Associative Thinking

Xuefeng

Being able to grasp a particular phenomenon in the natural world, and then through that phenomenon, draw analogies, make inferences, and establish connections with other related factors is called associative thinking.

The most typical example of associative thinking is "Newton - Apple - Universal Gravitation." Newton, observing the common natural phenomenon of an apple falling to the ground, associated it with gravity. From gravity, he made connections to factors such as mass, velocity, and spatial distance, and subsequently derived the three laws of motion. This is an example of associative thinking.

The phenomenon of swirling water in a bathtub drain can be associated with the direction of Earth's magnetic field lines. The spiraling ascent of a bean vine can be associated with the direction of celestial bodies' movement. The natural phenomenon of wood floating and iron sinking on the water surface can be associated with buoyancy and the shipbuilding industry. The discontinuity observed in certain events can be associated with quantum mechanics. The concepts of motion, mass, and gravity can be associated with the curvature of spacetime. The role of consciousness can be associated with the holographic nature of the universe, and so on. All of these examples fall under the category of associative thinking.

A qualified detective can deduce the character traits, motives, and whereabouts of the parties involved from the smallest clues. A qualified forensic expert can infer the physical characteristics, facial expressions, and even the appearance and attire of the perpetrator from the victim's injuries and facial expressions. A qualified traditional Chinese medicine practitioner can identify internal organ disorders based on a patient's complexion. A qualified fortune teller, based on a person's facial features, can make predictions about their past actions, future fortunes, and misfortunes. A qualified feng shui master can assess the quality of a person's living environment based on their handwriting and habitual movements. A qualified politician can anticipate a dynasty's transition and the arrival of a new era based on common psychological and behavioral patterns among people. A qualified economist can predict stock market fluctuations, the future economic development of a company or a nation based on specific events. A qualified sociologist can associate the prevalence of prostitution, drug use, and organized crime with the loss of a nation's belief systems and moral values. Even a fashion designer can envision future clothing trends based on popular colors and the pace of people's footsteps on the streets.

Associative thinking possesses qualities of originality, inventiveness, novelty, and uniqueness. It is a divergent thinking process. Many people may appear to have associative thinking, but in reality, they are merely applying the associative knowledge of others or drawing from long-standing experiential summaries. For example, many farmers can relate the changing seasons to spring plowing, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage. However, this is not the result of their own associative thinking but a reflection of their accumulated experiences in their conscious minds. Similarly, many individuals can associate joint pain with changes in weather, which is the effect of knowledge and experience rather than the result of associative thinking. Many businessmen make decisions on what goods to import, or export based on regional differences, timing variations, and seasonal variations. Again, this is a result of experience (with few exceptions).

When we look at the professions of engineers, technicians, experts, scholars, ordinary detectives, doctors, economists, and others, it may seem like their work relies on associative thinking. However, in reality, they are simply applying the knowledge or experience acquired from education or accumulated through their work. For instance, Newton's association of an apple falling to the ground with the concept of universal gravitation is a result of associative thinking. But if a college student claims to associate an apple falling to the ground with universal gravitation, they are merely stating the knowledge they have learned, recounting Newton's discovery, rather than expressing their own associative thinking unless they have never heard of Newton or were unaware of the concept of gravity.

Strictly speaking, associative thinking refers to the type of thinking that leads to new discoveries, inventions, creations, and theories. In this sense, individuals who possess associative thinking are primarily scientists, inventors, forensic experts, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, fortune tellers, feng shui masters, exceptional politicians, military strategists, and engineers or technicians who can develop new products to some extent.

The individuals who primarily drive the slow progression of human civilization are those who possess the ability of associative thinking. Without them, the civilized society we have today would not exist.

Materialistic thinking is rigid thinking, while associative thinking is divergent thinking. It breaks free from the rigidity of materialistic thinking and surpasses the imitation and copying of image thinking. It directly extends its tentacles into unknown territories, leading to new discoveries and inventions, and finding new pathways. However, associative thinking still falls far short of truly grasping the profound mysteries of the universe. I can see this point from the thinking of great scientists such as Newton, Einstein, Planck, Hawking, and others. I also see it in the efforts of scientists attempting to establish a unified field theory of the universe.

For the entire human race, I hope to see a significant emergence of individuals with associative thinking abilities. This is because when it comes to transporting a 6-ton cargo from point A to point B, which is 800 kilometers away, an individual with associative thinking can simply drive a heavy truck and complete the task in a day. On the other hand, if we rely on individuals with material thinking, even if each person can carry 50 kilograms and walk 100 kilometers a day, it will still require 120 people and 8 days to accomplish the task. This approach would be wasteful, laborious, and inefficient. As for individuals with image thinking, they simply cannot achieve this task. From an artistic perspective, image thinking may be greater than material thinking. However, from a practical standpoint, when one is hungry, a steamed bun can provide sustenance, whereas a picture of a bun, no matter how realistic, cannot solve practical problems.

For Lifechanyuan members, I hope that everyone does not limit their thinking to associative thinking because associative thinking is still a lower-level form of thinking. It's like the situation where information needs to be exchanged between the two shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Materialistic thinkers would build ships and send people across, imagery-based thinkers would lay undersea cables, and associative thinkers would use radio waves. However, our approach is...