Reading the introduction is not necessary. Feel free to skip to the first chapter.

Introduction:

This will consist of three parts. This fist part will cover free thought; the second will more than likely include rationality and emotional maturity, which I have found in my own experience, go hand in hand; the third will include creativity and original thought, probably emphasizing imagination and innovation. There may or may not be more. I will also be doing all of this in an understandable language; and I'll do my best to keep it from getting too extended and stretched out.

Before I begin, I would like to state that I do not claim to be intellectually superior to anyone. Nor do I claim that areas covered in this is the direction all thinkers take. Intelligence, creativity, and cognition in general are all major interests of mine. I observed, I studied, I thought, and now I write. I am not trying to be condescending.

I plan to cover the forms of intelligence that are of utmost importance to me. I will not cover the kind of intelligence that will make you a historian, computer programmer, or famous musician. Those you can do on your own. The forms of intelligence I will cover are more like backbones. Without them, you will never be able to stand up straight without help.

Chapter One: Freedom

As always, it’s very important to define one’s terms. Going right over to , I have found the following definition on "freedom":

1 the quality or state of being free: as a the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another INDEPENDENCEc the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous freedom from care

This definition works particularly well, because I feel that to be free thinker is synonymous with being an independent thinker (when I say free thinker, I am not referring to the philosophical doctrine known as “Freethought“).

Let us pretend for a moment that your mind is a large group of people. Specifically, a group of revolutionaries fighting the good fight against a corrupt government. Let the government and all its branches be anything and everything that keeps you suppressing your thoughts, therefore destroying your full potential as a human being. This metaphor is no coincidence. Thought is war. It will leave you fulfilled and satisfied at the price of depression and loss. That’s what it is to be a free thinker. The first and most important step is to be willing to accept the negative thoughts along with the good thoughts. You must not filter them. This is a very common mistake. And on the occasion that the circumstances are too obviously negative, many people drown themselves in optimism.

The source of this, I suppose, is parents. They keep their children blind from all the terrible things in the world, and raise them to have a optimistic attitudes. I’m not saying this is bad. In fact, if I ever decide to have children, I will raise them the same way. The problem is many people never grow out of this form of thought.

Second, don’t ever be afraid to question what you know. At night, question the knowledge you gained throughout the day. Actually, question the all the knowledge you’ve ever gained. Think about how you’ve learned what you know. Do you know it because “everyone does,” or is it truly justified? When you wake up the next morning, question reality and your beliefs. Do you perceive the world around you the way you do because you were told to do so? Or do you have a good reason? That day, question all information received and evaluate it to decide how you want to perceive it. These are just starters. If you want to dig further, I suggest you look into epistemology and critical thought. Just remember, don’t avoid those negative thoughts. They can be true too.