Why are Thai people so against thinking?

[mauGR1]

Uhm, a thread about thinking, who would have thought..

As a previous poster has said, there are different levels of thinking.

So, if somebody tells you that "you think too much" , obviously he's thinking that you are "overthinking"

I think that the ability to switch from thinking to 'stop thinking' as "suspend judgement" can improve your awareness.

If i'm told by a friend that i'm thinking too much, normally i ask myself the same question.

[sirineou]

15 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Uhm, a thread about thinking, who would have thought..

As a previous poster has said, there are different levels of thinking.

So, if somebody tells you that "you think too much" , obviously he's thinking that you are "overthinking"

I think that the ability to switch from thinking to 'stop thinking' as "suspend judgement" can improve your awareness.

If i'm told by a friend that i'm thinking too much, normally i ask myself the same question.

The Paralysis of analysis 

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, geronimo said:

Critical thinking (taught to western kids from day one) is sadly lacking here and until they sort their ed system out, don't expect any changes soon. Of course, there are exceptions, as some posters have pointed out, but the current rote learning system was deliberately put into practice a few centuries ago and try as they might, they don't seem able to affect any change. This could be that the Thai teachers are too ingrained in the rote learning system to take any new concept onboard.

I bet you can't give me one example of critical thinking that is taught from day one in Western schools.  I have heard this over and over again but whenever I ask for an example the only thing that is returned is I get flamed.  Maybe you are different and can provide one specific example of critical thinking taught from day one in Western schools.

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

I bet you can't give me one example of critical thinking that is taught from day one in Western schools.  I have heard this over and over again but whenever I ask for an example the only thing that is returned is I get flamed.  Maybe you are different and can provide one specific example of critical thinking taught from day one in Western schools.

In the West, critical thinking is becoming an "endangered species", hunted down by political correctness.

 

In the near future, we are more likely to see Westerners thinking, or not, like Thais, than the other way round.

[neeray]

1 minute ago, Brunolem said:

In the near future, we are more likely to see Westerners thinking, or not, like Thais, than the other way round.

 

It's already here, the future has arrived. I encounter people in business every day who fail to think.

Mouth in gear first, brain second (if ever).

But hey, I have encountered many good thinking Thais. Hmm

[Brunolem]

4 hours ago, sirineou said:

 The OP is a dog whistle post and the hounds have sure answered. This thread tells more about as that it does about Thai people. 

"you think too much" "not think too much" is simply an attempt of people who are not native english speakers to communicate the concept that you are over analysing a subject in a language foreign to them.

 As for the last example of "stop think, make headache" well..... I guess it makes my point.   

You think too much could well apply to your post.

 

So the OP set up a convoluted trap while Thai people try to "communicate a concept"...

 

Or maybe things are just as simple as they appear to be.

 

How many times have I asked "what are you thinking about" to a Thai, only to be answered "nothing!".

 

And how many times did your Western friends or relatives tell you that you think too much?

 

In the West, we are more used to hear something like "think before talking", or "you'd better think twice", or "have you given this enough thought?" than "stop thinking!".

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by Brunolem

[FritsSikkink]

On ‎9‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 10:57 AM, Peterw42 said:

 

A bit like my wife who sells sunglasses, her answer to not selling many sunglasses is to buy more sunglasses. 

Yes, there does need to be a scientific and rational approach to most things in our life but it can be taken to far, then nobody falls in love, creates art, discovers something by accident etc.

 

I have always liked the saying

"Approach love and cooking with the same reckless abandonment"

So your wife can't run a business, so all Thais can't think. Very scientific research from you, what sort of school did you go?

[KiChakayan]

I am wondering if there is a word for "thinking" in Thai, as them seem to say "thinking" when they mean worrying.

"Farrrang tink too mut" means "No worries mate", as far as I understand. 

It seems that "thinking" is an issue in many cultures, look at this video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSdxqIBfEAw

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by KiChakayan

[sirineou]

5 hours ago, Brunolem said:

How many times have I asked "what are you thinking about" to a Thai, only to be answered "nothing!".

If indeed what you say is true, Two things come in to play here, One is cultural, where Thais might not be as open to blaber their private thoughts , and the conversation takes place in English. I am willing to bet that if the conversation took place in fluent Thai the conclusions might be different.

5 hours ago, Brunolem said:

And how many times did your Western friends or relatives tell you that you think too much?

If  what I say is true then of course my western friends would not try to convey a Thai concept and they would be native english speakers or native to a language related to english.

5 hours ago, Brunolem said:

In the West, we are more used to hear something like "think before talking", or "you'd better think twice", or "have you given this enough thought?" than "stop thinking!".

 it goes to reason that in the west we hear western colonialisms

 

A final comment.

People regardless of their nationality are always thinking , the problem is with the conclusions reached. as exhibited in this thread.

