TED Conversations

Donna Karlin

President, A Better Perspective Executive and Political Leadership Coaching

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

What aren't you thinking of?

We are often so focused on looking for answers or being right that we don't allow ourselves the luxury of looking at what isn't evident. What AREN'T we thinking of? What DON'T we know? Who do we need to know who we don't know?

Topics: Thoughts behavior mental processing thinking
0
Share:
progress indicator
  • thumb

    Erol Toksoy 10+

    • 0
    Aug 19 2011: We are not thinking of what we spend costs more than we deserve.

  • Julie Ann 10+

    • 0
    Aug 19 2011: We are generally not thinking that we are standing on the surface of a "ball" which is in space, rotating at approximately 1,500 km/h (depending on latitude), and hurtling around the Sun at over 100,000 km/h!
  • thumb

    lynn eschbach 30+

    • 0
    Aug 18 2011: Dark Energy . . . I understand it is that in which we live, like fish in water. Can you imagine the fish not thinking about the water in which it swims??
  • thumb

    Debra Smith 200+

    • 0
    Aug 18 2011: We don't know what we don't know.
    • thumb

      Donna Karlin

      • 0
      Aug 18 2011: That is evident. The qiuestion is, how often do we take the time to ask the question "what don't we know" to look beyond what we already know.
      • thumb

        Debra Smith 200+

        • +3
        Aug 18 2011: I do it consistently. While my statement appeared self evident it was meant to challenge ourselves as you are doing. I often ask experts 'what do I not know enough to ask you in this circumstance?'
        That question and the humilty that the expert percieves in it often opens up whole areas of information that is relevant to my inquiry and to the ultimate solution of the problem at hand. Often, the expert is the unnoticed front line person, the scientist who speaks in technical terms, or the healthcare professional that understands far more than most of us do. By inviting them to share their specific knowledge in the context of the situation- I learn a lot.
    • thumb

      Krisztián Pintér 200+

      • 0
      TED Translator
      Aug 19 2011: there are a lot of things we know we don't know.

  • Andres Ricardo Chamarra

    • +1
    Aug 18 2011: I don't know what I'm not thinking of, I'm not thinking of it :P

    I think most of the time we "normal people" can only think of the concepts, problems, needs, and ideas that are rather in front of us one way or another, thinking of something you are not directly or perhaps indirectly affected by in only a couple of degrees of separation is a rather genious quality.

    This is why TED is so important, here we are all thinking of something that somebody else isn't, and by saying what we are thinking of we might get others to think of it as well an vice versa.
  • thumb

    dong xinliang

    • +1
    Aug 18 2011: There are so many thing that need us to search for. What we have known is just a metre in the whole equator.
Showing all 10 comments