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This essay was a great intro to what appears to be a very interesting book. I may read it after I finish the ~10 books already piled up on my desk.

For the last ~5-10 years I have been "toying" (imagining???) with the idea that many of the ills with which we humans are burdened stem from what I've been referring to as "misuse of imagination". It's pretty obvious to me that most, if not all, religions are the end result of the "misuse of imagination". Ditto the patterns of thought which result in what we are familiar with as "conspiracy theories", as well as UFO/UAP/ETI/"alien" encounters, etc. These blatant deviations from reality, much like what goes on a child's mind with regard to Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, etc., are the result of the human imagination being misused, or being "short-circuited" by some form of chemical or physical process which breaks apart rational thought processes. This may even help to explain what is going on in the minds of people who are afflicted with what is commonly referred to as "mental illness". Perhaps their imagination has gone hay-wire, and what was once a usable tool, brought about by its success throughout our evolutionary past, has now been turned against that individual with such things as hearing voices; uncontrollable emotional outbursts; etc.

Not far removed from the misuse of imagination which is evidenced by religious belief, is a far more serious mental deficiency which manifests itself in adherence to cults & other potentially harmful group allegiances. I'd say it's not far from reality to assert that the MAGA cohort who follow DJT are likely in the throes of a HUGE misuse of their imaginations as they mirror in their own minds the lies & deviations from reality which are implanted in their brains by the leader of this particularly dangerous social contagion. Ditto for those who misuse their imaginations to create or duplicate what's been termed the "woke mind virus" within their own minds. QR

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Perhaps children are hesitant to imagine due to their attempts to conform to “ adult society norms”. Psychologically some of us are conformists, while some are more contrarian. So personality may play an effect on imagine. Actually the conformist personality may affect adult imagination as well.

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