Why do you hear your thoughts?

At this very moment you are talking to yourself, in your head. Everything your eyes read, is translated in spoken words by a mysterious voice in your head. The one you hear right now. Yes, that one.

You can’t stop it. It’s not even worth trying. It’s impossible to get rid of it.

Why does the mind work that way? Every thought you have - so that must be like every second, all day long – is spoken by that voice in your head. And it’s not always the same voice. You can change that voice into every voice you want, every accent you want and every language you want (but you’ll obviously have to know the accent and/or language). I sometimes think in English or let that voice talk like a famous person. Why? Just because I like it and just because I can.  

We’re lucky we can control that voice, unlike schizophrenics. Different voices talking uncontrollable in your head at arbitrary moments. I can’t imagine how mentally exhaustive that must be.

I also wonder if people who are born deaf also have a voice in their head. I think they do, but I don’t know if they can also change the voice like we can. Do you know?

Six Word Story

Cognitive dissonance

I think you’ll all recognize this. You’re shopping and just bought an item that was on sale. Then you go to the next store where you see this great shirt or whatever. You look at the price tag and see it’s actually too expensive for you. But then you’re thinking: ‘Hmm, I just saved me some money on something that I would’ve bought anyway. So if you subtract the money I saved from that item, from this shirt, it’s actually not that expensive. I’ll buy it!’.

Or this: You’re on a diet and you’re not allowed to eat snacks. Then one day you have something to celebrate, like you passed all your exams you worked really hard for. And then you’re thinking: ‘I worked so hard for this, I now deserve a nice piece of pie!’.  

We all do it. We all sometimes try to justify our behaviour, feelings and/or thoughts. It’s called cognitive dissonance. Trying to talk something straight so you won’t feel guilty about your actions. It’s a natural habit I guess.

Think about all the things you tried to justify the past seven days. I’m pretty sure you can at least name one!

What happens when you're drunk?

I can't remember.

What if there were no drugs and alcohol?

Without drugs and alcohol there won’t be any (drug and alcohol) addicts, no rehabs, no liquor stores, no drinking games and probably less homicides, assaults, robberies and adultery. Would there even be bars and clubs?

Some people got famous because of their drinking and/or drug using habits. Or because of what the alcohol/drugs made them do. So without alcohol and drugs some famous persons would´ve never been famous and some things would’ve never been invented, some art works would’ve never been made.

Also some famous artists – apart from whether they would’ve been famous without the existence of drugs and alcohol – would’ve lived longer. Think about Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison and Herman Brood.

Without alcohol and drugs everything would be a lot different. It could save you from some embarrassing moments.
I think the world would be a lot better without it. But I guess we’ll never find out.

What if no one could die?

Not being able to die seems nice, don’t you think?

Well, think again.

If no one could die, that would be just weird. Imagine a world filled with people. So crowded, the only buildings are skyscrapers. Not the ones you´ve seen before. No, way higher. So everyone will have a place to live.  

If no one could die, everyone lives forever. So eventually there will be people at the age of 300 and older. What do they do? Probably laying down all day because they are too old to move. There’s just nothing else they can do! How awful that must be.

On the other hand, without the ability to die there will be no more suicides, no more homicides, no more funerals. People will dare to do more, because the fear of death is out of question.

But eventually (and pretty soon), the world will get overpopulated. Sources will run out. Life on earth will be miserable. They’ll probably figure out a way to let a part of the world population live on another planet. And then that planet will get too full, and so on.

In my opinion, death is a horrible part of life, but it’s a good thing it exists. 

What if everyone in the world spoke the same language?

If everyone in the world spoke the same language, the world would be more boring. Every culture would speak the same language, so no linguistic distinction. Communicating would be much easier though. No troubles explaining yourself in another country. Everyone can understand what you say.

That can also be a disadvantage. No more gossiping about that foreign guy while standing right behind him. One language also means no other languages. Wouldn’t that make school a lot easier?

If you ask me, I like having different languages in the world. It makes a country and its inhabitants more interesting. Trying to explain yourself abroad sometimes becomes a real challenge and I like that. It can be frustrating though, but most of the time creative communication will get you there.