# Imagination - Limitless or Limited



## Petezorzz (Oct 12, 2011)

Hi guys,
I was in English class and we're doing a concept about our imaginations. We're going to write an essay debating if imagination is limited or limitless. I'm more on the limitless side, I have many reasons to back this up. I used an example of a boy being in a box his whole life having more imagination than a boy that's been to school and had an ordinary life.

I'm still looking for reasons to back me up. I want to see your guys ideas. How creative are you? So just post with your argument and reasoning behind it.

Peter

Edit: Also a reason why our imagination is limited. We imagine from what we see and do. We learn new from the things around us.
That is all ;]


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## Cubenovice (Oct 12, 2011)

Petezorzz said:


> I used an example of a boy being in a box his whole life having more imagination than a boy that's been to school and had an ordinary life.



If you think imagination is limitless than how can one boy have more of it than another one?

[Devil's advocate]
Your example can be used to illustrate the opposite:
The boy in the box has never seen the outside world and thus has a very small reference frame compared to the "outside" boy.
The larger your frame of reference the more variations on it you can imagine.
[/Devil's advocate]


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## Kirjava (Oct 12, 2011)

Does imagination include visualising things? If so it is almost certainly limited.


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## Petezorzz (Oct 12, 2011)

Cubenovice said:


> The boy in the box has never seen the outside world and thus has a very small reference frame compared to the "outside" boy.
> The larger your frame of reference the more variations on it you can imagine.



Yes, but the boy in the box hasn't seen anything, therefore imagines what could be out there. He could think of anything!

The boy that has been outside, has seen everything and hasn't got much to think about.

That's my debate ;]



Kirjava said:


> Does imagination include visualising things? If so it is almost certainly limited.


It can be. A good example is your dream. But it can also be just a thought.


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## irontwig (Oct 12, 2011)

Seems a bit arrogant to think that a lump of fat in an ape's skull is able to be limitless.


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## Cubenovice (Oct 12, 2011)

Petezorzz said:


> Yes, but the boy in the box hasn't seen anything, therefore imagines what could be out there. He *could think of anything*!
> The boy that has been outside, has seen everything and hasn't got much to think about.
> That's my debate ;]



The boy that has been outside *could think of anything* PLUS iterations on what he has seen
The boy in the box has no references: would he be able to come up with stuff like cubes, stars, cars, computers, manga's, etc?

You say he could think of anything:
Theoretically: yes
If you would find such a boy in real life: No. I doubt he would have thought of everything that currently already IS out there, let alone of what variations on it that COULD be out there.


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## Cubenovice (Oct 12, 2011)

irontwig said:


> Seems a bit arrogant to think that a lump of fat in an ape's skull is able to be limitless.


LOL

But you've got a point there: The fact that we cannot measure / determine a limit doesn't mean there isn't one.


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## RTh (Oct 12, 2011)

If you can imagine a limit then you don't have one, and at the same time you already imposed a limit.
Picture for example the comprehension of a more complex solution than comprehensible thoughts. Since you cannot comprehend it, it doesn't fall into the realm of human thinking but of thoughts, thus you can imagine it. For every thought that you can't process there's the chance of imagining it, and as long as you don't close your mind to every thought possible you don't have a limit, and at the same time your limit is closing your mind.


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## Sakarie (Oct 12, 2011)

You really have to define what "limitless" or "limited" means, when dealing when things so abstract as imagination. What would "limitless imagination", assuming it exists.

Also, I agree that the boy outside probably can imagine more things. But is that a less limited imagination?


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## Gaétan Guimond (Oct 12, 2011)

You can imagine scenarios not feasible but also things that nobody thought of it before us. Becomes interesting to see her differently when we can do better.


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## tozies24 (Oct 12, 2011)

I would have to say that imagination is limitless. Everyday you encounter new things and think of new things. With every new experience, there is something that is taken from that. If you approach this from a mathematical standpoint, then someone says that the interval [0,1] is finite. I cannot explicitly remember the argument that proves that this cannot be the case, but this interval has infinitely many elements because the real line is inifinite and has no holes in it.

So getting back to the conversation, no one knows what they are going to think about the next day or the next week or whenever so you cannot put a "cap" on the things that you can imagine or what you can imagine.


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## Kirjava (Oct 12, 2011)

Unless you have unlimited time, there is a limit on the number of things you can imagine.

You cannot visualise some things that are impossible. Imagine a piece of paper that is black. And also white.

Boom, logic headshot.


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## Cubenovice (Oct 12, 2011)

Kirjava said:


> Unless you have unlimited time, there is a limit on the number of things you can imagine.



Nice!


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## Specs112 (Oct 12, 2011)

Kirjava said:


> Unless you have unlimited time, there is a limit on the number of things you can imagine.
> 
> You cannot visualise some things that are impossible. Imagine a piece of paper that is black. And also white.
> 
> Boom, logic headshot.


 
While I agree with you - it's limitless within the realm of things that are logically possible to visualise - it's not a "logic headshot".
Because Guimond won this thread already.
He wins any thread he posts in by default.


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## Kirjava (Oct 12, 2011)

Specs112 said:


> within the realm of things that are logically possible to visualise


 
that sounds an awful lot like a limit


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## Specs112 (Oct 12, 2011)

Kirjava said:


> that sounds an awful lot like a limit


 
What the hell? I don't even know what I was trying to say.
*reads post again*
Nope, no idea. I'm not thinking coherently at the moment.

Completely off-topic thing... Where have I seen the name Kirjava outside of cubing websites? I know I've seen it before somewhere, but I can't remember what the context was. I feel as though I should know this, and it's annoying me.


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## Kirjava (Oct 12, 2011)

Specs112 said:


> Completely off-topic thing... Where have I seen the name Kirjava outside of cubing websites? I know I've seen it before somewhere, but I can't remember what the context was. I feel as though I should know this, and it's annoying me.


 
This maybe


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