Conformity and Independent thought?

If I understand the description of this forum correctly, the title of my post is probably a good characterization of what is meant. I never heard the term "Magical Thinking". It was either Plato or Socrates who claimed to be the wisest man in Athens because he knew that he knew nothing, and if I understand the meaning of "Magical", that was probably the first magical thought in history. We (society) do tend to limit our thinking to words (semantically), but also egotistically and selfishly (our minds work the way we want them to). I never got to actually familarize myself with 'Robert's Rules Of Order' (for organized and productive discussions and meetings), but without mutual and unanimous agreement to keep a discussion reasonable and deliberately headed for a productive conclusion, we tend to have an underlying need to TAKE CONTROL of the discussion by subtly suggesting to and convincing the other person that they 'give in' (cringe, do our bidding) and develop a need to please us and seek our approval. Without the agreement, THAT becomes our priority and also becomes the limit of our intellect. We choose our words correctly (semantics). In any given situation, there may actually be a morally justifiable reason for doing such a thing, but the problem is, that if we do control the discussion in such a manner, we tend to make it a habit wherever we go, and there is a fine line between habit and obsession.

That is one way we limit our thinking,... simply by developing priorities contrary to productivity. (cowardly?..,.depends on the situation maybe).

COURAGE...Sometimes we are scared of exploring areas of thought that we are not familiar with and are scared of being WRONG, so we avoid unfamiliar ground.

As we are growing up (and our parents or guardian are taking care of us), it is much easier to be risk-takers and explore life and thought, but as we grow older, we tend to become more safety-concious. With every passing year, our insececurities are taken for granted and the joy of exploring fades (completely understandable if someone is married and has children, wouldn't you say? Well, that's each person's choice).

Very often, we choose to be indoctrinated by the most charismatic, congenial, cute, politically correct philosophy or the most popular and accepted motivational speaker.

The politicians and advertising agencies know that the best characterization of the masses is...
PEOPLE ARE FOLLOWERS.

Of course independent thought can be overdone by becoming obsessed with esoteric thought, but freedom cannot be realized without it, but in moderation, CAN be a blessing.

I say "CAN" because I'm not so sure that I would like to have done things differently and be a little less of an independent thinker because of it's social incompatibility (oh well, it's not a burning thought).

Whenever we make a decision, there are two things that should be taken into account,...the good of the individual (us) and the good of the group (society). But usually we only take our own (individual) good into account and selfishly cause society (or the group) to suffer misfortune (evil). It's not that we always want to cause evil, it's that we are in competition with each other to be as comfortable as possible and have ABUNDANCE rather than only our fair share.

Evil is illogical because it disrupts harmony. The devil is also called the 'god of confusion'. Whether or not you believe in the existence of a devil, it is human nature to NOT desire harmony.
My favorite MODERN (Copernicus and Galileo ALMOST LITERALLY changed the shape of the world) is Nikola Tesla. With the help of Albert Einstein, he engineered the "Philadelphia Experiment" in 1943 for the U.S. Navy, in which the USS Eldridge became invisible to the naked eye, not just invisible to radar, but VISUALLY invisible. Of course the Navy denies it, but then why did they keep the ship until 2002 when they sold it to a scrap metal company in the U.K.?

Before the experiment, the ship was teleported along the magnetic lines surrounding the earth from Norfolk in what is called "The Montauk Project". (I know I'm starting to sound like a nut, but check it out in bookstores and on the web).

He also built a tower in Long Island to BEAM electricity across the earth (power distribution), but it was torn down before the Dirst World War for security reasons. The house is still there.

Tesla gave us ALTERNATING current, Thomas Edison only gave us DIRECT current which was only able to be transmitted 5 miles without a booster station. Tesla had 900 patents worldwide, including an earthquake machine.

Check the links below.

http://www.tfcbooks.com/articles/tws8b.htm

The Philadelphia Experiment.