Nadezhda S. (2) (ILE) about analytical mindset

I think a lot, in words. I ask myself questions, answer them myself, wonder to myself, make judgments, reason, and look for answers and solutions.

In my thoughts, I am most often concerned with the question "why?". There is a Soviet cartoon in which the main character is a boy who asks a lot of questions—a “Why-boy.” Well, that’s probably me. My questions usually begin with a sense of wonder: "Wow," "Oh!"—interest arises, and along with it, a flood of questions.

Now I’ll give an example of my internal reflections. I’m walking down the street and see that a pole holding trolleybus wires is leaning badly. My thoughts: "Wow! The pole is leaning. Badly—could fall. How has it not fallen yet? Why?"

And I start reasoning: "It couldn’t have broken immediately because it isn’t made of wood (a brittle material) but of a metal alloy. The alloy has a certain bending strength. Besides, the pole cannot fall until its center of gravity moves beyond the base perimeter. That’s why it’s thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top. Due to the material’s viscosity, even if the strength limit is exceeded, the pole will start to bend first while still being fixed in the ground. It is buried to a certain depth, where it is most likely held vertically by a concrete foundation for stability. Later, the concrete foundation might shift, and as a result, the pole could be uprooted along with it."

After such a mental analysis comes a hypothesis: "Maybe this is the beginning of the end? Perhaps the pole has already started bending because the tension of the wires, constantly acting on its top, is close to the critical strength of the metal structure? Then there are a few possibilities. Either it will be replaced before any negative consequences occur (like falling), or the pole will fall (unlikely). If it falls, it will break the wires, stop the trolleybuses, create several traffic jams in the city, call in repair crews, who will find the cause (if no one reports it beforehand) and fix it in about half a day. The second scenario is unlikely because all poles probably undergo periodic technical inspections, so this one will most likely be replaced soon."

At this point, the thought concludes and is stored in memory, from where it can be retrieved in a condensed form if necessary.

When unpacked, it would sound roughly like this: "Oh! The leaning pole—it will be replaced soon." The process of analyzing a situation, along with speculating and considering possible outcomes, usually takes anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.