A Theory of Thinking and Interpersonal Communication

This article explores the psychology behind thinking and communicating, subsequently proposing a pragmatic model for improving these processes. It begins from the consideration that we all operate very limited cognitive "machines": in an average lifetime, the human brain can theoretically store up to 0.0000084% (8.4×10⁻⁸) and consciously process some 0.0000000000512% (5.12×10⁻¹³) of the (digital) information that was ever created, captured or replicated by humans. Such a dismally low ratio between human cognitive capacities on the one side, and the total amount of existing information on the other means that thinking and communicating—especially on "difficult" topics such as warfare, politics or religion—usually involves unilateral or hypolateral thinking. This is defined as people's general tendency to ignore most of the existing information on any topic; to specialize only on information immediately available and; to use cognitive strategies and other cognitive meta-mechanisms to simplify thinking processes. On the basis of these considerations, the article proposes: (1) a logical proof of why most of our "objective" knowledge is in fact built from emotions and intentions, rather than from rationality and ontological proofs—suggesting that our "inner world" is the ultimate driver of the "outer world" as we perceive it; and (2) a model of hyperlateral or omnilateral thinking, whereby we consciously follow a technique to become aware of the existence of a multitude of perspectives on any one topic, a necessary precondition for meaningful thinking and communication to happen.