"5パーセントの人々は10パーセントの人々が考えていると思い、他の85パーセントは考えるよりもむしろ死にたいと思っている。"
— Thomas Edison
Simplified Meaning:
This quote means that only a small number of people actually spend time thinking deeply about things. There is another group of people who believe they are thinking, but they are not really putting much effort into it. Most people prefer not to think deeply at all, and they avoid it as much as possible. Imagine a classroom where there are 20 students. Only one student is really focused, asking questions, and trying to understand the lessons completely. Two students think they are smart and do just enough to get by, but they don’t dig very deep. The remaining 17 students are just going through the motions, copying notes, and waiting for class to be over; they don't engage their minds much and are not really interested in deeply understanding the subject. In life, this tells us that truly thinking and questioning things takes effort and courage. It’s easier to go along with what everyone else is doing without asking why. People can use this idea to push themselves to think more deeply and critically about their actions and decisions, rather than just following the crowd. For instance, before making important choices at work or in personal life, it's valuable to take time to consider all possibilities and outcomes instead of just doing what seems easiest or what others do.