This weekend I had the opportunity to learn about a new concept: The Science of Thinking. I was able to finally attend the course offered by my friend Salvatore (Sam) Tignanelli.
Sam has elaborated a very convincing argument that our school system has missed (or purposely left out) the most important science. The science of thinking.
We grew up learning so many subjects. But we have never been taught how to think.
This is becoming increasingly important in the world. From biology class to history class, in today’s environment it seems the subjects could be taught any number of ways with so many different facts.
So it will become crucial that we (and our kids) know how to think. How to identify absolutes.
As another friend (Glenn) pointed out during this course, maybe this is becoming much more important today because so many absolutes were universally accepted in the past. But they no longer are today.
Like the controversial non-controversial concept that two sexes exists. Or the crazy concept that parents should be in charge of their children’s health or education.
It’s difficult when 80% of society thinks these concepts are up for debate.
Sam is a preacher but his course focuses on concepts more complex than simply religion. As someone who is not religious, I would say that this course has made me question many of the claims we were taught as self-evident in elementary and secondary school (they are not). He makes a very convincing argument that science and religion are not in opposition, as so many of us were likely mistakenly led to believe (probably to discredit those institutions).
As someone who grew up as a supposed Catholic, taught by today’s Catholic leaders, I became quite cynical of religion. In the last few years, I have become a lot more receptive to the ideas and teachings of the Bible. That is part of the reason why I was interested in Sam’s course. But I was mostly interested because Sam explores such an important concept that we have all taken for granted: How do we teach our kids how to think? The answer is so obvious and simple. We have to identify and teach truth. We have to get down to the basic absolutes.
I don’t want to get into too many details or spoil Sam’s course. But for those in Northern Ontario, please consider taking Sam’s course one day. Here is a short clip of Sam explaining his method.
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Excellent write up, I found the same value in the course. We have found ourselves at a critical cultural juncture. From global politics to our local institutions it feels like we are one event from watching them crumble. It feels like half our family and our neighbors and our leaders are speaking a different language at times. And in a sense both are true.
There are some hard problems to solve. What the course points to is that the answer is not forcing everybody to circle around one set of beliefs, but that we must take it upon ourselves to seek the truth that exists and share it as the foundation of our culture.
Our attempt wont be perfect but the process will much less difficult than the alternative and it is only workable political system.
Orienting around truth is the only way to point to our purpose. That purpose is always up. It is always the hardest hill to climb. But it is the only way to bring meaning to our lives.