I come from a small, rural town where many people believe that individuality is arrogant. These people also lean towards the idea that if they have not yet seen something it does not exist. Your story about the old woman and the platypus reminds me of these people.

Sometimes entire groups of people take on a close-minded perspective. They become unified in their disregard for opinions, beliefs, and facts that don’t adhere to their formula for living. These groups often pass on their narrow perspectives on to their children, most times encouraging the idea that veering from the group opinion is a logical reason to be ostracized and despised. That is where I see the greatest tragedy in a closed mind. The tragedy of disregarding others because you deny other opinions and values the opportunity to exist.

Haha, following along in the lines of Dan’s words, “The truth is that a balanced [fear] is best!”

Fear is sometimes a driving force in my life, though it’s not necessarily a good motivation or always the case. But a healthy fear can serve to make a person more aware or sensitive of his/her surroundings, or for example, how I sometimes fear I might miss out on an opportunity and so it drives me to seize it. Although, I sometimes experience self-doubt and if I’m not careful, fear could…as you said…paralyze me. In which case it’d be important to remember Dan’s Lessons of Sexy Ideas in which ideas should stick with their idea-mate!

However, I feel that the majority of people let fear play too big a part in their lives, so much so that it paralizes them into not moving, changing or evolving.

And, I like the turn(s) of thought your post took, lols.

There is something inherently fascinating about an open mind because it indicates that the horizons are limitless, that anything can happen…can be made possible, even! I think it’s also understanding that makes an open mind so attractive to another person. I mean, to see the edge of your knowledge and then beyond it in order to accept something new (or possibly, someone new…different from yourself and what you know), to be understood is not only pretty sexy…it’s really special, too.

I see closed minds as 2 different types (haha, you can tell I’ve probably thought the matter over too much). The first kind are people who choose to remain ignorant and close-minded despite evidence to the contrary. The second kind are those who form their own opinion just because that’s the only thing they know or that’s what they were told. But then again, even children have natural curiosity about things when adults try to explain things to them. So in a sense, people who are close-minded are curbing the human nature of inherent curiosity. Hmm…so in a way, I guess there’s only 1 kind of closed mind: by choice.

And, I guess while I sometimes I can’t understand why a person would choose to keep a “closed” mind (and I often silently disapprove while indirectly trying to pokes holes in their thinking so that they may see the light, lols), I can see why someone would do so….it’s a comfort level thing for some.