Nothing Good or Bad, but Thinking Makes It So

Drugs, cults, and suicide. Always been with us, it seems, so they must answer some need, some problem. The common thread is thinking. Our hominid ancestors never realized the price for being able to figure out things like sharp-ended sticks, using fire, and complex verbal communication would lead to ski chalets, talk shows, and nearly exterminating the carnivores that used to eat them for lunch. Or that their descendents would sometimes want to turn their brains OFF. Ever tried looking at text and not reading it? I can't do it. Same way with thinking. The little voice in your head never stops. Always wondering, am I happy? Did I do the right thing? Is there something I should be doing instead of this? Will it ever get better?

Even Conan Doyle had his character Sherlock Holmes seek refuge from boredom in drugs. How many animals get bored? Or commit suicide? I've never heard of any. (Cats with catnip and/or laser pointers fall into the drug category, I think.) Cults -- someone else does your thinking for you. Everything you do, say, wear, is prescribed. No thinking. Ah, but you do have to pick your cult first! But once that is over you can coast, as long as you avoid worrying about whether you picked the right one.

This need to channel thinking cycles could also explain the popularity of TV shows, crossword puzzles, and sudoku. Which I would definitely advocate (yes, even the TV shows) as a healthy, socially acceptable alternative to scrambling your brain mentally, physically, or chemically.