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Hello Dear Readers, Welcome to the weekly Sunday Synapse. Here we engage with ideas and trigger thoughts. Today I talk to you about how to understand the relevance of knowledge, how global schools of thought often intersect, and how to apply it! Read slowly and thoughtfully. Do not rush. Engage with the ideas. Let’s start the day off with some important philosophical quotes. Quotes are powerful for triggering wise thoughts. in just a few short words they trigger a depth of thought important for critical thinking (CT). Thought 1: Philosophical Quote "We do not act in order to acquire knowledge, but we acquire knowledge in order to act." (Aristotle, on the Western application of wisdom). “However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?” (Buddha, on the Eastern application of wisdom).
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The Application of Knowledge: The Objective View and Third Eye With around 15,000 followers on Threads, I sometimes now, as a social scientist, admit I use your comments as a form of data, knowledge, and source of understanding patterns. Every interaction holds lessons. I curiously examine and listen to your thoughts, words, perspectives, and feelings, exploring the assumptions and beliefs they reveal and observing how you perceive what I’m sharing. It enables me to reflect on my words and how you perceive my ideas, what I have explained well, and what needs work. This ever-evolving mutual interaction is a fascinating and wonderful privilege. Thank you. Once we step back from constant subjectivity in our encounters with ideas, words, and people, we gain a more objective view of the world. The Objective View Objective thinking is the practice of stepping outside our immediate perspectives, allowing us to view situations from an impartial stance. This “outside-in” approach is crucial for critical thinking (CT), as it helps us distance ourselves from biases and emotional reactions, enabling a clearer, more balanced understanding that leads to sounder, more effective decisions. This ability becomes incredibly powerful—almost as if we’re observing from above. Even we, as individuals, become subjects to our own observation. This, I believe, is akin to what’s meant by the "third eye"—perhaps you have heard of it along the way but it is a concept rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing what I think describes a form of objective thinking which we know is central to CT. Many lessons in philosophy, spirituality, and science are deeply intertwined; however, it takes a certain level of information literacy and knowledge confidence to recognize this. The Third Eye Let’s take a quick aside to unpack the concept of the “third eye,” which I equate to a form of feeling-based but “objective thinking.” While some may dismiss such mystical ideas, it’s essential to understand that true wisdom requires depth, knowledge, and curiosity, especially when considering complex ideas about reality. Within Hinduism, Buddhism, and esoteric traditions, the "third eye" is associated with intuition, perception, and spiritual insight. It’s believed to be a mystical “eye” located in the middle of the forehead, slightly above the eyebrows. This “eye” is considered a gateway to higher consciousness, inner wisdom, and enlightenment, allowing one to see beyond ordinary sight. Growing up in a Hindu family/community, I never truly understood or cared about the third eye. As a young migrant eager to assimilate into Western society, I prematurely and dismissively rejected what I then saw as the “fluff” of Hinduism. But with time and knowledge, the ignorance thawed and I’ve come to see the wisdom in such ideas not only for assessing my own reality but because it is popular with so many people, so it deserves respect as a way to understand. The Third eye and CT Physiologically, the third eye is sometimes linked to the pineal gland, which regulates sleep-wake cycles. Spiritually, “opening” the third eye is thought to enhance intuition and awareness, often achieved through meditation, mindfulness, and yoga practices. This approach enables us to “view from above”—to see reality with an objective eye. This objectivity is crucial to CT, where we not only rely on structured methods to seek the truth but integrate our reflexive human ability to see meaning in the world. It’s a reminder that seemingly different schools of thought often intersect, revealing wisdom that transcends cultural divides. In this way, I see Eastern and Western perspectives as deeply connected. We shouldn’t dismiss the mysticism of spirituality as incompatible with objectivity. The more I explore, the more I see that spirituality and rational thought are not opposing forces but rather complementary ones, each enhancing our ability to perceive the world more fully and objectively relevant to the human experience. As we observe human interactions online, we see people responding intuitively, reactively, and emotionally, often driven by feelings. What we need is a shift in our confidence with effective thinking—one that teaches us to balance objectivity with subjectivity and intuition with logic. We can’t simply impose objective thinking, as pure objectivity is impossible for humans. Yet, allowing unchecked emotional reactions leads to chaotic responses that harm societal cohesion—something we witness all too clearly online. What we need is a deliberate approach to thinking, one that connects emotional impulses with thoughtful balance. The Application of Knowledge In analysing online comments, I’ve observed a profound disconnect: many people can access objective knowledge but struggle to apply it purposefully in their lives. This reveals a deeper issue—the clash between acquiring information to critique or debate it, and the challenge of transforming that information into action. People get caught in cycles of bias and analysis without bridging knowledge with meaningful action. It’s a reminder that the purpose of knowledge isn’t just to know or judge but to understand and apply it in ways that make a real difference. This letter aims to guide you in using information meaningfully. For instance, a recent study of nearly 600 Australian parents found that although they understood the importance of risky play for child development, despite knowing this 80% of them still restricted their children’s access to activities involving risk. Instead, children are inside more and are discouraged from playing in ways that are deemed high risk like climbing, bike riding, and rough play. Mothers were found to be more afraid than fathers. We can make an intelligent assumption that this study applies to other societies at similar socio-political stages, including the United States. We know that healthcare costs are not a barrier, as Australia has free healthcare, unlike America. This highlights that the issue is not about healthcare access or costs—it’s a cultural shift. So here we have parents who know the importance of play for development yet do not find ways to make sure it happens. There’s no point in acquiring knowledge if it isn’t applied. A popular idea attributed to Aristotle is “We do not act in order to acquire knowledge, but we acquire knowledge in order to act." Today, knowledge seems to