Do you like theories? Asked this question, you will probably go like uh… this is too abstract. I need to think. Me: Quantum physics? Nah. Relatable stuff? Yes! Seriously, so ideas can kill your head, but they can also be a great catalyst for life itself!
Some theories are super complicated and you have to spend eons decoding them. Once you have done so you can proudly call yourself an expert in the field. Yes! Now no one can question your intellectual capacities and you feel so smart. Blam! Your self-worth meter bursts through the roof!
And then there are some theories that are actually relevant to you. Huh? What do I mean by this? Shouldn’t we equally treasure all theories? No, theories aren’t human beings. Theories help human beings. Thus, we must naturally value them differently. Huh, what you going on about, random internet person I’m reading for the first time?
Note: The above paragraph constitutes a theory.
Well, the thing is that some theories speak to your worldview. They make you look at your own life experiences and think: Hey… yeah, this is how things are. Hey… I never really thought about this before. Hmm… should I change the way I think, how I live a little?
The best theories are fun and empowering. Not preachy, prescriptive. Not boring, stifling. Acknowledging that different people have different perspectives, a dash of creativity there, a pinch of light-heartedness there… without further ado, let the hopefully-not-mind-blowing begin!
Stoppppppppp!
Hold your horses! You don’t just learn about stuff through theories! Okay, what are theories even anyway?
theory
/ˈθɪəri/
noun
- 1.a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained:
Theories are ideas used to explain stuff. But do insights come from a vacuum?! Well, that is plainly impossible. First, you must go out into the world and, in scientific terms, gather data. After that, you fit it into reality and gradually corroborate it. Then you see how true it is! Which admittedly may be quite gruelling…
What am I trying to say here? Well, theories are a mass of words and you must spend quite some time processing them. For theories that other people come up with, one of two things can happen. First, the theory is too complicated for you and your brain says k not even gonna bother bye. Second, the theory is broken down into simple language and you understand it. So you ‘input’ it into your system and see how it feels for you. Maybe it just rubs you the wrong way. Maybe you have this delightful feeling of everything just clicking together and, in your system of thoughts, said theory whizzes directly into your ‘truth’ folder…
Let’s pause here for a second. Did you realise? The paragraph above is a theory, one that I came up with in a few minutes! This is exactly how theories work. Based on your accumulated life experience, a coherent puzzle-piecing process happens in your mind and new insights on how things work are born. Voila!
At this point, are the gears in your mind whirring, I wonder?
To conclude, while theorising is fun and all, theories are a means to an end. There is another component – presenting information to be ‘inputted’ into the system…wait no let’s make it simpler. So in other words, you gotta think about them in order to apply them to your own situation. It may even be that the content presented to you is more description than theory. Hey but do you know, it is from here that your own insights can arise! Many ideas are born from being bounced off people, you know. One side supplies the spark, setting the other’s candle alight. Meta!
PS: Actually, who can even know what I’ll post yet?! I’m doing this for fun (at the very least the enjoyment of writing), so my imagination’s the limit. Do my worst, future me!!!
Comment from future me in September: Lol you know what, I actually had a quantum physics phase in the middle… Bite me!