Closed Minds | Teen Ink

Closed Minds

December 10, 2010
By Apple92 BRONZE, Boston, Massachusetts
Apple92 BRONZE, Boston, Massachusetts
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Today I will be talking about closed minded people. What is a closed mind? What defines someone as a closed minded person? Is it one of those concepts where the definition varies from person to person? Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but here’s my understanding of closed mindedness. One who has a closed mind is unreceptive to new ideas and change and is unwilling to alter their routines and thoughts.

So, why would anyone want to have a mind that would be considered closed? Tis an excellent question indeed; let me break it down for you. There are several apparent benefits to having a closed mind. One advantage is a closed mind can be considered an alternative expression for a true mind, meaning their mind-set is truly their own and is not altered by any others. Why is this an advantage? It gives them stronger intrapersonal skills. They accurately know who they are and how they think, making it easier for them to communicate with themselves.

Another advantage to having a closed mind is the lack of bad influences. If someone’s mind is closed, then it can’t obtain bad influences that could potentially corrupt their mind. Here’s a hypothetical example: an open minded (and idiotic) person who just entered the world of selling drugs walks up to a closed minded person and says, “Yo, selling drugs is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have so much cash now I can’t even spend it all.” The closed minded person, being the way they are, refuses to engross anything that person just said and moves on. Following that, the open minded (and idiotic) person gets arrested and thrown into prison for life.

A third benefit to having a closed mind revolves around the idea of “majority.” Typically, when an open minded person doesn’t know what to do or how to do something, they’ll do what the majority of people are doing or what people have done in the past because they’re open to other’s ideas. However, a closed minded person will tend to think things through more and come up with their own method or solution. This can be helpful because majority doesn’t always “rule” and they might not be right.

Hopefully at this point I haven’t convinced you that having a closed mind is better than having an open mind, because that is just not true. Having a closed mind is in some ways a good thing, and I do agree that it can be beneficial to a certain degree. But the thing is if everyone was like that, the world would be complete s***. We would be so far behind in the advancement of our civilization that we would probably still have caves as homes. People would be beating each other with clubs because they want things their own way. In no way do closed minds mix, so in order for people to live among each other, they need to have open minds.

You see, being open to new ideas is a necessity for improvement. A single mind can only go so far, but when combined with others the limit is far extended. It’s the same concept as a team. Picture a baseball game, except one of the teams has only one guy. Who do you think is going to win? Obviously the side that can actually work as a team will win. Well, that’s essentially the way being open minded works. You can think things through your own way, you can ignore ideas that won’t help you, but the fact of the matter is accepting new ideas, listening to others, and allowing the boundaries of your mind to grow will improve your life.
It seems like such a simple concept. Why isn’t everyone open minded? Why are there still people who completely block their minds from others? It’s because a closed mind is closed; out of order; not taking other’s ideas. So what’s the point of me even trying to argue this issue? Why am I even writing this paper if the purpose of it isn’t even being captivated by my intended readers? Unfortunately, I have to leave this question hanging. I hope some other open mind will endure this problem and produce a solution.



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