Deep thinkers: negative or positive?

[Suzanne]

So, this is what I get called occasionally like: wow you are a deep thinker or you are so deep but I always see it in the negative sense or more to the point, I do not feel that I am being complimented. Further more, I honestly do not consider what I say is deep thinking!

I have this theory that it is because most people are uncomfortable with "deep thinkers" and thus, react.

 

[Tom]

I have often heard that or similar things. And sometimes I do think more deeply than many people I guess, but a lot of the time I am just spacing out or following random trains of thought. But I am not thinking deeply, I am just turning an idea over in my head like you do a smooth rock in your fingers, simply looking at it from different angles. I think because what I might say is strange or untypical, people sometimes mistake it for profound thinking. Or they go to the opposite pole and say something like 'Man, you are screwed up!'

 

[Jeffmoz]

In my mind i like to think I am Brainstorming, rather than spacing out or following random trains of thought. While I would not consider myself a particular deep thinker I do like to think outside the box and explore different avenues of thought process whenever the chance arises....

 

[Suzanne]

I have often heard that or similar things. And sometimes I do think more deeply than many people I guess, but a lot of the time I am just spacing out or following random trains of thought. But I am not thinking deeply, I am just turning an idea over in my head like you do a smooth rock in your fingers, simply looking at it from different angles. I think because what I might say is strange or untypical, people sometimes mistake it for profound thinking. Or they go to the opposite pole and say something like 'Man, you are screwed up!'

I have never considered myself getting spaced out; but yes, I can have random thinking my husband is usually the brunt of that lol

 

[NateSean]

Or when people say, "You're too intellectual for me," when I try to engage them in conversation. Hindsight Detectives like to call it a compliment. I prefer to call it what it is: A condescending pat on the head.

The other one is, "You're overthinking this." Usually followed when I point out a possible outcome that I actually have experienced, or at the very least is based on a realistic grasp of the situation. They may as well be saying, "If it doesn't effect me right here and now then there can't possibly be any reason to put more than a second's thought into this."

 

[Pondering]

I have been told 'calm waters run deep', referring to my mannerisms because I am extremely introverted. I look serious and deep in thought most of the time apparently and I seldom speak in public. I believe it is sometimes neither negative nor positive. Another way to describe one's personality type, percieved by others. I consider it to be a compliment because its like the other person is telling me I think a lot and think silently about many things though I don't show or verbalize them. Its about having a strong rooted personality that is not obvious from the outside. A deep thinker thinks before they speak usually.They feel their surroundings and contemplate meaning from many, many matters. A deep thinker may be an observer, also a good thing. But, this is just my opinion.

 

[Progster]

I think it's good to be a deep thinker, and I take it a as a compliment if anyone says this to me. I don't dress like most women my age do in this country; I dress for comfort and wear baggy clothes, have short hair and wear no make-up. I also stim quite a bit. For some reason unfathomable to me, some people take this as a sign of low intelligence. I often find that I'm ignored in conversations. So when people can see past this and take the trouble to ask my opinion on things and listen to me when I talk, I take that as a sign that they respect me for who I am. But it does have the disadvantage that I tend to overelaborate, overanalyse or overthink things, and that leads to worry. I can't stop worrying about things.

Someone once told me that he could see that I was very intelligent, because of how I was dressed differently. That meant a lot to me.

 

[Suzanne]

I think it's good to be a deep thinker, and I take it a as a compliment if anyone says this to me. I don't dress like most women my age do in this country; I dress for comfort and wear baggy clothes, have short hair and wear no make-up. I also stim quite a bit. For some reason unfathomable to me, some people take this as a sign of low intelligence. I often find that I'm ignored in conversations. So when people can see past this and take the trouble to ask my opinion on things and listen to me when I talk, I take that as a sign that they respect me for who I am. But it does have the disadvantage that I tend to overelaborate, overanalyse or overthink things, and that leads to worry. I can't stop worrying about things.

Someone once told me that he could see that I was very intelligent, because of how I was dressed differently. That meant a lot to me.

Well how funny because I am completely the opposite to you in that I have long hair and dress as a woman and am ignored often because I come across as an airhead; because of the way I dress and giggle a lot in shyness, I come across as very brainless, until ones start to talk to me and one said to me, once: if people took the time to get to know you, Suzanne, they would find a very intelligent woman.

However I have had it said before that surely with my type of work, I can help others out and I asked the chap what he meant and he said: well I assumed you taught people how to use computers and I laughed and asked what on earth gave him that impression and he just said: I guess because I find you intelligent! I said thank you very much but actually, I am no where near a wiz with computers and he laughed in surprise.

