The lesson plan today was a mind opener. I never thought I could think about...thinking. As I read Elbow's piece about the difference of 1st Order and 2nd Order, I immediately thought about the main base for thinking: the brain.
1st Order of thinking relates to an uncensored, limitless box that continues to expand. It is a stream of conscious, and it can take any forms because it is private. This is like the right brain, the brain for art and creativity. This is used for creative writing, but it is not pertaining to simple works of independent fiction. It is also filed under letters proclaiming love, or letters of angry words and emotions that are never to be sent. They can be dreams of ideas that turn into novels, poems, or plays. 1st Order leads to a waterfall of color words and thoughts that can be used as a reference to create something greater.
There is no structure to the concepts of the right brain, but, the left brain, is based on logic and structure - which is 2nd Order thinking. This is the revision. This is sending the novel to a publication and waiting for the red marks indicating various changes needed. This is the polishing and perfecting of the scattered thoughts that were once just a stream of scribbles on paper. This is the aftershock.
As we look back onto the brain metaphor, there is a popular theory that you can either be right brained or left brained - there is no in between. However, this is wrong. You are full-brained, but typically, you use either one side or the other during certain actions. This brings us back to both orders of thinking - you use one order or the other during certain moments.
First order and second order should not fight for the brain's attention. It should be accepted because neither one can function without the other.
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