Don’t be Fooled by the Formatory Brain

Don’t be Fooled by the Formatory Brain

“One of its peculiarities is that it only compares two things . . . Formatory centre likes thinking in extremes; for instance it either knows everything or it knows nothing. Another of its peculiarities is immediately looking for the opposite.” ─ P.D. Ouspensky

Each of us has a binary computer operating in us that calls itself “thinking.” In contrast to true intelligence, this part is quite limited for it can only add up to two and has other shortcomings. It goes by the name of the Formatory Center or Brain and it resides in the mechanical or moving/instinctive part of the Intellectual Center. (You may recall in a recent post titled, “Just a Deck of Cards,” we explained how we employ the common playing deck of cards as a model of the Lower Centers, so using that language we call the diamonds suit the Intellectual Center, making the Jack of Diamonds the mechanical part.)

The Jack of Diamonds is the rightful place for storing information or knowledge. It works quite well for housing and accessing data. In that sense, as we grow up and acquire knowledge we discover it is a remarkable function that is a prominent part of every human being. It is indispensable for language, facts and figures, and anything you might put in an encyclopedia.

Before I get too carried away with the machine’s right-working attributes, the Formatory Center contains many trapdoors and areas for which caution and intervention are necessary. The Formatory Center thinks it knows because it contains information. I have caught myself inadvertently projecting to others or thinking to myself that I know a lot more about something than I do. This is one way we lie to ourselves.

For example, someone said to me recently, “I am planning a trip to New Zealand, do you know New Zealand?” Even though I’ve never been to New Zealand in my life, I acted like, “Oh yes, I know New Zealand.” It might be even worse if I had been there one time and then I may have given the air that I am a bona fide expert on New Zealand. I don’t know New Zealand, I only know some facts about New Zealand and don’t even have firsthand experience. This is one of the many traps of the Formatory Center.

While this example is relatively harmless, this same type of formatory thinking leads to self-deception, self-judgment, and prejudice of all kinds. And because this part is like a binary computer, it often puts everything into two boxes and is prone to opposites. It makes life a black-and-white issue even when we know life contains many shades of gray, and it often reacts to someone or something in an automatic, opposite fashion. Politics, journalism, sports, advertising, and many common daily activities fall into this mechanical thinking trap, and we do it to ourselves as well.

As an exercise to see and work on this part, try for a week to avoid some common mechanical manifestations of the Formatory Center. In particular, avoid formatory thinking in yes-no patterns by finding three or more options when your Formatory Center may only see two. Try to catch yourself thinking or expressing an opposite point of view without even pausing. Also, avoid using absolute statements, like “I always brush my teeth” or “I would never under-tip a waiter.” These patterns of “thinking” or the use of certain catchphrases or words suggest the unchecked operation of the Formatory Brain.

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Thoth as Ibis with Maat Feather, Ptolemaic Egypt, 4th Cent. BCE