I should have said actually that people saying that I am a deep thinker etc, have been on line not in life. And I know they are saying I am too heavy with my chats.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

So, this is what I get called occasionally like: wow you are a deep thinker or you are so deep but I always see it in the negative sense or more to the point, I do not feel that I am being complimented. Further more, I honestly do not consider what I say is deep thinking!

I have this theory that it is because most people are uncomfortable with "deep thinkers" and thus, react.

So, this is what I get called occasionally like: wow you are a deep thinker or you are so deep but I always see it in the negative sense or more to the point, I do not feel that I am being complimented. Further more, I honestly do not consider what I say is deep thinking!

I have this theory that it is because most people are uncomfortable with "deep thinkers" and thus, react.

S, I am convinced that most people are intellectually lazy. Most folks are happy enough learning what to think and have little interest in earning how to think.
The rules of critical reasoning. They are simple and almost always separate the hard cold facts from the mushy warm turds. Simple things like Occam's razor, not infallible but simplifying enough that one can wrap their mind around the problem. Might be a good to get a thread started. Simple rules of thought for very bright people.

 

[plaidInBlue]

I've been asked recently if I knew about Occam's razor. I failed at providing a coherent answer. I like how Sigourney Weaver's character in the movie RedLights insinuates the principle. Were I able to cite her then, I would have said what she said (about horses or unicorns).

About getting called a "deep thinker", that's not something I hear from others. But then, I generally do not communicate what I may ponder upon when I feel, no, when I just think about those things.

There's a whole gamut, from the able, but lazy, and the willing but incapable. Just like autism is a spectrum, intellectual giftedness (or more generally, the tendency to seek intellectually satisfying activities (like thinking about something more abstract than whether if Kim Kardashian is pregnant or not)) is somewhere on a spectrum that also include those who get excited about pop culture (for lack of thinking about a wordplay involving plums and pruning).
I am sure that there's a lot of people who would feel frustrated, if not helpless, if they had to think about things in such a way as to enunciate novel characteristics that were previously unaccounted for. Mathematics is the art of thinking. Not everyone can be a mathematician. I am not a mathematician, but I don't feel intimidated when I see formulas. A lot of people are feeling intimidated (to not say afraid) when confronted with some ideas they can't understand. Probably because, as they need their world to be predictable so they feel secure, the perceived insecurity from what they can't even begin to manipulate, effect, if not overt hostility, at least an acknowledgment that they are powerless, by complimenting the person, for example.
If you can't beat them, join them (but only metaphorically ).

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

I've been asked recently if I knew about Occam's razor. I failed at providing a coherent answer. I like how Sigourney Weaver's character in the movie RedLights insinuates the principle. Were I able to cite her then, I would have said what she said (about horses or unicorns).

About getting called a "deep thinker", that's not something I hear from others. But then, I generally do not communicate what I may ponder upon when I feel, no, when I just think about those things.

There's a whole gamut, from the able, but lazy, and the willing but incapable. Just like autism is a spectrum, intellectual giftedness (or more generally, the tendency to seek intellectually satisfying activities (like thinking about something more abstract than whether if Kim Kardashian is pregnant or not)) is somewhere on a spectrum that also include those who get excited about pop culture (for lack of thinking about a wordplay involving plums and pruning).
I am sure that there's a lot of people who would feel frustrated, if not helpless, if they had to think about things in such a way as to enunciate novel characteristics that were previously unaccounted for. Mathematics is the art of thinking. Not everyone can be a mathematician. I am not a mathematician, but I don't feel intimidated when I see formulas. A lot of people are feeling intimidated (to not say afraid) when confronted with some ideas they can't understand. Probably because, as they need their world to be predictable so they feel secure, the perceived insecurity from what they can't even begin to manipulate, effect, if not overt hostility, at least an acknowledgment that they are powerless, by complimenting the person, for example.
If you can't beat them, join them (but only metaphorically ).

Occam's razor= keep it simple to find the most probable solution.

I agree with much that you say, I am sure many of us travelled similar paths. I am delighted that so many find their own path when they stop trying to appease their detractors. It's like the Stockholm syndrome,confirmation bias, and willful blindness rolled into a social meme that suppresses the genius that contributes disproportionately large amount of inventiveness to the general well being of humanity. Hoo Rah!

 

[umbrellabeach]

I was told by a friend once, after a few e-mails, that I'm very deep. I think she meant it as a mere observation. I've considered myself to be one for a long time and also considered it to be a good thing, so I was glad that someone else saw it too.
Come to think of it, she and I have been out of touch for a while. I should e-mail her again.