Taboo Thinking

And why it's a cop-out

From Taboo to Transparent: How Our Awareness Shapes Our Willingness to Think Aloud

In a world still clutching at cultural taboos—race, gender identity, sexuality, religion—the real difference isn’t just in what we think, but in how we construct our thinking.

As someone who works in vertical development through Constructed Development Theory (CDT), I see the differences clearly. They're not about opinions. They're about Awareness.

Let’s take the idea of a “taboo subject.”
What does that even mean?

Your Awareness Quotient (AQ) will determine whether you:

  • Avoid the topic entirely,
  • Perform around it,
  • Debate it for validation,
  • Or, eventually, see the very idea of "taboo" as a cognitive construction itself.

How AQ Shapes Thinking About Taboo

AQ5: Avoidance Through Fear of Judgement

  • Thinking is externally referenced and reactive.
  • Taboo topics are either ignored or superficially acknowledged to maintain social belonging.
  • The thinker may fear being “cancelled,” “offending,” or “getting it wrong.”
  • Construction: “I can’t touch this—it’s too dangerous.”

AQ6: Navigating for Acceptance

  • Begins to engage but still through approval-seeking lenses.
  • Talks about taboo topics using socially sanctioned narratives.
  • Language is careful and inclusive, but not deeply examined.
  • Construction: “If I say the right things, I’m on the right side.”

AQ7: Dissecting the Frame

  • Explores why something is considered taboo in the first place.
  • Spots inherited scripts, unconscious biases, and cultural “shoulds.”
  • Taboo becomes an object of curiosity and deconstruction.
  • Construction: “Who benefits from keeping this off-limits?”

AQ8: Inviting the Uncomfortable

  • No idea is off-limits—every idea is a construction to explore.
  • Discomfort is invited as the only way to grow.
  • Engages taboo territory to illuminate the scaffolding of thought.
  • Construction: “Let’s go there. That’s exactly where we need to be.”

AQ9: Holding All Positions, Needing None

  • Taboo is no longer recognised as such—it reflects others’ limits.
  • Engages neutrally, holding multiple frames without ego attachment.
  • Free from needing to be right or accepted; can hold paradox.
  • Construction: “Everything is a story. Which one is most useful here—and now?”

Why This Matters in Today’s Conversations

We don’t solve complex societal problems by censoring ourselves. We grow through conscious construction.

CDT teaches us that it’s not the topic that’s dangerous—it’s how we think about the topic that reveals our true level of Awareness.

Am I avoiding this because I fear judgement?
Or am I ready to meet the construction of the idea itself?

If you're leading, coaching, parenting, or simply trying to make sense of the world, your AQ level determines whether you react or reflect. And that makes all the difference.