Thinking and Greatness

We've all heard the saying that great minds think alike, but do they really?

Let’s assume, for a moment, that every mind could be categorized in one of these three groups: simple, good, or great.
Now, let’s describe each of these categories, starting with good minds. Good minds have a homogenous definition of logic and esteem said logic highly enough that it guides their thinking and practices on an everyday basis. It would not be a huge leap to believe that two minds operating on conventional logic would often reach similar conclusions. We can extrapolate from this assumption that good minds think alike. Touché, good minds think alike; but great minds?
Before we get to great minds, let’s look at simple minds, just to be clear.

Simple minds would probably give logic little authority in their decision making and would be reduced to animal-like instincts: rage, passion, lust, hedonism, instant gratification, etc... In this sense the simple mind is as predictable as a domesticated-animal. We can learn what instincts an animal has and thereby predict what they would do in given circumstances. No matter how many times you throw the cat off the bed, it keeps running back because it has no device for evaluating its choices, it just does whatever its little feline instincts command. Every simple mind is governed by the appetites and desires common to human nature. We are rarely surprised to hear what some idiot did when we read about it in the newspaper, because we know they all think alike, as long as not thinking at all count as thinking alike. So, recap: good minds think alike and simple minds, all alike, do not think.
Now we build to a crescendo as we discuss great minds. Great minds do not ignore conventional logic, nor do they adhere to it. They transcend conventional thinking. They are the originals. The ones who think of things no one ever quite thought of before, and/or in ways others never thought. We remember people like Shakespeare, da Vinci, Newton, Plato, Vygotsky, and Einstein and put them in a class of their own because they were unique. They thought of something new, therefore we deem their minds great. If necessity is the mother of invention, then brilliance is the father. Great minds make it happen; they change the world.
So, out of our three categories, it is actually only great minds that DO NOT think alike. So, the next time you’re making plans for lunch and you say “I was thinking Quiznos,” and your friend, with wide eyes, pulls their hands to their open mouth, and exclaims “ME TOO!” –go ahead and let out an excited “great minds think alike!” and laugh about it, then go crazy with your Pesto Turkey Toasty Torpedo, but when the indigestion settles and you find yourself alone again, be sure to reflect on whether you have actually done anything brilliant lately, and use your great mind to hatch an original idea that will be useful.

-Stevie