What is Thoughts: Definition and 362 Discussions

Thought (or thinking) encompasses a flow of ideas and associations that can lead to logical conclusions. Although thinking is an activity of an existential value for humans, there is still no consensus as to how it is adequately defined or understood.
Because thought underlies many human actions and interactions, understanding its physical and metaphysical origins and its effects has been a longstanding goal of many academic disciplines including philosophy, linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, biology, sociology and cognitive science.
Thinking allows humans to make sense of, interpret, represent or model the world they experience, and to make predictions about that world. It is therefore helpful to an organism with needs, objectives, and desires as it makes plans or otherwise attempts to accomplish those goals.

View More On Wikipedia.org
Recent contents Top users
  1. T

    Having second thoughts about my major

    I'm going to proceed to give enough background information as possible to help inform any advice. Basically, I picked a major and now I'm in third year I'm second guessing it. This link gives a list of course codes for courses I will be taking if you need specifics...
  2. H

    How Does Gravity Influence Ring Structures and Tidal Effects?

  3. R

    Embracing Death as a Natural Part of Life: A Scientist's Perspective

    thoughts on death... revisited Zen master Shunryu Suzuki Roshi once said, "You will always exist in the universe in one form or another." For an existentialist, this is easy to understand without having to resort to things like reincarnation, a soul that survives death, or any other similarly...
  4. M

    Fundamentalists/Atheists: Thoughts on Death

    Since most of us here are fundamentalists/atheists, I was wondering what you guys think abut death. Do you guys fear it? Have you guys accepted death? I sometimes start thinking and to know it is inevitable it's hard to assimilate. I was wondering what was your philosophy of death.
  5. N

    Ticking Clock and Pendulumn Thoughts

    So I was sitting on the toilet earlier (not needed, I know lol) and the chord for the bathroom light just happened to be swinging back and forth; I also noticed the clock to be ticking. At one particular moment, the chord for the light was swinging in sync with the ticking of the clock and...
  6. N

    Quantum Entanglement: Exploring Its Uses in Tech

    Hello, I'm new to the community here at Physics Forums. I am an undergrad double majoring in mathematics/computer science. I will soon be enrolled in a double masters for both math and comp sci...and eventually would like to enroll in a physics PhD program. Well then, enough about me...here...
  7. I

    Quantum Physics & Measuring Thoughts & Emotions

    Can quantum physics measure our thoughts and emotions? Is there or if any a formula to measure this energy? I was just thinking about the trouble in the unification of Quantum and relativity would be like our body. Relative physics would govern the physicality of our body and I am not sure if...
  8. S

    Having second thoughts about my course

    Hey everyone, As the name of the thread suggests, I'm having second thoughts about my BSc degree. I'm studying a nanotechnology course, and yeah i know that probably sounds cool, but what deters me is the fact that it's my second year, i have 2 nanotech units, and neither of them have...
  9. Z

    Is Color Perception Truly Universal?

    I got two different things here so bare with me. First let's start with colors. What if the color blue or at least the color you know as blue is really the color red to me or black to the next guy. you may see blue i may see red but i call it blue and you call it blue because its the same...
  10. E

    Some thoughts concerning backgroun radiation

    Concider a patch of the universe where there is only negligible gravitational curvature. In this patch, SR applies. We know therefore that there is no preferred intertial motion there. But with background radiation taken into the picture, that seems not to be the case anymore. I've read the...
  11. C

    Exploring the Universe: The Impact of Black Holes on Time and Matter

    Hello I've been doing a lot of thinking about black holes, dark matter and all this great stuff. I consider myself more of an idea man since I'm better at understanding concepts rather than being able to do the math that allows the concepts to exsist. Not that I don't think I could I just...
  12. S

    My thoughts of evolution and help me to correct them.

    DELETED because of immature thinking :(
  13. D

    Medical Experiment to test variation in light perception (thoughts?)

    So I'm planning a senior honors thesis that'll start next summer. In my last post, I talked about testing magnetoreception, which is kind of risky. Another idea of mine is to take human subjects into a dark room, use filtered light to produce light at increments one 1 nm, and note the longest...
  14. 1

    Schools Grad school in something else after BS math, thoughts?

    To anyone that did: How was your transition? What grad school and area did you choose. Thanks! I'm majoring in applied math bc I like math but don't know what I want to do. I'm finishing my sophomore year at a top school, still undecided. I was following an engineering track, took 1st yr...
  15. F

    Share Your Thoughts: An Idea to Consider

    This really is just an idea, but I want to hear what you think.
  16. D

    Thoughts on genetically modified organisms/crops

    I'm doing a paper on this topic. Just wondering what everyone's thoughts on genetically modified organisms/crops. If you could, please answer the following questions: 1. How often do you have corns or soybeans or cotton seed oil or foods containing these ingredients (such as corn cereal...
  17. O

    Medical Concerning thoughts in my head.

