A Poison Apple

Logic, when used correctly and when used in its intensive purposes- for coming to rational conclusions- is one of the most amazing ways to think about the world. It allows for us to make confident conclusions and gives us safety in our actions. But logic takes a great deal of thinking to make sure it's correct. There are literal terms for the way logicians think, but I want to apply this in a common way, so everyone can see better what I mean; instead of premises, I want to say factors- every element that plays into a situation that you have to consider before you can make a conclusion, or decision.

To use logic correctly, you have to think about every factor, and perhaps even every factor of the factor, such as WHO is involved, and then what about that WHO might be motivating them, or how that WHO has acted before in similar situations, or how well you know that WHO. And thought logic has a lot of thinking to go with it, a lot of these parts can be done quickly. More often than not, it's safe to trust your own grasp of the situation, your own understanding of a person, and your own subconscious sorting of these factors. That being said, you should only trust them if it follows logically to do so.

And this is the problem. With so much time to think, and with giving myself so much time to think, all of these apples have fallen for me to examine and think about. Somewhere along the way-particularly, I think, when someone whose intelligence I had faith in made me question my confidence- I bit a poison apple. I began to overthink. And this, if anything, is the poison of thought.

Questioning the world is not only a great thing for all of us to do, but the world requires that we do it. Self-reflection is one of the greatest ways to gain perspective on a situation or relationship. But the moment we take it too far, the moment we question our questioning, we begin to falter. Questioning ourselves where before we made confident decisions can begin to alter reality and change ourselves for the worse. The moment I began to question why I did something that I was confident about doing is the moment I started to feel wrong about how I was acting, and in fact the results of everything I did began to change.

Questioning every simple thing is the danger of philosophy. If we question something, then question that questioning, and continue on in this way, what sort of reality can we see? Where is our grounding? What basis to we have any more to question at all? Everything begins to warp into an infinite loop, where every thought is dissected so thoroughly, that which made it your thought to begin with is gone. All of the confidence and personality you put into that thought in the first place is gone, replaced with what can only be superficial and timid- lacking in ability from lacking in confidence.

I think it's very easy to recognize the difference between a thought that is naturally and confidently ours from the one that has been overthought and is full of questions and doubt. Unfortunately, it's also true that as soon as we know the difference, we've experienced the latter, and when the mind is trapped in that form of thought it is nearly impossible to get out. In fact, the only way to stop the poison from spreading further is by stopping thought altogether. Because when you recognize your thoughts are foreign and out of place, you get frustrated and try to change it, and you use the same thoughts to try to change it. You question why you have to be stuck there, why you have to think these ways, and get stuck again in the infinite loop.

Poison is classically something that sets in slowly and does its damage over time. The antidote stops the spread and ensures you won't die, but it does not cure you instantly; similarly, recovering from overthinking is not a quick process. Great control must be had, and great confidence even more so. We, who have the ability to think, the ability to conclude, and the power to act, need to be reassured by that ability and power, and let logic do its work. Logic lets us come to final conclusions on which we can be sure. This poison exploits our thoughts and seduces us into thinking farther than is necessary, and it can destroy not only the mind, but our personality as well. It is the hardest line to walk as someone who thinks about this world from every aspect and with every detail. But logic is there to serve as the antidote to this poison apple. Somethings in this world, my friends, are as simple as a straight line of perfect logic with a final conclusion. We can all be sure of that.