What Confusion Actually Is

[Razard86]

Because you are raised in a results-oriented world you have been told that if you don't know what to do you are confused. This is false. Not knowing what to do is just ignorance, which is just a lack of sufficient information. What confusion is, is thinking ignorance is confusion. So then you might ask okay then what is confusion? Confusion is believing you are going to always have sufficient information at hand to make a decision. Confusion is thinking you will always have the capability to go through life without having to make snap decisions without knowing if that was a smart decision or a foolish one. Confusion is thinking you can avoid mistakes.

Confusion is just a denial of your own limitations. Once you can accept that no matter what you do ignorance will always be at play in some form or another then you actually cannot be confused. You will either be gravely ignorant or slightly ignorant but never confused. Your life is just a bunch of educated/informed guesses. Sometimes you guess right and sometimes you guess wrong according to which direction you are trying to go. 

[LastThursday]

I'm confused about confusion. 

I'd always thought that confusion was about a thing not making sense or not hanging together. And that this lack of sense normally comes about through some sort of ambiguity - "Is it this or is it that? I'm confused.". Sometimes it's just through not seeing or understanding the connection between things. If TWO+FOUR=SEVEN, then that's confusing - but to resolve the confusion you just count the number of letters on the left.

It seems like the word confusion is also used to mean a lack of understanding or ignorance as you say. I personally would never use the word confusion for this, but the meaning of words drift over time, and I'm just stuck in the past.

Anyway, I'm not really sure what I'm trying to do here, other than argue about definitions. I'm confused and I'm proud 

[ZzzleepingBear]

If you turn left enough times, you get it right eventually.

 

It sounds like your clarification of confusion could be summarized as, 'Get your shit together, and get on with it'.

[Razard86]

2 hours ago, LastThursday said:

I'm confused about confusion. 

I'd always thought that confusion was about a thing not making sense or not hanging together. And that this lack of sense normally comes about through some sort of ambiguity - "Is it this or is it that? I'm confused.". Sometimes it's just through not seeing or understanding the connection between things. If TWO+FOUR=SEVEN, then that's confusing - but to resolve the confusion you just count the number of letters on the left.

It seems like the word confusion is also used to mean a lack of understanding or ignorance as you say. I personally would never use the word confusion for this, but the meaning of words drift over time, and I'm just stuck in the past.

Anyway, I'm not really sure what I'm trying to do here, other than argue about definitions. I'm confused and I'm proud 

Yeah definitions and labels bleed over each other so I'm not taking a hard stance here. LOL. I'm saying some things we are cut out for and some things we are not. For example you mentioned not seeing the connection in something this is correct, this is what causes all lack of information or insight in our lives. We can only be confused if we see it as a problem or something wrong about us. Some people are good with numbers, some are good with words. Sure we can work on these things but if you don't love it, then understand you will have to suffer through that bias until you can overcome it. 

Otherwise just accept there are just some things you don't know and aren't interested in =ignorance. Otherwise....you will become confused on what you do know and don't know. I'm going to try to come up with a framework to help people use language in a way that makes sense to them because many people are undisciplined in how they frame things and as a result have minds that are confused easily. You can frame things in a way that avoids unnecessary clutter.

Think of this as one example. It's not that you are confused about something, you are just ignorant. You can only be confused if you don't know why. Once you know why you don't know something....how can you be confused? You might say but how do I learn it then? I'm confused about that. To which I'll reply...."You aren't confused about that....you just don't want to do it and are trying to find an easy way out." You see? You can get clarity on what is going on by just being upfront about something. 

This isn't the answer to all your questions, it just helps you understand what the situation is.

[Razard86]

53 minutes ago, ZzzleepingBear said:

If you turn left enough times, you get it right eventually.

 

It sounds like your clarification of confusion could be summarized as, 'Get your shit together, and get on with it'.

LOL...I'm actually being nicer in this example, I'm saying clean your shit (clear up the confusion you are creating by acknowledging what is going on by admitting your weaknesses and desires) so now you can see the situation clearly. You know how in the military they give a sitrep?

