The Era Where Deep Thinking is Fading

We are living in a time where deep thinking is disappearing. It's not necessarily anyone's fault; rather, it's because the world keeps expanding. We live in a world where everything needs to be faster and more abundant. The world is becoming increasingly complex, the amount of information pouring in every day is growing exponentially, and the pace of everything is accelerating.

To survive in this hectic world, the way we currently respond is to speed up ourselves as well. This creates a kind of upward spiral. Because the world is moving so fast, everyone tries to keep up with that speed, making the world even faster. I feel a bit nauseous from it all.

Imagine this: one day, you find yourself standing in the middle of a bustling, crowded plaza. But everything around you is in complete chaos. People are frantically running in the same direction, as if something is chasing them from behind.

How would you act in such a situation? You'd probably start running too, because you're scared. You'd try to outrun at least one more person by running faster and faster because you're anxious. There's no time to contemplate which direction to run, or even if you should run at all, or what's happening right now. It's because we're impatient. Is it an exaggeration to say that we live in such an era?

When we become impatient and anxious, we enter "survival mode." In survival mode, our brains are incapable of long-term and deep thinking because immediate survival becomes paramount. We are trapped in chronic short-term thinking. We are stuck in chronic impatience and anxiety.

Exploring Oneself

On the other hand, the only way to break free from short-term thinking and cultivate deeper thoughts is by asking questions. By posing questions once or twice, we build the depth of our thinking, and by asking three or four times, we learn to view things from new perspectives.

Therefore, the process of exploring oneself is inevitably slow. It demands deep thinking. Thoughts that are handed to us unilaterally without any questions are only shallow. They can be easily refuted and swept away because they haven't taken root firmly within us.

A More Fundamental Cause

When discussing "What is the purpose of education?", many educational philosophers' names would come to mind, but one of the main purposes of education, as I (Heuton) see it, is to create individuals who are autonomous, independent, and capable of thinking for themselves in this society.

But have we truly been trained through the multiple years of education and university education to become better individuals, to focus on our inner selves, to deeply explore ourselves, to establish our own value systems, and to develop our own criteria for making significant life choices?

Through the education we receive from elementary to middle to high school, we are taught basic knowledge to survive in society, along with mechanical training for further higher education. After entering university, we receive career training to secure "better" jobs.

We were always told to learn faster and memorize more than others. From my direct and indirect experiences, it seems that our education essentially ends there. However, for those of us who live as the sole protagonists of our lives, training to focus on our inner selves is absolutely necessary.

But as mentioned earlier, this process is inevitably slow. It requires deep thinking. Unlike our education system, we can't linearly evaluate it. Where can objective evaluation criteria be found when trying to find our own answers?

My life is too precious to sacrifice it to speed and quantity. This is also why we must constantly ask ourselves questions. Without questions, our thoughts cannot deepen.

People on the Other Side of Cynicism

The sad truth is that we are surrounded by cynics. This is also why it's difficult to bring up serious topics anywhere. But cynicism is the act of those who refuse to think deeply. Reflection, effort, love, hope, meaning, value—whatever the subject may be, they just scoff without deeply contemplating them. How simple is that? Cynicism is the easy path.

One of the most influential figures to me during my high school years, Jim Kim, former President of the World Bank, said, "Cynicism is the last refuge of cowards."

Additionally, Robert Greene, author of The Laws of Human Nature, states that cynics act as if their attitude is cool and stylish. According to him, they exude a blasé and mocking demeanor to appear as if they understand everything.

However, the true nature of cynicism is childish fear. It’s merely an attempt to hide the fear of trying something and failing, of becoming a laughingstock. To borrow Robert Greene’s words, cynicism "stems purely from laziness and offers no consolation to those who believe in it for having achieved nothing."

Heuton is a space for those who stand on the opposite side of cynicism.

Putting Together Puzzle Pieces

Deep thinking is like solving a puzzle. It’s the process of finding and fitting together pieces of ourselves that we hadn’t yet discovered. As we piece them together, we complete a large and detailed picture of ourselves—this is the process of reflection. Of course, as time passes, the details of the picture may change slightly, or the picture itself may become larger. All of this is evidence of our growth.

However, in a world where speed and quantity are worshipped as the highest values, it feels like there’s a competition to collect as many puzzle pieces as possible. Whether these pieces are mine or someone else’s, I don’t know, but I just gather and look at them. Without thinking about fitting them together one by one, I just try to collect as many as I can, quickly. What would happen if you forced all of them together?

Heuton is a place to put together the puzzle. It’s a place to find parts of yourself that you didn’t know existed. Just as a scientist explores uncharted regions in the depths of space, Heuton is a place to explore the unseen areas within yourself. Through this, you can deeply understand yourself and ultimately live a life that truly reflects who you are. Heuton aims to fulfill that role.

Technology + Philosophy = ?

At Heuton, only those who believe that true depth of thought can be achieved through reflection via good questions gather. You can ask questions about yourself on your own (you can ask yourself questions), but you can also discover parts of yourself you didn’t know through questions posed by someone who knows you well. With the advent of the AI era, we are living in a world where this is possible for everyone—literally, anyone with the will can achieve it.

Heuton is a space where you can engage in solitary reflection and record your thoughts in response to personalized questions posed by AI. It’s a place to continuously converse with yourself. You can peek into what others are thinking or even pose questions to them. Heuton was created for those who understand the value of deep thinking.

Combining technology and philosophy to help more people explore their identities—that is the reason Heuton exists in this world where deep thinking is fading away.