    Hi, I have this thing where if I see someone this really negative thought about them will pop into my head about them, independent of my will, and it's growing in consistency. It'd be something awful like "you're so ugly" or "wow you're fat". Really disgusting stuff. It's turned into like a...
  18. E

    Energy & Momentum: The Effects of Photons on Stars

    Scenario 1: A photon is traveling straight towards a star. As it goes deeper in the star's gravitational well, its frequency grows, coresponding to an increase both in energy and momentum. Scenario 2: A photon is traveling towards a star, but not head on. As it passes the star, its path...
  19. T

    Fall Schedule 2010. Opinions and thoughts?

    Hi, guys. This is my schedule for the coming up fall. Appl Differential Equations I Intro to Number Theory Foundations of Math Advanced Calculus I I know it will be challenging. Do you think I should take all these classes at once or should I drop the Advanced Calculus I? Any thoughts...
  20. Pengwuino

    Testing The Physics GRE, thoughts? Opinions?

    So a professor of mine and another student were having a discussion about the PGRE the other day. While it does seem to be of the overall opinion that it is only good for determining how well a student can take the PGRE and not really how good they are at being a physics student, I've come to a...
  21. R

    My Handmade Excavator: Thoughts on Making It Automatic

    Hi friends I have made an excavator along with one of my friends. It's surely not that large to move a mountain but a very small scale model just as my classroom hydraulics project. It works nice. You can see it here working: But problem is that didn't make it automatic i.e i operate it...
  22. edpell

    Exploring Abraham Lincoln's Revolutionary Thoughts

    Here is an interesting quote from Abraham Lincoln as quoted in "The Real Lincoln" by Thomas DiLorenzo on page 85. "Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a...
  23. Char. Limit

    Cell Phone Automotive Usage Thoughts?

    http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12166928 http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9ED5BI00.htm http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100313/NEWS01/703139877&news01ad=1 http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/87601672.html http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/?p=3263 I think the...
  24. J

    A small finite universe and some wierd thoughts from it

    I do not have physics education pass A-levels, yet. So what I've been thinking of should be very simple to follow. It's just so fascinating that I'm wondering if any experts could either point a logic flaw, or direct me to material that has already mused over this for me. I understand that...
  25. E

    What Is The Shortest Distance Between Two Thoughts?

    Can anyine get this one, it is some what of a philosophical riddle.
  26. G

    Medical Why do we yawn? Investigating the connection between CO2 levels and yawning

    Ok, so I'm sitting here holding my breath--think for a minute and you'll guess why--and I'm just about at that point where I can't hold it any longer. I'm just about to exhale, but then I have to yawn. Usually, when I'm just about to exhale, I get just a tiny little panic feeling, which I assume...
  27. A

    What are your thoughts on Ayn Rand?

    Objectivism- http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-32-408-FAQ_is_Objectivism.aspx
  28. K

    The Elegant Universe (Nova Series) - Thoughts?

    I just finished watching the "Elegant Universe" series recently, diving in hoping to be fascinated by the ideas behind string theory. Unfortunately, I left the series as more of a skeptic than a believer. First a disclaimer. This video is essentially where I got all my information about string...
  29. J

    Is it Appropriate to Use Big Vee and Big Wedge for Infinitary Logic?

    With finite amount of sets unions and intersections can be written as A_1\cup A_2\cup\cdots\cup A_n and A_1\cap A_2\cap\cdots \cap A_n. If we have an arbitrary collection of sets, (A_i)_{i\in I}, then we can still write unions and intersections as \bigcup_{i\in I} A_i...
  30. CFDFEAGURU

    "Upgrading to ANSYS 12.1: Thoughts on the New Workbench Interface?

    Hello all, I have been using ANSYS 10 and now I have to upgrade to ANSYS 12.1 I have read that the Workbench interface has been redesigned from the version 10 that I used to use. Has anyone used this new interface? If so you what are your thoughts? Also, what are your thoughts on the...
  31. T

    Exploring MMORPGs: Benefits & Risks for Players

    I was wondering what everyone thought about MMORPG's such as FFXI, WoW, etc. I don't want to start a discussion about what people think the best MMORPG is so try not to move the thread in that direction. I want to talk about what people gain and lose by playing an mmorpg and if they think it...
  32. M

    Thoughts about Causality and Paradoxes

    I do not know the details, but I have read that some theories allow backwards time travel using wormholes. Backwards time travel seems so impossible because of things like Grandfather's paradox and such. I had an idea and was wondering if anyone who knew more than me about the subject could...
  33. fluidistic

    Putting ice into a calorimeter, checking my thoughts

    Homework Statement Ok, this is something related to a real life problem, more precisely a laboratory experiment. Say that the temperature of the room is 25°C. I have a calorimeter. I chose to put 250 g of water at 27.5 °C inside it. But as it is not a perfect calorimeter, say I've...
  34. B

    Thoughts on gravity and space time

    If the Mass of an object is said to warp space time, could it be said that "gravity" is really an object trying to come to equilibrium within the warped space time, i bit like a cork in water. the reason we feel force at the Earth's surface is that the Earth is already at equilibrium which...
  35. T

    Thoughts on Columbia Neuroscience/ Electrical Engineering?

