Logic, Imagination and Deduction

782 Words2 Pages

Logic, Imagination and Deduction

"Quit your day dreaming"

"Mr. Gies, are you still with us?"

"Hello!"

These are some of the common inquisitions I heard while trying my best to pay attention during elementary school classes. It seems that I had some issues with staying on task. Perhaps it was a problem that I would outgrow, or at least be able to control, but as the years went on by I found that time did not change me. What a break! It turns out that using my imagination has helped me numerous times in solving networking issues, writing code, troubleshooting electronic devices, and designing complex systems. So are critical thinking, logic and deduction, and problem solving learned skills? Or are they simply tied to ones ability to imagine. Although genetics may play a role in the degree to which an individual can imagine; I believe imagination can be a skill that is developed and is directly proportional to ones ability to use logic and deduction when solving complicated problems.

So who does all this imagining anyway? Bronowski, in his essay, "The Reach of Imagination", states, "To imagine is the characteristic act, not of the poet’s mind, or the painter’s, or the scientist’s, but of the mind of man" (Bronowski 461). It seems that this act of imagining is for all mankind. You’ve probably heard the phrase "right brained people". These are the artsy, imaginative, creative types that seem to dominate media venues such as TV and radio, and because of this visibility it would be easy to assume that’s where all the creative people hang out. I think that assumption is way off track. Plenty of highly imaginative technical experts are discovering great solutions to all kind of problems. Architects designing buildings to...

... middle of paper ...

...ion is controlled by conditioning and experiences. Life and its experiences have far more to do with ones ability to imagine then the physical makeup of your genes. I do, however, believe that problem-solving correlates directly to one’s ability to imagine. As I write the conclusion to this essay I find my self imagining a multitude of other things. I imagine how the essay will look printed, did I get the point across, and will it be received well. A quick reflection back in time and I hear a voice from the past saying "Mr. Zimmerman, are you with us?", "Mr. Zimmerman, stay on task", and only now can I safely say, "No. I think I’m just going to think for awhile". Imagine that.

Works Cited

Katherine Anne Ackley, Perspectives on Contemporary Issues

Bronowski Jacob, The Reach of Imagination

Hoffmann Roald, The Chemist

Ridley Matt, The Year of the Genome

Open Document