be used as a status symbol rather than a tool for engaging with the world. Knowledge has, unfortunately, become a socio-economic weapon—a tool for demonstrating privilege and elitism. Coming from a humble background where education was the highest privilege, I’ve always stood by those who couldn’t access knowledge freely. CT, Evidence and Applying Lessons to Our Lives Let’s look at an example of how CT and rationalism help us apply knowledge to better understand people and society. CT is a process, a structured, evidence-based method leading to thoughtful, beneficial conclusions. In academia and during a PhD, we learn to apply CT rigorously to avoid bias in our research. It is known that bias affects us as we navigate ideas. While bias can’t be fully eliminated, knowing it exists and can cloud comprehension and accuracy is important to reduce it. You may not be writing academic papers, but you interact with information constantly. So, we all need to consider how to use it effectively. Take this statistic: “Young men are statistically more likely to be involved in accidents and sustain physical injuries compared to other demographics. In the United Kingdom, individuals aged 17 to 24, particularly males, exhibit higher rates of road traffic incidents” (Department for Transport, United Kingdom, 2021). This single statement highlights a biological difference between young men and women regarding risk-taking in driving. Young men, due to their stage of brain development, tend to engage in riskier behaviours, which increases their chances of accidents. Social factors—like men being more likely to drive to work while women stay home with children—may contribute, but we know given the age-related spike (younger men versus older men) in risk-taking points to a biological influence rather than purely social factors. So, why should we care about this knowledge? Understanding this allows us to have meaningful conversations about risk, especially with young men in our lives. I have a son, and I’ve already begun these discussions. Having worked in a spinal cord injury unit for ten years, I saw more young male patients than any other group, often due to car accidents or violent incidents. I tell these stories in our home all the time. In my family, the kids somehow began referring to it as “human life stories”, where we share real stories in our lives but which have important lessons of good bad, right, and wrong to apply the teaching to the real world. By talking about risk and decision-making early, we empower young people to make informed choices. Discussing the biological differences between male and female brains can help them understand why these risks exist and why awareness is crucial. Recently, I’ve also been reading a lot about the shift in Western societies toward individualism. With increasing prosperity, people can afford to live alone, pay for separate amenities, and embrace individual lifestyles and do not need to sufficiently maintain familial connections to sustain this prosperity. While this independence has advantages—like autonomy and freedom—it comes at a huge cost. Individualism is distancing us from the communal lifestyles of previous generations, which provide social and emotional support through close connections. This shift away from communal living affects our mental health and social well-being. In individualistic societies, people have fewer social connections, less support, and increasingly isolated lives. Young people are spending less time outdoors and engaging in fewer meaningful conversations across generations. The evidence suggests that these trends are contributing to rising mental health issues. This is serious. With this knowledge, we can make immediate changes in our lives. We can reverse this by encouraging outdoor play, encouraging and maintaining social interactions, and creating spaces for social engagement. Personally, as a social scientist with young children, I together with my husband made the drastic decision to move from Australia—a highly individualistic society—to Croatia, where community cohesion is strong. Here, children are embraced by the community, and intergenerational interactions are commonplace. While Croatia’s economy may not match Australia’s, our children’s mental well-being takes precedence. You don’t need to move countries or to the other side of the world to make a difference. Small changes, like walking instead of driving, talking to people you meet along the way like neighbours, shop keepers etc, and allowing children to navigate social situations independently, can have a profound impact. Encourage your children to talk to neighbours, walk to buy bread, ask questions to figure things out for themselves and learn from interactions, and assess right from wrong through experience. Research shows that millennials (born 1982-2003) are less community-oriented, with researchers pointing to American society’s emphasis on individualism as a contributing factor. But this shift increases the risk of social isolation, loneliness, and poor mental health. We’re in an information revolution, yet we face an epidemic of information illiteracy and a crisis in organic wisdom. I really do not think science, evidence, and an abundance of literature are required to tell us what’s right but we lost touch with the social processes that aid our instincts. Instead, our instincts are causing us the biggest barriers and we are in a time of chaos and little order. So, for now, as we regain our knowledge confidence we must access and apply the knowledge available to our daily lives as though our mental health depends on it. why? Because it does and you do not want to take this any further than it has already gone. Thought 3 CT Activities this Week When you read some evidence or literature this week think about how to translate it to the everyday world. Break it down to see how you can use it to understand some daily events or processes as I did with the studies abive. Try to implement a change that will contribute positively as a result of the evidence you learnt. Choose to walk instead of driving to at least one place a week and create this habit without fail. On the way make it purposeful to say hello and connect with others. This will have a positive impact on you physiologically, mentally, and socially. Help someone in society without needing anything in return. Be attentive to the elderly and the young permanently.
That is it from me for today! Please send me an email if you have any comments, ideas, epiphanies, stories, or feedback, or please just send mail to say hello! Until next week… Esha. References Government of The United Kingdom https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-older-and-younger-driver-factsheets-2021/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-younger-driver-factsheet-2021 Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf Western Individualism and the Psychological Wellbeing of Young People: A Systematic Review of Their Associations https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/2/1/1 Australian Parents Averse to Risky Play (study details embedded in the article) https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/perth-mornings/kids-risky-play-decline/102925938
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