All around me, people are running, exercising, keeping track of calories gulped down and kilograms built up. Keeping "fit" (or struggling to, at least in intent) is already more than socially acceptable - it's socially required. Alas, there is no similar requirement when it comes to being intellectually fit: nobody seems to mind lazy brains fed on pre-processed, stale, expired or even poisonous ideas. There is no "intellectual diet" advertised for a fitter brain, no "activities to avoid" for a brain detox, no "thoughts to ponder" for a thorough workout. And nobody seems to mind or even notice this lack.

Oh, there are, of course, lists and lists of banned ways to express one's ideas, the so-called political-correctness thing. While it certainly takes some brain-bending to still be able to think freely if you really focus that hard on all possible sensibilities of various people, I still don't think though that it counts as true fitness exercise for the brain. It's as if one would say that body fitness is best achieved by struggling to jog while not getting one foot in front of the other - as they are both equal, aren't they?

Political correctness temporarily aside (as it's a topic for a whole new post in itself), there are, certainly, occasionally, stale and generic statements brandished about: "I stopped watching TV at all" or "I don't ever read tabloids". Such statements imply of course that said activities that are avoided by the speaker are detrimental. However, they are never followed by a positive statement of action: instead of watching TV each evening, I'm using that time to learn about X or Y or I'm pondering the meaning of Z and T or I'm trying to figure out why is R or P.

Perhaps it is just an omission, perhaps intellectually stimulating activities are exactly what people do with their newly found time. But if that is so, the brain obesity issue is surely even worse than I thought: even with all that brain exercise, there is still no sign in public debates of individuals truly weighing the merits of each idea or searching themselves for true resolution to issues. And there is no sign that people even really want to do such thing: all that seems to be desired is uniformity and conformity. No breaking of rules, no heartfelt disagreements, no hot debates, no statement of the obvious if somebody might feel offended by it. We are all nice and very polite and very supportive and therefore we just nod and thank and shake hands and express amazement at the wonderfulness of it all. Or we search for something to be amazed of or at least in agreement with, as that's the only socially acceptable way to be.

Unfortunately, free thinking and a fit intellect are incompatible with the above ideal "supportive" and "nice" environment. Searching for meaning, exploring ideas, stretching one's own mind to comprehend more can be a messy process, with little regard for anybody's sensibilities or "rules of conduct". Much like any learning really. So be aware that intellectual fitness is likely to come with a serious dose of social disapproval: first for such a bizarre, unheard of way to spend your time and second for the inconvenience that you'll necessarily cause by trying to advance further than the current, comfortably familiar and stale, accepted set of thoughts and ideas.

Category: Sense and nonsense

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