Think for Yourself

1 Thinking for yourself is still a radical act.

2 Thinking for yourself is not a popular activity, though it should be. Every step of real progress in our society has come from it. But in most circles, particularly in places that shape our lives – families, schools and most workplaces – thinking for yourself is regarded with suspicion. Some institutions thwart it on purpose. It can be seen as dangerous.

3 I was reminded of this sad fact at a party when a fellow guest asked me the subject of a book I was planning to write. I told him that it was about how people can help each other to think for themselves. “Oh dear,” he said, “I don’t think much of that; I much prefer people do as they’re told.” I later found out that he is the fourth-generation president of one of the largest oil companies.

4 When was the last organizational vision statement you saw that included the words “… to develop ourselves into a model environment in which everyone at every level can think for themselves”? For that matter, when was the last time somebody asked you, “What do you really think, really?” and then waited for you to answer at length?

5 This dearth should not surprise us. Hardly anyone has been encouraged, much less trained, to think for themselves, and their teachers and parents and bosses weren’t either. And neither were theirs. (We may have learned to revere thinkers like Socrates, but we also learned that the state poisoned him for thinking for himself: not unmitigated encouragement.)

6 Occasionally, however, we do have a teacher or mentor who truly wants us to develop our own thinking. They give us glimpses. When I was 13 years old, I was put into an advanced algebra course. On the first day the teacher, who was maligned by students as a hard teacher because she tried to get them to think, stood in front of the blackboard and said, “On the paper in front of you write the sum of a number.”

7 The entire class of 35 pubescent people just stared at her. She repeated the direction, “Write the sum of a number.”

 8 I remember my hand gathering sweat around the pencil. A few heads looked down and their pencils started up. I wondered what in the world they were writing. I saw the girl across the aisle from me lean forward and peer over the shoulder of the boy in front of her who was scribbling something. Then she scratched a figure and immediately covered it with her hand.

9 The teacher paced and rubbed the chalk between her fingers. I wondered what she was about to put on the board. I was now the only one not writing. I leaned back and over my left shoulder whispered to my friend, “What is it?”

10 “Seven,” she whispered back.

11 So I wrote “7” on my paper. I kept my head down, hoping I looked busy and confident.

1  Thinking for yourself is still a radical act. (Para 1)

The word “still” shows the writer’s impatience – after all this time we are still thinking like sheep (盲目从众、没有主见的人) and following what everyone else does or thinks.

  2  … particularly in places that shape our lives –families, schools and most workplaces –  thinking for yourself is regarded with suspicion. (Line 4, Para 2)

The idea behind this sentence is that our lives are significantly influenced by places or social institutions like the family, school or workplace. For example, parents tend to make life choices for their children, schools make students wear uniform and obey the teacher, and most companies want their workers to follow regular procedures and not to express their opinions.

3  I later found out that he is the fourth-generation president of one of the largest oil companies. (Line 7, Para 3)

The writer was shocked that a person in such a senior position should have such an opinion and prefer obedient employees to thoughtful ones.

4   When was the last organizational vision statement you saw that included the words … ? 

      (Line 1, Para 4)

The answer expected is that it is very rare for vision statements to say such things, even though the writer thinks it is what every organization should be aiming at.

5  (We may have learned to revere thinkers like Socrates, but we also learned that the state poisoned him for thinking for himself: not unmitigated encouragement.) (Line 5, Para 5)

This is an example of irony: The expression is far too mild; clearly killing someone, ie Socrates, is very powerful discouragement to others who intend to follow him. 

not unmitigated encouragement: not a completely good encouragement

6  The entire class of 35 pubescent people just stared at her. (Line 1, Para 7)

The rather strange alliterative (头韵的) expression “pubescent people” instead of the more normal “teenagers” adds a touch of humour.

7  After the agony among us had become tactile, … (Line 1, Para 12)

The teacher drew out the event, creating suspense, and at that moment the tension in the classroom could even be touched. This is an exaggeration as agony cannot actually be touched, though sometimes physical symptoms are visible, eg sweating when strained.

8  I knew that. (Para 13)

Note the absence of quotation marks. This dialogue is not between the child and teacher but in the child’s head.