Directed Freewrite Pg. 96

A thought, an idea, a belief, a hypothesis, a theory, a dream, consciousness.... are they one and the same? They seem to be. According to Francis Crick, consciousness is "attention and short-term memory" (Hazen 94). In my "humble opinion" this is also how I would define an idea or a thought. But I believe they can be broken down further while holding onto the broad definition given.

A thought floats in your immediate attention and consciousness. Sometimes it is something simple like "I need to go grocery shopping" or sometimes it is more complex such as when you are taking a test and trying to retrieve answers. Thoughts many times are focused on memories. Obviously you can have thoughts on what is happening in the here and now, such as the ridiculous amount of homework your teacher just assigned you or about the growling noises your stomach is making. A larger question is where do thoughts arise from? It seems that we draw on previous experience and memory to be able to have the conscious thoughts we do.... Or else how would we know that the amount of homework we have is ridiculous with out having previous homework loads to compare it to?

Personal views and beliefs seems to be the more detailed meaning of an idea. Ideas are often tied to a group that holds common views. The Republican and Democratic parties would be two groups that are defined by ideas. Some very different ideas yes, but each group forms their identity around the ideas that they hold to be true. Morals come into play with ideas because to have an idea is to have an opinion and most often our opinions our tied to our moral beliefs. Ideas seem to also be tied to memory. Many times one draws their ideas from their experiences, whether good or bad. For example, if a person had a car accident because they were texting they may have the idea to never text and drive again (good choice) and they will strongly advise others against it, perhaps even advocating against it and voting for laws banning it. Ideas help people make a better world!

As is evident, narrowing down the definitions for thoughts and ideas is possible, but not easy. They are two very different things but very closely related and often mistaken as interchangeable. While thoughts can be about really anything and may even encompass ideas, ideas have much more to do with a person's views and beliefs. The differences between thoughts and ideas are very intriguing and bring up their own sets of thoughts and ideas.