Don't Be an NPC

NPC means Non-Player-Character. In some online games, the game includes artificial intelligence to run characters that compete with human players.  The behavior of these NPCs is preprogrammed and therefore only reflects the programmers' thought.

I've noticed that sometimes I think something and the only reason I think it is because someone else thought it first and I was exposed to their view enough times. Sometimes, it's because I thought of it once in the context of something that suggested it, and since I encounter that context often, I might start thinking it's true. This is fertile ground for science. The thought is recognized as a hypothesis and then an experiment is designed that searches for a way to prove the hypothesis wrong. Yes, WRONG. Good science proves hypotheses wrong and forces scientists to revise those hypotheses. Hypotheses survive good science only if they are highly accurate.

I've noticed that I have become dependent on evidence. If someone said "I think..." then I'd ask why. This often pushes people away. I like people, so I tried letting go of my dependence on evidence. I found that I felt I didn't matter any more. My sense of self value dropped drastically. I'm good at analyzing evidence and I had cut myself off from it. So I revived my reliance on evidence. 

When someone asks you why you think what you think, you have the opportunity to serve yourself and that other person by searching for the answer until you find it. You matter. Your analysis matters. Take that opportunity and don't be an NPC!