 

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, KiChakayan said:

I am wondering if there is a word for "thinking" in Thai, as them seem to say "thinking" when they mean worrying.

"Farrrang tink too mut" means "No worries mate", as far as I understand. 

It seems that "thinking" is an issue in many cultures, look at this video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSdxqIBfEAw

 

Indeed the world is sinking because of too little thinking!

 

To think in Thai is "kit" and they will tell you "kit maak" meaning you have to stop pondering and start eating, which is what really matters after all...

 

[Brunolem]

3 minutes ago, sirineou said:

If indeed what you say is true, Two things come in to play here, One is cultural, where Thais might not be as open to blaber their private thoughts , and the conversation takes place in English. I am willing to bet that if the conversation took place in fluent Thai the conclusions might be different.

If  what I say is true then of course my western friends would not try to convey a Thai concept and they would be native english speakers or native to a language related to english.

 it goes to reason that in the west we hear western colonialisms

 

A final comment.

People regardless of their nationality are always thinking , the problem is with the conclusions reached. as exhibited in this thread.

 

Obviously people are always thinking, otherwise they would be in a state of deep meditation, and the world would be ful! of bodhisattvas...if only!

 

Having said that, there is thinking and then there is thinking...from "what am I going to eat this evening" to "how could we produce energy from fusing atoms", there are a lot of steps to climb in the thinking process.

 

It would seem, according to facts which have nothing to do with colonialism, that some are better at deep thinking than others, not because of their origin or skin color, but because of the kind of education they received and the environment they live in.

 

 

[afsheen]

10 hours ago, sirineou said:

 The OP is a dog whistle post and the hounds have sure answered. This thread tells more about as that it does about Thai people. 

"you think too much" "not think too much" is simply an attempt of people who are not native english speakers to communicate the concept that you are over analysing a subject in a language foreign to them.

 As for the last example of "stop think, make headache" well..... I guess it makes my point.   

 

What do you mean by "dog whistle post"? Please explain.

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, Brunolem said:

Obviously people are always thinking, otherwise they would be in a state of deep meditation, and the world would be ful! of bodhisattvas...if only!

 

Having said that, there is thinking and then there is thinking...from "what am I going to eat this evening" to "how could we produce energy from fusing atoms", there are a lot of steps to climb in the thinking process.

 

It would seem, according to facts which have nothing to do with colonialism, that some are better at deep thinking than others, not because of their origin or skin color, but because of the kind of education they received and the environment they live in.

 

 

IMO Thinking is thinking. of course it goes to reason that education determines what people think about , one cannot think about what one don't even know exists . 

" There are  Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, Unknown Unknowns"

one can think about what one knows , wonder about what one knows exists but knows litle or nothing about, but one can not even consider the "Unknown Unknown"

   But litle of the above has IMO to do with this thread which seems , by some, to suggest that Thai people don't think based on a poor english translation. 

Thai society is based on Buddhism  and buddhism is more a philosophy than a religion which seems to suggest that someone is thinking, conversely western society is based on christianity, which did involve a lot of thinking that resulted in wrong conclusions. 

[sirineou]

7 minutes ago, afsheen said:

 

What do you mean by "dog whistle post"? Please explain.

" Dog-whistle politics is political messaging employing coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has an additional, different, or more specific resonance for a targeted subgroup."

in this instance IMO the Op threw out some coded messages designed to elicit the predictable response from the expat subgroup .

[zzaa09]

8 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

I bet you can't give me one example of critical thinking that is taught from day one in Western schools.  I have heard this over and over again but whenever I ask for an example the only thing that is returned is I get flamed.  Maybe you are different and can provide one specific example of critical thinking taught from day one in Western schools.

Yep...

Bit of a myth that such independent/critical thought properties are encouraged throughout dominate Western educational practices. 

The ideals of such are repeated loud and often enough until the illusion befits any indoctrinated reality. 

 

 

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

IMO Thinking is thinking. of course it goes to reason that education determines what people think about , one cannot think about what one don't even know exists . 

" There are  Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, Unknown Unknowns"

one can think about what one knows , wonder about what one knows exists but knows litle or nothing about, but one can not even consider the "Unknown Unknown"

   But litle of the above has IMO to do with this thread which seems , by some, to suggest that Thai people don't think based on a poor english translation. 

Thai society is based on Buddhism  and buddhism is more a philosophy than a religion which seems to suggest that someone is thinking, conversely western society is based on christianity, which did involve a lot of thinking that resulted in wrong conclusions. 

Put differently, people with an inquiring mind sometime think about things they don't know, but would like to know, and sometime jump into action by actually educating themselves in order to fill up the holes.

 

For example, someone will look at the Moon and wonder how far it is, and how it stays where it is, and why the different phases and so on.

