04. We Are Losing the Habit of Imagination

Imagination—and our ability to make connections between things—may be one of the most powerful tools humans have ever had. But I have started to feel that this ability is being weakened by modern life.

I can see it in myself. My own capacity for imagination has clearly deteriorated.

Once computers and smartphones entered our lives, our attention began to be constantly harvested by apps, notifications, and endless streams of information. These products are deliberately engineered to train our brains in very specific ways. Instead of asking us to imagine, they continuously feed us finished images, videos, and other concrete representations of the world.

Over time, the mind is given fewer and fewer opportunities to create those images for itself.

And even when those opportunities still exist, convenience makes it easy to give them up. We gradually lose the habit of thinking on our own. The power of this kind of self-conditioning is easy to underestimate.

I remember reading a book of Greek mythology when I was younger. As I read about Achilles being held by his mother and dipped into the River Styx, I could see the entire scene unfolding vividly in my mind.

Even now, remembering that I once created such a vivid image purely through imagination gives me a strange sense of joy.

It is an experience—and a kind of pleasure—that no ready-made image or video can quite replace.