These differences of thought-process are fascinating, suggesting some attributes of a person’s mental landscape can be completely different from our own. Unfortunately this makes it very difficult to properly empathise with people in very different mental states. I know someone who is anorexic and it is incredibly easy to fail to grasp the difficulties and think “just eat something” because their problem is entirely removed from my experiences. This happens despite the fact I know driven, productive people would say the same about my extreme akrasia and procrastination issues.
The inability to imagine minds other than our own may also be why well-meaning people mistake significant differences like homosexuality for something superficial one can just “stop” being (see HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster on TV Tropes). They have difficulty with the idea something so different could exist at all.
This disconnect presumably combined with humans’ general fear of difference or the unknown must make it considerably more problematic to have thought processes that differ from what is assumed to the norm.
These differences of thought-process are fascinating, suggesting some attributes of a person’s mental landscape can be completely different from our own. Unfortunately this makes it very difficult to properly empathise with people in very different mental states. I know someone who is anorexic and it is incredibly easy to fail to grasp the difficulties and think “just eat something” because their problem is entirely removed from my experiences. This happens despite the fact I know driven, productive people would say the same about my extreme akrasia and procrastination issues.
The inability to imagine minds other than our own may also be why well-meaning people mistake significant differences like homosexuality for something superficial one can just “stop” being (see HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster on TV Tropes). They have difficulty with the idea something so different could exist at all.
This disconnect presumably combined with humans’ general fear of difference or the unknown must make it considerably more problematic to have thought processes that differ from what is assumed to the norm.