You are just giving yourself the necessary information to make sense of what is going. And if you don't know what is going on...admit it LOL. The main issue people usually have is they are confused about being confused. If I know I don't know what is going on....technically I'm just ignorant. 

Oh and last piece of advice...don't be too proud to ask for advice!!

Edited November 7, 2023 by Razard86

[LastThursday]

9 minutes ago, Razard86 said:

It's not that you are confused about something, you are just ignorant.

Maybe that's why I was talking about definitions (but I didn't know it). People like to call themselves "confused" because that allows them not to admit their "ignorance". Is that your message?

12 minutes ago, Razard86 said:

I'm going to try to come up with a framework to help people use language in a way that makes sense to them because many people are undisciplined in how they frame things and as a result have minds that are confused easily.

I would like to see this very much from you. I'm not sure however if language causes the confusion or if the confusion results from undisciplined framing (thinking). Maybe it's both ways. It seems that language has ambiguity deliberately built into it, i.e. what words reference may be ambiguous: my God is not your God etc.

[Razard86]

10 minutes ago, LastThursday said:

Maybe that's why I was talking about definitions (but I didn't know it). People like to call themselves "confused" because that allows them not to admit their "ignorance". Is that your message?

I would like to see this very much from you. I'm not sure however if language causes the confusion or if the confusion results from undisciplined framing (thinking). Maybe it's both ways. It seems that language has ambiguity deliberately built into it, i.e. what words reference may be ambiguous: my God is not your God etc.

Everything you said is true. LOL I don't have anything to add outside I realize the guide will have to be vague enough to suit everyone. 

[LastThursday]

16 minutes ago, Razard86 said:

I realize the guide will have to be vague enough to suit everyone. 

The notion of a vague guide that reduces confusion is intriguing. In any case, hit me up when you're finished, and I'll be your first reviewer.

[ZzzleepingBear]

@Razard86 I get the gist of what you are saying. And the last part is a solid advice.

BUT, I'm not so sure that clear definitions is going to be the remedy for pure motivation itself. 

While clear communication is a valid and good thing to strive for. I think the emotional response is a total different beast in most cases. You can for example act out of anger from temporary confusion, and you can act out of anger in willful ignorance of your own wrong doing. But the anger itself may not belong to any definition. You may act from a moment of righteousness, and that would in a sense transcend the limiting definition of right or wrong depending on who you ask.

Banks steal alot of money, so are bank robbers heros or villains for robbing the banks? You see, the motivation behind different actions may not always be guided through what the definitions tells us.

[Hojo]

I work in dementia care home and they are confused all the time. I see they get confused when they are trying to understand what is happening but can't. I have also experience confusion quite a bit for some reason if I go to bed before 9 I will wake up at 11 and be very sweaty and confused. During these states I see my mind and I see that it is trying to grasp at something but not sure what to grasp. So I would agree that confusion is ignorance without knowing what you are ignorant about. It stems from trying to ground yourself in reality but not knowing what to grab onto. Its like existing but not being able to question anything. Simple solution to confusion stop questioning what is happening. God is having you in a dream state while something inside of you is trying to get into the ego reality.

[Carl-Richard]

Confusion is a state of (often conscious) mental conflict brought on by uncertainty, ignorance, lack of control, etc. Getting rid of confusion may involve accepting uncertainty, ignorance, lack of control, etc.

[LastThursday]

6 hours ago, Carl-Richard said:

Getting rid of confusion may involve accepting uncertainty, ignorance, lack of control, etc.

Being able to do this is a superpower that is critical if you're into self-help or spirituality. Confusion normally creates negative feelings; to be able to just sit in confusion and not strongly emotionally react is a great skill to have.

[UnbornTao]

Con-fusion:

fusing with, fusing one thing with another, lack of distinction, conflating one thing for another.

For example, our experience of fear is confusing, we confuse ourselves with the emotion, are carried away by it, and fail to make finer distinctions within the process of fear, like it being based on a future possibility, an unwillingness to experience something, an unwanted experience happening, and the possibility of that experience occurring in the future.

We may also confuse possibility with probability, expressing one's opinions and another's in a sophisticated way with intelligence, etc.

Edited November 10, 2023 by UnbornTao