    I have applied to Columbia PhD program in EE. They have a computational neuroscience group called Bionet (only one professor) which is based in the Electrical Engineering Department which I am very interested in. If I get accepted I will be able to start school in January. When I look at US...
  36. H

    Solving Cosmological Constant, Zero-Point Energy & Quantum Gravity Problems

    I was browsing a list of recently published papers on arxiv.org, and I found this paper: Comprehensive Solution to the Cosmological Constant, Zero-Point Energy, and Quantum Gravity Problems Authors: Philip D. Mannheim arXiv:0909.0212 Here's the abstract: "We present a solution to...
  37. P

    Any thoughts on Introduction to Mathematical Statistics by Hogg, Craig, and McKean?

    Any thoughts on "Introduction to Mathematical Statistics" by Hogg, Craig, and McKean? Dear PF members, I was looking for a textbook for my mathematical statistics course, and it turns out that Introduction to Mathematical Statics by Hogg, Craig, and McKean will be the book for the course...
  38. Dembadon

    Enjoying David Berlinski's "A Tour of the Calculus": Thoughts? -Robert

    I am currently reading, and thoroughly enjoying, "A Tour of the Calculus", by David Berlinski. This book was given to me by a friend who felt Berlinski's prose was too rich. He also claimed to have noticed several "major" mathematical errors in the book. I asked him to elaborate, however, he...
  39. A

    Quantum Tunneling - some silly thoughts

    From what I read, there is an extremely small probability of one going through a solid wall, according to QM. The chance is so small you might have wait a few lifetimes, or more of the universe to observe it. But how about going very shallowly into the wall? Let's say a few angstroms (Å)...
  40. J

    Uncovering the Mystery of Dark Matter: Theory and Evidence Explained

    Can someone explain to me if there is any evidence besides the spreading of cosmological objects behind dark matter/energy? Because I have a pretty solid theory that could explain that without anything beyond relativistic physics. I've got quite a few solid ideas, but I don't have access to...
  41. T

    IB Program: Thoughts & Experiences on Math

    So my school is offering the IB (International Baccalaureate) program starting next year, and I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with it, particularly the math. I can't ask anyone too closely affiliated with the program because they make outrageous claims (like how at their school...
  42. N

    Catch the Special on ABC: Your Thoughts?

    Did anyone happen to catch this special on ABC? If so, what did you think of it?
  43. JasonRox

    Should We Condemn the Abuse of Wildlife for Human Entertainment?

    I came across this thread from another forum. http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=116735271 It's a guy that is possibly drunk standing and playing around with a sea turtle on shore in Trinidad. The "news" is already posted on other forums, and apparently e-mailed to some...
  44. R

    Your thoughts on the math Olympiad

    I have heard many say that being able to solve Olympiad problems is by no means a prerequisite to becoming a good mathematician, physicist, etc. However, would one benefit from practicing math competition problems if he is older, i.e. undergrad level and on. Would there be any benefit to the...
  45. D

    Summer Plan: Learn Algebra in 3 Months?

    Hey all. I'm curious about something. I've ordered some books and dvds on Algebra 1, 2, and Advanced Algebra (college) and they should be in relatively soon. How much could I possibly learn in 3 solid months of studying two or three hours a day? Now I honestly don't know how much material will...
  46. I

    New tesla sedan from 49k, thoughts?

    # - 300 mile range # - 45 minute QuickCharge # - 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds # - Seats 7 people # - More Cargo space than sedans # - 2X as efficient as hybrids # - 17 inch infotainment touchscreen Frankly this looks amazing, sounds less damaging then combustion engines. However if...
  47. chroot

    Ever catch an inconsistency in your own thoughts?

    I assume everyone strives to make their worldview as consistent as possible, but, clearly, many people hold conflicting beliefs, whether they notice the conflict or not. I recently noticed such an inconsistency in my own thoughts. I've been doing a lot of photography lately, and I've discovered...
  48. J

    Can a Pitchfork Impact Driving Lessons and Compost Management?

    My daughter is finally learning to drive a car. She is just starting out so she hasn't made all the mistakes yet. For instance, last night she drove over a pitchfork lying in the road. It was dark, so I guess she didn't see it in time. But I was in the passenger seat and I saw it. By the time I...
  49. G

    Is it worth transferring from UC Davis to UCLA for a career in physics research?

    I am hoping that the infinite wisdom of Physics Forums can help me with a bit of an issue I have. Although I really do enjoy UC Davis, I applied for transfer this year and was admitted by UCLA. It is a tough choice for me because I am already well-rooted in the physics department at UCD and...
  50. Z

    News Is a utopian society without money and competition possible?

    You know it sure seems like the current socio-economic system is flawed. 50% of the world lives under 2 dollars a day. 1% of the world population holds 40% of the world's wealth. It seems like the monetary system is out of date and and in-effective at distributing goods and services...
Back
Top