The next day, this someone will start reading on the subject in order to answer one's questions.

 

Most people, from whatever country, don't bother with such thinking, since they have more pressing matters to deal with, like checking their Facebook account or send some tweets.

 

What differentiates many Thais from Western people when it comes to "basic thinking" is that they have reduced the scope of their thoughts to the bare minimum.

 

For example, while the average Joe wonders if he will be able to pay his rent in two weeks, or to send his child studying in college next year, the average Somchai doesn't bother thinking about that until the very day when the rent comes due, or when college is about to start.

 

Finally, Thai society is not really based on Buddhism...only in name but certainly not when it comes to following the precepts and the Buddha's teachings.

 

Yet, the same is true in the Christian West, where vertuous people go to the church just before commiting revolting acts of all kinds.

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by Brunolem

[sirineou]

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

Put differently, people with an inquiring mind sometime think about things they don't know, but would like to know,

 Thank you for engaging me in this pleasant conversation that IMO has litle to do with the OP which contents that Thais don't think based on a bad translation.

 As far as the above quote is concerned ,  These thing are "known unknowns" in other words thing you know you don't know. But there is a separate set of things that one can not even begin to consider , the "unknown unknowns" , these are things you don't even know you don't know, they are outside your and my reality.

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

Most people, from whatever country, don't bother with such thinking, since they have more pressing matters to deal with, like checking their Facebook account or send some tweets.

or providing a roof over one's head, keeping one safe from wild animals, or  eating ,

the  Chinese  greeting of  "have you eaten rice yet "  is surprisingly close in meaning  to "How are you" in meaning. in Thai(thaan khâo láew re¯u yang? )

The above term and the term " you think too much"  (Khuṇ khidmāk keinpị ) are phatic. When they ask if you have eaten rice ,they are not inviting you to dinner. In the west when you are asked "how are you" is not an inquiry in to your health but a greeting.

Both though provide an inside  of the motivations that shape thinking. and how conditions shape language, and language shaping thinking.

   You talked about observing and considering the moon, So some languages assign gender identities to objects and these identities differ from language to language. In German the moon has a masculine identity and in Spanish a feminine. Does language affect how germans consider

the moon as opposed to spaniards?  As it turns out it does. Spaniards might describe the moon as beautiful, where Germans might describe it as strong.    

 This if you did not know it would be an " Unknown Unknown" and not part of your consideration in the OP question.

If interested google how conditions shape language, and google how language affects thinking.

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

Finally, Thai society is not really based on Buddhism...only in name but certainly not when it comes to following the precepts and the Buddha's teachings.

 

Yet, the same is true in the Christian West, where vertuous people go to the church just before commiting revolting acts of all kinds.

Both religion and philosophy are are not always strictly adhered , this is a universal human condition,  but it does to a degree shape the way we think, Case and point how Buddhism and Christianity treat sex and the effect it has on people's thinking about it.

  It has being said that ,

  " bad people do bad things and good people do good things , but it takes religion to make good people  do bad things" 

So religion affects the way we think and the decision making in more than sex, all one has to do is study history and read the latest news.

Edited September 29, 2018 by sirineou
typo

[Brunolem]

4 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 Thank you for engaging me in this pleasant conversation that IMO has litle to do with the OP which contents that Tais dont think based an a bad translation.

 as far as the above quote ,  These thing are "known unknowns" in other words thing you know you don't know. But there is a separate set of things that one can not even begin to consider , the "unknown unknowns" , these are things you don't even know you don't know, they are outside your and my reality.

or providing a roof over one's head, keeping one safe from wild animals, or  eating ,

the  Chinese  greeting of  "have you eaten rice yet "  is surprisingly close to "How are you" in meaning. in Thai(thaan khâo láew re¯u yang? )

The above term and the term " you think too much"  (Khuṇ khidmāk keinpị ) are phatic. When they ask if you have eaten rice ,they are not inviting you to dinner. In the west when you are asked "how are you" is not an inquiry in to your health but a greeting.

Both though provide an inside  of the motivations that shape thinking. and how conditions shape language, and language shaping thinking.

   You talked about observing and considering the moon, So some languages assign gender identities to objects and these identities fifer from language to language. In German the moon has a masculine identity and in Spanish a feminine. Does language affect how germans consider

the moon as opposed to spaniards?  As it turns out it does. Spaniards might describe the moon as beautiful, where Germans might describe it as strong.    

 This if you did not know it would be an " Unknown Unknown" and not part of your consideration in the OP question.

If interested google how conditions shape language, and google how language affects thinking.

Both religion and philosophy are are not always strictly adhered , this is a universal  conditions,  but it does to a degree shape the way we think, Case and point how Buddhism and Christianity treat sex and the effect it has on people's thinking about it. It has being said that ,

  " bad people do bad things and good people do good things , but it takes religion to make a good person do bad things" 

So religious affects the way think and their decision making in more than sex, all one has to do is study history and read the latest news.

