I think, therefore I can't think

[Jon]

No longer do we have the opportunity to think for ourselves. Instead, we operate within a plethora of pre-determined thought. Our buffet of perspectives is complete, no original thought left. All has been done before, and many times over. We are operating within a framework of frameworks, where our modus operandi is resident in something that already exists. We are feminists, anarchists, alt-right, doggers. We are social justice warriors, Brexiteers, provocateurs, militants.

Have we exhausted all possibilities of unique thought? Are we just regurgitating patterns of speech that thrive within their own communities?

[My word salads are coming thick and fast tonight, for some strange reason!]

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The ancient Greeks thought there were only something like seven stories possible, and that everything else was simple variation on a theme. If you look at modern country-western music, perhaps no more than three or four different chord patterns covers 95%+ of modern ballads and rock. If you look at computer programming, there are only three different structures: linear, if/then/else/end, and choice/dispatch among multiple options. All programs can be written as combinations of those three things.

The fact that we have learned the basics simply means we can get on to the embellishments. I see it as just another layer added to where we are going.