, the part of the world that makes sense to them. None of them, however, see the entire situation unless they are thinking in a multidisciplinary way. In short, they have blind spots. Big blind spots. And they’re not aware of their blind spots.
[...]
Relying on only a few models is like having a 400-horsepower brain that’s only generating 50 horsepower of output. To increase your mental efficiency and reach your 400-horsepower potential, you need to use a latticework of mental models. Exactly the same sort of pattern that graces backyards everywhere, a lattice is a series of points that connect to and reinforce each other. The Great Models can be understood in the same way—models influence and interact with each other to create a structure that can be used to evaluate and understand ideas.
[...]
Without a latticework of the Great Models our decisions become harder, slower, and less creative. But by using a mental models approach, we can complement our specializations by being curious about how the rest of the world works. A quick glance at the Nobel Prize winners list show that many of them, obviously extreme specialists in something, had multidisciplinary interests that supported their achievements.
[...]
The more high-quality mental models you have in your mental toolbox, the more likely you will have the ones needed to understand the problem. And understanding is everything. The better you understand, the better the potential actions you can take. The better the potential actions, the fewer problems you’ll encounter down the road. Better models make better decisions.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“I've got no beef with tradition, but I ain't gonna let no tradition triumph over society at the expense of humanity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Gente Mente Adelante: Prejudice Conquered is World Conquered

“It doesn't matter whether our certain thought or feeling or behavior is reasonable or not, what we must be aware of is, whether it impedes in our development, our internal growth - and whether it makes us a bigot.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşkanjali: The Sufi Sermon

“Cut off all allegiance to the dead and dark, as new humans build your own moral arc.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“Brain thrives on assumptions, that ain't the problem, trouble begins when all thought ends at assumption.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Handcrafted Humanity: 100 Sonnets For A Blunderful World

“We are new humans, there's nothing we cannot do.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sleepless for Society

“Rational thinking is not the best path to sensuality. In fact, I doubt it can even point you in that direction.”
― Lebo Grand

“When you are not sensual, you are logical.”
― Lebo Grand

“Healers Don’t Exist (The Sonnet)

Healers don't exist,
Only humans do.
Once you step outside the self,
You'll see the world anew.
Gods don't exist,
Only goodness does.
Prayers may soothe your soul,
Action is what change requires.
Psychics don't exist,
But sanctity is everywhere.
Once you stop conning your soul,
The bridge ahead will vividly appear.
When the heart awakens from superstition,
Everybody will be hometown human.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Shape of A Human: Our America Their America

“Bigotry knows no reason, if it did, there wouldn't be any bigotry in the world.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Hometown Human: To Live for Soil and Society

“Love first, reason later.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Generation Corazon: Nationalism is Terrorism

“Each of us must be the maker of modern earth, and for that, three things are needed - reason, courage and warmth.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Gente Mente Adelante: Prejudice Conquered is World Conquered

“Let us be the most progressive people that ever walked the planet, with our firm sense of reason accompanied by a revolutionary gentleness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Gente Mente Adelante: Prejudice Conquered is World Conquered

“Love Alone Triumphs (The Sonnet)

Great people have often said,
Truth alone triumphs.
I am no great but a plain human,
So I say, love alone triumphs.
Truth may require intellect,
Inquiry requires some cynicism.
To be loving needs none of that,
Love lights up the darkest chasm.
Keep your intellect if you desire,
Explore further the arc of truth.
But all the discovery means nothing,
If countless souls go without food.
It is far better to be an insane lover,
Than to be a heartless discoverer.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Gente Mente Adelante: Prejudice Conquered is World Conquered

“To effectively take command of our mind, we must develop the ability to (1) monitor the mind’s tendency toward egocentric or irrational thinking, and (2) attack it with corrective rational thought”
― Richard Paul, Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life

“Self-determination makes one unfit for slavery, reason makes one unfit for manipulation.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“Sometimes we gotta compromise logic, sometimes we gotta compromise tradition. We shall recognize which is needed when, when we live as wholesome human.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“Sonnet of Heaven and Hell

