# Our means of thought is destructive **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 4, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513 "2009-10-04T03:02:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/21 "2009-10-04T05:09:44Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > GD is also for witnessing… and the OP appears to be arguing for (or claiming at least) a form of post-modern animism where the plastic shopping bags are sentient. Don’t look at me; I always ask the bag boy for paper. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/22 "2009-10-04T06:45:45Z")
I would really like to talk with **eyeshalfdreaming** about what she or he has written here. Welcome, **eyeshalfdreaming**. Dopers here will give you a tough time if you are the least bit inclined to right-brain thinking. But there are some of us around who will read what you say with great interest and some understanding. The others are good guys too – just a little short-sighted, maybe. > [@](#): > > The dependence upon only what is absolute, knowable and light, results only in utter loneliness and absence, incomplete existence. > When form disappears, all that remains is shadow. I used to think that was true. I think I was a little obsessed with the concept of self-extinction as a goal beyond nirvana. What causes the shadow that remains when form disappears? > [@](#): > > Your favorite stuffed animal really did love you. It still does, somewhere. Yes, it’s true and almost painful to acknowledge. The thought is so endearing. They are part of the mix. Part of the all of it. > [@](#): > > But now there is only ambition. Possessions are steps to a greater somewhere, or, at the most, brief and passionate affairs. > > It’s time to simplify How much of your journey did you cover in those few words? It’s been decades for me. Yet here I am back at the things I knew to be true even then. > [@](#): > > And this is our goal, > we must choose the most useful ones to keep, and learn how to use them respectfully, putting the flames of our excesses out before we go up with them. Then first I choose my leather notebook that I’ve carried since 1973. It’s refillable. I write everything in it. It’s the most _me_ of all things that I own. > [@](#): > > We will take advantage of modern magic > to carve stories into the darkness > that return our imaginations towards the > gathering of wisdom, > invoking love, respect, and harmony in all things. Yes, I too value technology’s place in the decluttering of my life. I’ve recently bought a Kindle with the thought of freeing up book space. If I pass these books on to my Club or charity, then others will benefit. (The money that the Club makes goes toward charitable and civic concerns.) I would like to hear more about what you experience as you simplify. You can always send a private message if you prefer. For debate: Would a movement toward simplification in lifestyles be advantageous to the country in general? How would it affect us socially? economically? politically? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/23 "2009-10-04T06:50:25Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > For debate: Would a movement toward simplification in lifestyles be advantageous to the country in general? How would it affect us socially? economically? politically? We must have a look at Paul Atreides, on Caladan. ---
**Author:** ![Maia\_s\_Well](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Maia\_s\_Well](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maia_s_Well)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/24 "2009-10-04T07:29:55Z")
I hope this thread doesn’t fade away too quick. It’s interesting, and I’d like to see what would happen if we take a couple steps out of the box in this forum. And while I love **Zoe’s** and the OP’s thoughts and poetry, the other responses were delightful in their own ways. All this stuff belongs. As to the OP, I can’t imagine that I really understand what you intended to say, but I did have my own flavor of responsive resonance. My life has become giftedly, excessively simplified, and as a result, my mind gets bigger everyday. Sweeping the bullshit out of my mental house has made all the rooms bigger. What is “simple” to you? What does it mean to have a simplified life? Part of it for me was (simply) taking a look at right here, right now, seeing what I’m doing, and then asking myself if it is serving me and others. There are still ideas, big ones, but ideas are no longer more important to me than people. Or reality, as little as I might be able to perceive it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/25 "2009-10-04T07:56:04Z")
Stop poking me with that stick. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/26 "2009-10-04T18:15:46Z")
Wont someone THINK OF THE CHILDREN! ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/27 "2009-10-04T19:34:36Z")
Well, at least it’s not quite as bad as TIME CUBE. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/28 "2009-10-05T00:41:32Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > We must have a look at Paul Atreides, on Caladan. You can always just ignore this thread. Knock it off. I’m still inclined to close this and if the OP does not return soon, I am going to, but simply re-posting lame attempts at mockery is not helping anything. [Modding] ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/29 "2009-10-05T02:54:15Z")
Our means of thought is destructive. From the poetry presented, I would say, yes, our means of thought is destructive. Indeed, it \*is \*time to simplify. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/30 "2009-10-05T07:09:15Z")
> [@](#): > > **Maia’s Well** : What is “simple” to you? What does it mean to have a simplified life? Part of it for me was (simply) taking a look at right here, right now, seeing what I’m doing, and then asking myself if it is serving me and others. There are still ideas, big ones, but ideas are no longer more important to me than people. Or reality, as little as I might be able to perceive it. The big ideas can be so beautiful and overwhelming that it is tempting to retreat and simplify by making fewer committments. I’m older and tired. The needs in the neighborhood where I live are so overwhelming that I don’t know where to begin. But I fully agree with you. Ultimately, today. 1. leather notebook 2. ultimately today ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/31 "2009-10-05T07:13:38Z")
But seriously, can you say you’ve simplified if your notebook is so important to you? Thought experiment: your notebook is lost or destroyed. How does that affect you? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/32 "2009-10-05T12:49:58Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > To the OP: do you have an actual topic for debate? Or are you just seeking feedback on your prose poem? > > Stated a little bit more directly: you’ll find this board a receptive forum for serious, straightforward discussion; you won’t find much of a welcome for exercises in selfcongratulatory indirection. > > Speak like a real person in a real conversation, and you’ll get a serious response on what looks like it must be (though it’s hard to tell) a subject that’s important to you. > > If you’re looking for debate, start a debate. If you’re looking for a poetry slam, you missed your exit. Can this be a sticky? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/33 "2009-10-05T13:03:59Z")
For whatever it’s worth, I see the same post on another site. It too has no follow up. h ttp://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=393426981 I get the distinct sense it’s a random paste with no intent to actually have a discussion. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513/34 "2009-10-05T13:14:22Z")
Yep. Spamming the board with personal monologues from other places. Closed. Zoe and Maia’s Well, if you would like to engage in a similar discussion with a bit more connection to either reality or the SDMB, feel free to open a new thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-means-of-thought-is-destructive/512513.md?page=1)