is it truly a mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought?

[Kevinlb]

it's been said that Its the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it...
though is that true in my case?
i've been accused that i over think things( it's true to a certain extent)
whenever i'm going to make a decision i think about a subject from all possible angles, i give counter examples, counter explanations and at the end i simply pick one and go with it.

now usually i used to consider that as a mark of being sort of mature if not careful. i mean it's better to be safe than sorry.
but then again, not when this sort of thing starts interfering with things..

lemme give you an example.
today we heard of someone passing away, so the subject of "dying" came to the table.
while ppl were talking about it i'm like no one knows when his time will come, only god knows.
so the subject starts and alot of discussions went on and on about the whole thing.
and me! in the back of my mind this exact thing kept on spinning:
1. i dunno when i'll die
2. maybe it'll be in my late 80s
3. will i have my kids around me by then?
4. will i be married to begin with?
5. why am i thinking that way ahead i might die tomorrow
6. hell i might die in the following minute
7. or actually maybe i'm already dead and this is heaven/hell.


so you see! this is an example.
what's up with that?
i mean usually i tend to use that sort of thing with work issues and it usually work out very well as i tend to consider all possibilities..
but i mean not with everything!
are my thoughts THAt disordered? do i loose concentration? am i having trouble organizing my thoughts?
any advice would be appreciated:)

[SWM]

all seems pretty normal really. maybe the fact that you think it is a problem is making it a problem.

are you troubled by this way of thinking?

[HexHammer]

I don't understand the logic of the question.

That would suggest that all researchers should know what they do is factually right, which is impossible. So ofcause educated people can entertain a thought.