There's a tale we hear of a heavenly kingdom,
Which is passed on through generations.
Because once you place salvation outside life,
Accountability vanishes from all prioritization.
Self-determination makes one unfit for slavery,
Reason makes one unfit for manipulation.
If you take charge of your life and community,
Institutions fail to dictate your ambition.
Heaven and hell exist here and now,
They are manifestations of human behavior.
Acts of oneness bring heaven in a moment,
Deeds of division breed hell from thin air.
The paradigm we have was made yesterday.
It is our world, let's build it our way.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“You cannot reason with religious nuts on the evolution of religion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vatican Virus: The Forbidden Fiction

“Facts that don't elevate the human condition are nothing but fiction.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Şehit Sevda Society: Even in Death I Shall Live

“…either we behave like intelligent, rational animals, respecting Nature and accelerating as much as possible the process of humanization we are only just beginning, or the quality of human life will deteriorate. Some of us are starting to have doubts about the rationality of human groups. But if we do not act rationally, we will suffer the same fate as some cultures and some stupid species of animals, of whose suffering and path to extinction all that remains are fossils. Species that do not change biologically, ecologically or socially when their habitat changes are bound to perish after a period of indescribable suffering.”
― Héctor Abad Gómez, Teoría Y Práctica De Salud Pública

“There's no use in updating your phone's OS every day, If inside you are still run by an OS from the stone-age.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Handcrafted Humanity: 100 Sonnets For A Blunderful World

“Sonnet of Science

Science is but a bridge of time, it can,
Either take us forward or dump us in prehistory.
Science alone does not ensure our advancement,
Unless it's practiced with warmth and accountability.
Sheer reason without any sentiment is,
As dangerous as sheer sentiment without any reason.
In order to forge a world fit for humans,
We must break the ice between reason and emotion.
Problem is that we like picking sides,
Either we are too emotional or too rational.
A civilized human ought to be none of that,
A civilized human acts upon the need of the situation.
So I say o mighty human, be not an intellectual moron.
Science is a means of service, not intellectual gratification.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Handcrafted Humanity: 100 Sonnets For A Blunderful World

“Vibration and Frequency (The Sonnet)

Surpass the nonsense of vibration,
Surpass the nonsense of frequency.
Come down to the land of mortals,
Embrace the heart's simple beauty.
Science is science, sentiment is sentiment,
In rationalizing sentiment one breeds superstition.
There is no vibration to love and community,
There is no frequency to uplift and unification.
Cleanse your mind of all imitation science,
Just like you ought to do with bigoted holiness.
Trading in one blindness for another is no sanctity,
Replacing one superstition with another is no science.
With the rise of oneness, theories wither and fade away.
But if things are opposite, know that you are going astray.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Mücadele Muhabbet: Gospel of An Unarmed Soldier

“Sciencelessness and senselessness are all okay, as long as they don't lead to heartlessness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Making Britain Civilized: How to Gain Readmission to The Human Race

“The wellbeing of the heart of humanity does not
rely on practicality, logicality and factuality
alone. Fiction is needed, placebo is needed, and
you know what else is needed - a whole lot of
impractical and absurd unselfishness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Making Britain Civilized: How to Gain Readmission to The Human Race

“Having said that there's no such thing as real psychics, there are many people who genuinely believe that they are psychic and they genuinely want to help people. But then there are frauds who know they ain't psychic and their sole purpose is to exploit vulnerable masses, just like there are frauds and morons in the field of science.

In science, frauds are those scientists who manipulate research date to suit their expectations, and morons are those scientists who won't mind causing hurt and harm to everyday people in the name of science.

We ought to stand up against these frauds and morons no matter their line of work, instead of looking down on regular people for their every little illogicality.

Enough with this condescending outlook of life from a high and mighty, intellectual pedestal!

Come down, come down to earth, come down to the street, come down to the soil, for that's where life is.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Making Britain Civilized: How to Gain Readmission to The Human Race

“Test of Faith (The Sonnet)

How many gospels are there?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
How many apostles were there?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
What are the commandments?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
How many vedas are there?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
What is the meaning of basmala?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
What are the words of mool mantar?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
What god wants of us, who the fudge cares!
To be human for all humans is what matters.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervish Advaitam: Gospel of Sacred Feminines and Holy Fathers