I feel people need to start thinking for themselves more

This is probably going to come across all condescending but I assure you that’s not my intension. This is just my observations on what I see around me.

I’m lucky to have a very technical and analytical type of mind. I might have lots of problems battling with my mind sometimes (most of the time actually) but I love exploring and understanding how almost anything works.

I’ll even go as far as saying I like it when something I’m working on doesn't work first time or as expected because that gives me the opportunity to start digging into and solving the problem and in doing that I gain a far better understanding of what I’m working with.

A simple example, last year I decided to integrate the sound outputs from all my radios, computer and other devices via a mixing desk and into a good quality set of speakers.

When I started the project I had never used a mixing desk or any other type of audio equipment before so I didn’t have a clue where to begin. But I sat down and started doing research, lots of research. And I built my knowledge base up over several hours until I felt confident to start buying some hardware. Once that arrived I started expanding on the knowledge and hardware I had until eventually I achieved my goal.

Not only had I got a fully integrated audio system but I had added to my personal knowledge of something that I didn’t know anything about before. And I had had hours of enjoyment discovering and building new knowledge. I had achieved something on my own.

What worries me today is seeing more and more people who instead of going through this learning process, they just give up before even starting and ask other people to do it for them or to give them the answer to their problem. They don’t even begin to work the problem for themself.

Yes, I admit, asking others for help is a valid problem solving method but you do that when you have spent some time and effort trying to solve the problem on your own.

And what’s more, this attitude/approach is getting worst. When I moved into IT and computer support in the mid 90s, most of my customers/callers had some technical interest about what they were doing. They had attempted to solve whatever problem they had on their own before calling for help.

I loved working and helping these people. But as time moved on more and more people just wanted whatever had gone wrong fixed. Towards the end of my “public” IT support life I lost count of the number of people who just demanded I send an engineer out to fix everything.

This attitude is just getting worst with every new generation. I hear stories of people who have no idea about how to change a plug, or fit a fuse or even pop a lightbulb in. How do these people find their way out of bed in the morning without help.

But there we go, that’s life in the mid 2020s. I just worry about what the mid 2030s are going to be like.

And finally, yes, I know not everyone is like this, I know and accept that there are many people who do have the ability to think for themselves and solve their own problems but they are rapidly becoming the minority!