We often think of thinking as static. You have your thoughts, beliefs, assumptions — and you test them against the world. You weigh options. You form opinions. You “figure things out.”
But what if thinking itself could be experimental? What if, instead of waiting for a breakthrough, you designed small tests of thought — not to be right, but to explore?
That’s the premise of the thinking experiment: a short, structured mental detour that lets you play with possibility. It’s not about solving problems. It’s about shaking up the frame.
In this essay, we’ll explore how to design these experiments — and why curious minds should try.
Contents
What Is a Thinking Experiment?
A thinking experiment is a deliberate mental scenario — invented by you — meant to test, stretch, or reframe a thought, belief, or perspective.
It’s a kind of philosophical sandbox. You’re not trying to win an argument. You’re not trying to produce data. You’re giving your brain permission to explore: “What happens if I think this way — for just a little while?”
Famous examples from history include:
- Einstein’s “what if I rode alongside a beam of light?”
- Schrödinger’s cat — alive and dead in a box
- Rawls’ “veil of ignorance” — designing a society without knowing your place in it
But your thinking experiments don’t need to be grand. They can be personal, playful, even absurd. What matters is curious engagement.
Why Invent Mental Experiments?
They’re useful for several reasons:
- 🌀 Loosen rigid thinking — by testing alternatives
- 🎭 Try on new perspectives — without committing to them
- 🧱 Surface hidden assumptions — by flipping the frame
- 🧠 Stimulate creativity — by imagining conditions that don’t exist
- 📍 Reveal mental patterns — in how you process scenarios
You don’t need to publish your conclusions. You don’t even need conclusions. The value is in running the experiment.
How to Create a Thinking Experiment
Here’s a simple formula you can follow:
- Choose a belief, assumption, or idea you hold (e.g., “I work best under pressure”)
- Invent a counterfactual or extreme scenario (e.g., “What if deadlines didn’t exist?”)
- Mentally walk through that world — how would you behave? What changes?
- Observe what shifts — not what’s right or wrong, but what becomes visible
And remember: you’re not trying to “trick” yourself — you’re expanding your mental flexibility.
🎲 Sample Thinking Experiments
- “What if I had to explain this idea to someone who didn’t share any of my values?”
- “What if I only had 30 words to describe this experience?”
- “What if the opposite of what I believe is true — how would I explain the world then?”
- “What if I thought about this as a sculptor instead of a writer?”
- “What if I never got feedback — would I still make this thing?”
Some are provocative. Some are practical. Some are philosophical. All are optional realities to inhabit — temporarily.
Where Do These Experiments Lead?
Sometimes nowhere. Sometimes to new projects. Sometimes to discomfort. Sometimes to freedom.
What matters is that you’re exercising the part of your mind that questions its own patterns. That’s one of the highest forms of creative intelligence — and one of the most under-practiced.
Turn Patterns Into Playgrounds
Here’s the fun part: you can turn almost any pattern in your thinking into a game.
Examples:
- Default: “I need quiet to think.”
Experiment: “What if I wrote this in a noisy cafe?” - Default: “This idea needs more research.”
Experiment: “What if I had to write a one-page summary right now with what I already know?” - Default: “This is how people expect me to respond.”
Experiment: “What if I responded as if I didn’t care what people expected?”
These shifts aren’t permanent. You’re not changing your values. You’re testing the frame. And sometimes, testing the frame is all it takes to reimagine the picture inside it.
Journaling the Results (Or Not)
If you want to track what happens, keep a Thinking Lab journal. Each entry can be simple:
- Experiment: “What if I assumed nobody was watching?”
- Observed Result: “Felt more playful in writing. Took more risks.”
- Next Step: “Try that again tomorrow, then reverse it: write as if everyone’s watching.”
But don’t let documentation become the point. The point is to make space for mental movement.
Bonus Mode: Run Experiments in Conversation
Try this with a trusted friend: one of you poses a thinking experiment, and the other has to respond honestly. No debate. Just exploration.
For example:
- “What if you believed emotions were tools, not truths?”
- “What if the world ended in five years — how would that change your current work?”
- “What if everything you said today had to be sung — how would that change your conversations?”
You’ll find that these prompts unlock strange, rich, and wonderfully human answers.
This Isn’t About Proving Anything
Thinking experiments are not arguments. They’re not debates. They’re not puzzles to solve.
They’re a practice in cognitive elasticity — learning how to stretch your mind, hold multiple truths, imagine unfamiliar realities, and think in shapes instead of lines.
That’s where creativity thrives. Not in knowing more — but in imagining otherwise.
Conclusion: Think Like a Tinkerer
You don’t have to wait for insight. You can build the conditions where insight wants to visit. Thinking experiments are how you do that — not by pushing harder, but by playing smarter.
So ask the strange question. Flip the script. Try on a belief that isn’t yours. Pretend you’re someone else, for five minutes, and see what shifts.
Because the mind that plays is the mind that surprises itself — and those surprises often turn into the most interesting ideas you’ll ever have.
This article is part of our Curious Practices trail — essays for minds that like to test their own thought patterns just to see what happens.
