Why Many People Don’t Think
Thinking is rare.
Thinking is valuable.
Yet so few people truly do it.
In my previous column, I explored why thinking matters.
Now I wonder: why are so many people unwilling to think, even when they can?
We see it all around us.
People who are competent, diligent, even reliable—
but they avoid thinking.
They execute tasks well,
yet rarely question the essence of what they’re doing.
They seldom take initiative to go further.
Using their brain feels like a burden.
So they choose not to.
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Often, it’s not ability that’s missing—it’s habit.
Many of us grew up being taught to obey.
Parents and teachers made choices for us:
schools, paths, decisions.
Our job? Work hard and execute.
Ask “why”? Rarely.
Have your own ideas? Discouraged.
Over time, the ability to question, judge, and choose fades.
Without practice, thinking doesn’t grow.
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I later reflected on a line from
Mencius·Teng Wen Gong I:
“Those who exert their minds rule others; those who exert their strength are ruled by others.”
It’s a reminder: thinking and laboring are different paths.
The ability to think isn’t innate—it must be allowed, nurtured, and practiced.
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So how do we cultivate it in the next generation?
1. Give them space to choose.
Even small decisions matter. Let them decide, let them experience consequences.
2. Ask more, answer less.
Encourage reasoning. Let them explain, adjust, and form their own judgments.
3. Allow mistakes.
If wrong answers are punished, thinking shuts down.
4. Expose them to the real world.
Let them see that choices have consequences, that judgments matter.
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Many people aren’t incapable of thinking.
They’ve simply never been allowed to.
Education’s true purpose isn’t only to help someone do things well.
It’s to raise someone who, even without guidance,
can judge direction, make choices amid uncertainty,
and take responsibility for the outcomes.
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In the end, what determines how far a person can go
isn’t how many things they’ve done.
It’s whether they can think for themselves
in a world without standard answers.