Imagination? Yes, Please!

[AnaKhouri]

I have only known a few people who had no imagination at all. It usually took me a while to figure out what seemed off about them, but that was it. I always wondered if they were born without imaginations, or if they had one and it was strangled in the cradle.

I want to foster Khan's imagination as much as possible. I think it is best to have one, because even if things get rough, as long as you have an imagination there will always be a place for you to hide.

Husband says his grandfather had absolutely no imagination, and he wasn't afraid of anything. I said I would rather be afraid and able to dream. He said there are places in the world for people with no imagination, which is true. I am a little afraid Khan was born without one. If that's the case, there's nothing I can do. But I hope he has one so I can nurture it.

What do you guys think? Can you be born without an imagination? Or is everyone born without an imagination and it has to be planted and watered? Or are the imagination-less just the victims of eminently practical parenting?

[Plaidman]

I love my imangation. Its what really kept me sane growing up. I wouldn't had have all my friends to talk to. Even if they weren't real, or real in my head, it was better then the taunts and beatings I would otherwise endure.


Cherish it. Love it. Teach it to him. Please. PLEASE do.

[Kal]

The choice, so far as I see it, is to have an imagination or to stagnate. Without imagination you'd never think "what if I..." and would never advance. Having read a book about this recently (Science of the Discworld II, not quite hard science but close enough) I have to agree with the conclusion that without imagination, stories and narratives, people wouldn't be people as they are today (I also liked the idea that Homo Sapiens are zoologically and more accurately Pan Narrans or the storytelling chimpanzee but that just appealed to my sense of justice and humour).

[iradney]

An imagination is what makes the box more interesting than the toy. See Calvin and Hobbes for ideas

[Sunsetsky]

I have a very active imagination. I remember when I was a kid I used to play with fanny packs and pretend they were dinosaurs. XD

[BookstoreEscapee]

I don't think it's an inborn thing...you can cultivate it..

[TTAZ]

Having *absolutely* no imagination and *absolutely* no fear sounds like symptoms to me. I think something like that may in fact be pathological and have a physiological cause. I think humans are born with imaginations and the extent of how neato they are depends on how well it is nurtured.

I don't remember how old Khan is, but I know my kiddo's imagination just EXPLODED around 2 years old. You don't have to do anything special to nurture his imagination, just let it run, don't squash it. That's it. He'll take care of the rest himself. Him and his army of robot super puppies and monkies that drive trucks in SPACE.

[42_42_42]

I've never known anyone who didn't have an imagination. I can't wrap my brain around that. Seriously, how can that be possible, unless the person is seriously brain damaged?

[Broomjockey]

I've never known anyone who didn't have an imagination. I can't wrap my brain around that. Seriously, how can that be possible, unless the person is seriously brain damaged?

Sounds like you have no imagination, when it comes to having no imagination.

Straight, though, people with no imagination are the ones who take everything literally, at face value. It takes an imagination to see more than one level to something, after all. Sometimes I wish I had less of an imagination. It's fairly paralysing to be able to come up with 500 ways something can end badly.

[BrenDAnn]

I love my imagination! It's what made it impossible for my mother to punish me by taking things away as a child. No TV? I'll read a book. No books? I'll draw or write. Now drawing/writing? I'll run around outside and invent games. It got frustrating for my mother, but fun for me. To this day, my imagination takes me places, in the form of my much beloved writing. Please, please make sure your lil Khan keeps his imagination big and bold and unbridled. As you said, your imagination will always provide a safe place for you through the rough times. Of course, my imagination does sometimes get me labeled as a 'drama queen' but I like to be thinking of 'what if this happens/ that happens'. I can't help it!!

[Misanthropical]

Are you kidding? No imagination? I would often go on adventures I made up as a child, not as goofy as Calvin and Hobbes, but they would still be considered silly. It helped me get through the things I was going through.

My children have active imaginations, too. As shown by my little guy making up the story about the invisible gophers in the backyard that would sneak in and eat the cookies I had baked. He was in kindergarten when he came up with that.

Now, I have a saying "I like living in my own little world, everyone knows my name and there is no heavy lifting."

[Ree]

I think children are born with imagination, but it has to be encouraged and developed, or they start to lose it.