HN Explorer

Ask HN: How to think like a kid again?

2 points by carlgreene ↗ HN
I've been contemplating how much more creative young kids are than most adults. Their naivety and ignorance allows them to reimagine their environment in a way that I feel has been beaten out of me.

For those of you who have managed to invite the little kid back inside your brain, how did you do it?

5 comments

[ 5.0 ms ] story [ 23.3 ms ] thread
yboris
LSD and Mushrooms are both ways that can help one approximate the naïve mind.
carlgreene
I’ve experimented with both, but have noticed the effects are fleeting within a couple of days for me
ksaj
I think adults become fact-obsessed, whereas children are more idea-based, and willing to let "impossibilities" become reality for just a little while. If you want to reclaim the thought process, you would have to convince yourself to not take the facts you know so seriously for some periods of time.

I always thought artists like Dali did exactly that - looked at things they know about, and considered alternative realities where the known facts aren't in the way of the imagination. Sure it's just a clock, but what could that clock do in another reality? Can time melt, and if it did, how would it look?

Maybe read some children's poetry and stories, and appreciate them for the various qualities that run deeper than the story itself. How do these adult writers express themselves in ways that children enjoy? What is currently blocking you from enjoying it?

Have you ever read books from Terry Pratchett? I think his Discworld series is a masterpiece of word and concept punnery that borders on childrens' imagination.

carlgreene
This is great thank you! I haven't read any of Terry's books but I will definitely look into them.

I've been trying to read more sci-fi lately to kick start that "impossibilities" thinking. These are some great thoughts

ksaj
To some degree, sci fi might only be a marginal extension. The more recent a sci fi story is, the more closely related to actual sci they tend to be. But really old (pre-Star Wars) sci fi that is based on ideas instead of currently existing technologies could be helpful in your pursuit.

I would hazard to say that's how Elon Musk got the idea to land his rocket engines the way they now do. Before then, it was as impossible to land a rocket that way, as it was to fly to the Moon or Mars. Now that both are common, sci fi based on those ideas won't tickle much of your inner-child brain.

Man living on Mars stories aren't that different than dealing with living in the desert. Only add radiation, a lack of breathable air, and REALLY slow Internet. And we know there aren't civilizations of little green men living there, so that's out of the picture, too.

Even stories of living on the USS Enterprise aren't so far fetched anymore. We've had several space stations already, and a couple of new ones going up right now. They only don't travel so far.

You definitely need to aim for far more simplicity when looking for something that would allow you to think in a more childlike manner again.