This could go on forever, so I will only deal with a couple of issues.

 

The "unknown unknown" reminds me of Rumsfeld, another Donald, philosophizing about the war in Irak...a low point in US history, among others...

 

Yet, some people do think about such "unknown unknown", wondering, for example if our universe is unique, or part of a multiverse, or one among countless universes...

 

Sex, I think, is where evolution messed up and made humans weak.

This will have to be delt with while setting up the species coming after we are done destroying ourselves.

 

I am not convinced that religion, culture or environment have much influence on humans' sexual issues and deviances.

 

Throughout history, similar abuses can be found everywhere, among people who never had contact with each other.

 

For example, while exploring Papua New Guinea, missionaries were appalled to encounter tribes performing rituals during which the men were systematically sexually abusing the young boys...

 

As for the role of women, the West didn't invent anything...only in the world of Wonder Woman are they on top, so to speak...

[sirineou]

8 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

The "unknown unknown" reminds me of Rumsfeld, another Donald, philosophizing about the war in Irak...a low point in US history, among others...

 You are right , but not a Rumsfeldian original thought,

10 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Sex, I think, is where evolution messed up and made humans weak.

This will have to be delt with while setting up the species coming after we are done destroying ourselves.

Quite the opposite, without sex there would be no evolution, just copying . 

11 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

I am not convinced that religion, culture or environment have much influence on humans' sexual issues and deviances.

if you don't think religion has an affect on sex, Try going to Pakistan and having a homosexual relationship. Or not familiar with familiar with Catholic sex guilt?

 

Anyway we have fered way of the subject and the point I Tried to make. 

 

 

 

[baansgr]

On 9/27/2018 at 10:09 AM, giddyup said:

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes I just sits.

I thought the 2nd line should be shit and stink

[freedomnow]

Therein lies the key if anyone gets pulled at either BKK airport...

 

Tourist to IO

 

"Why you think so much....?"

"Think think...think too much....too much thinking"...

 

IO mentally zones out - stamps you through.

Edited September 29, 2018 by freedomnow

[giddyup]

35 minutes ago, baansgr said:

I thought the 2nd line should be shit and stink

It isn't.

[thaibeachlovers]

IMO pretty arrogant to accuse an entire race of some deficiency of intellect.

If comparing cultures/ races, I know many in a western country that think sport is important, which to my mind is pretty ignorant, but I wouldn't accuse the entire country of being dumb because of it.

[mauGR1]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO pretty arrogant to accuse an entire race of some deficiency of intellect.

If comparing cultures/ races, I know many in a western country that think sport is important, which to my mind is pretty ignorant, but I wouldn't accuse the entire country of being dumb because of it.

Yes, but please don't accuse me of being dumb if i watch the football from time to time

[Just Weird]

On ‎9‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 9:23 AM, afsheen said:

I noticed that even if you talk about the most simple thing, thai people will often say either "You think too much",  "Not think too much" or "stop think, make headache"

 

Why are Thai people so against thinking? Is it something to do with Buddhism?

 

It's our ability to think that separate us humans from monkeys and other animals. If

Thai people are not "against thinking"!   "Don't think too much" is just an expression, the literal translation of a Thai expression, that means "don't get too serious about something that is not important".

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Thai people are not "against thinking"!   "Don't think too much" is just an expression, the literal translation of a Thai expression, that means "don't get too serious about something that is not important".

 

It is just a casual expression, as you described.

 

Of course, it's also reasonably possible that it's a casual saying reflective of a society that doesn't particularly teach or value introspection, critical thinking, detailed intellectual analysis of things, forward thinking on the likely consequences of actions taken, etc etc.

Edited September 30, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[mauGR1]

3 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

It is just a casual expression, as you described.

 

Of course, it's also reasonably possible that it's a casual saying reflective of a society that doesn't particularly teach or value introspection, critical thinking, detailed intellectual analysis of things, forward thinking on the likely consequences of actions taken, etc etc.

Be careful, the apologists will be not pleased with that

[simoh1490]

12 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Be careful, the apologists will be not pleased with that

That's not bashing, that's a well expressed opinion, there's a big difference.

[mauGR1]

9 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

That's not bashing, that's a well expressed opinion, there's a big difference.

You might be surprised, but i agree with you.

[Just Weird]

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

It is just a casual expression, as you described.

 

Of course, it's also reasonably possible that it's a casual saying reflective of a society that doesn't particularly teach or value introspection, critical thinking, detailed intellectual analysis of things, forward thinking on the likely consequences of actions taken, etc etc.

And, of course, it's just as reasonably possible that it is not a reflection of Thai society as you see it.