Omenchaca2014.weebly.com



Omar MenchacaMs. SkinnerEnglish 12B30 March 2014Thinking of a Different IdeaIndependent thinking is the main tool that humans have and are currently using to innovate and create a better world. Some of the most successful people where independent thinkers who came up with their own ideas by using their imagination and creativity. Everyone has their own opinions on what success and independent thinking is; why it’s important, and the way one achieves it. We can see different and similar views of independent thinking through the readings of Sherman Alexie, Sandra Cisneros, Barack Obama, and Albert Einstein.Sherman Alexie’s article “Superman and Me” shows the importance of independent thinking and his claim on how it can save a person’s life. Alexie supports his claim by first describing how he “learned to read with a Superman comic book” (Alexie, par. 1). He then states “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike” in order to show that the knowledge he is gaining from reading books is making him a dangerous person (Alexie, par. 6). Alexie shows his idea of how knowledge and independent thinking can changes the life’s of many Indians when stressing “Then there are the sullen and already defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows and ignore me with theatrical precision… "Books," I say to them. "Books," I say…I am trying to save our lives” (Alexie, par. 8). Alexie knows that kids can be successful by reading books; just like him.Similar to Alexie’s belief on independent thinking Sandra Cisneros believes that education is very important and allows people to become better independent thinkers. Cisneros explains how she was the only daughter of seven children and how it “was good for a would-be writer—it allowed [her] time to think and think, to imagine, to read and prepare (her) self” (Cisneros, par. 3). She claims that her father never gave her the credit she deserved because she didn’t get married in college when stating “my father thought college was good for girls—good for finding a husband” in order to show that obtaining an education is something students should want to do for themselves to get more knowledge (Cisneros, par. 4).Barack Obama’s understandment on independent thinking and success is a combination of Sherman Alexie’s reading and Sandra Cisneros education. He believes that people need to go to college and get educated, but you need to “keep your eyes open and stay awake”; don’t let all the knowledge change your beliefs and the way you think (Obama, pg. 97). Obama takes a different approach when reading a book; when asked, why is he reading a book that is racist against blacks he responds “because the book teaches me things….about white people, I mean. See, the book's not really about Africa. Or black people. It's about the man who wrote it… to help me understand just what it is that makes white people so afraid”. This shows Obama is an independent thinker. He uses a book to study the author’s way of thinking; to “help [him] understand how people learn how to hate” (Obama, pg. 103)The importance of independent thinking can be explained by the man who changed the way many physicists think and see the world, Albert Einstein. He became successful through his own ideas and not those of others. One of his ideas that changed the physics world was his equation on relativity (E=MC2). He saw time and space much different than the physicists of his time. Einstein was an independent thinker who proved many past theories wrong; including one of Isaac Newton’s that “light was made of particles, in exchange for one that presented light as being made of particles and waves” (anonymous). Einstein’s opinion on independent thinking is seen as more critical when he states “The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgment should always be placed foremost, not the acquisition of special knowledge” (Einstein’s, pg. 62). He believes that being an independent and obtaining/ learning the knowledge on your own is more valuable than getting thought the knowledge by someone else. My thoughts on Independent thinking are similar to Obama’s and Einstein’s. I believe Independent thinking is what drives people to success. Independent thinkers don’t need anyone or anything to get them going on new ideas; they often think outside the box. To be a good independent thinker you don’t just need to be creative, but you need to neglect what everyone else thinks is impossible and believe it is possible. Independent thinking is definitely a skill people need to obtain. Mostly everything you see around you was thought of by independent thinkers such as Albert Einstein. Without independent thinking our society would not advance and there would be no change. Independent thinking helps everyone come up with different ideas; all people are able to think differently. You need to be able to be flexible.We can see that Sherman Alexie, Sandra Cisneros, Barack Obama, and Albert Einstein all have interesting points on independent thinking and how you achieve it; however, it doesn’t mean that is the only way to achieve it and you may also have your own opinions and thoughts on what on the concept. It is not easy to become an independent thinker; like any other skills you have to put in time and effort to develop it. Work CitedAlexie, Sherman. "Superman and Me." Los Angeles Times Apr.-May 1998: 1-2. Print.(Alexie)Cisneros, Sandra. "Only Daughter." Latina: Women's Voices From the Borderlands. Ed. Lillian Castillo.N.p.: n.p., n.d. 1-2. Print.(Cisneros)Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. New York: Three Rivers, 2004.Print.(Obama)American Masters. "Albert Einstein - How I See The World." PBS. PBS, 16 Aug. 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2014(Einstein)Anonymous. "Albert Einstein on Generalizable Knowledge and Critical Thinking." A Christians SpiritualJourney. Lambfollower, 16 Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.(Anonymous) ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download