I'm not sure if there are any positive connotations with thinking backwards.
Usually, thinking backwards implies being stuck in outdated mindsets or an inability to adapt to new realities.
And one of the main causes of this is a lack of exposure to new ideas and perspectives.
For instance, stuck in your own ways when the world has rapidly evolved beyond that way of operating can be considered a form of backwards thinking.
How many modes of thinking are there, by the way?
Personally, I mostly experience two modes of thinking, generally. A centered and peripheral mode of thinking.
Centered mode of thinking is just taking a core topic and extensively exploring its depth and implications.
The other mode of thinking takes a broader, more interconnected approach, scanning the periphery for connections and patterns that might not be immediately obvious.
A good example of the former is deep diving into a specific subject like quantum mechanics, focusing solely on understanding its principles and mathematical foundations.
The latter is sort of my preferred mode of thinking as the mental picture in my head is of a web built by many connecting nodes.
Each node is a core topic and the web itself is a living map of knowledge, constantly expanding and reshaping as new connections form.
It's good to have multiple vantage points than a single fixed perspective when you live in an age where linear progress is more myth than reality. I think the complexity of our times demands a more nuanced understanding of change itself.
Circling Into The Future Through The Past
Ironically, what we often dismiss as 'thinking backwards' could actually be a valuable form of peripheral thinking - looking back to connect historical patterns with present circumstances.
Between the future and the past, I think more of the latter, trying to go as far back as to when the first chain reaction happened. This backward-reaching perspective isn't about nostalgia per se, although there's a good reason for that.
But just a preference towards understanding the DNA of ideas, tracing them to their origins to better understand their potential mutations.
Because history is repleted with patterns that echo through time, waiting to be recognized by those who know how to listen.
I mean, who could've known that ancient meditation practices would find new life in modern neuroscience, and scientist will recommend it for mental health improvements?
In this sense, real backwards thinking is just the narrowness of our vision. It makes little sense to limit ourselves to looking straight ahead, when we can have a panoramic view that includes both past and future, center and periphery.
The importance of maintaining a wider perspective that includes looking back as part of a broader pattern-recognition process can't be emphasized more strongly in an era that worships novelty over wisdom.
It's argued that as a modern civilisation, we've really not made much progress relatively compared to older civilisations and it bewilders me that we prefer chasing after 'innovative solutions' while overlooking centuries of accumulated wisdom that might hold the very answers we seek.
One of the purposes of 'looking backwards' is to engage circular thinking, exploring how patterns repeat and evolve across time.
The ability to see the full arc of an idea's journey through time.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.
