I am trying to remember the name of a short story I heard on radio 4 about 15 years ago.
A civilization builds a giant computer to answer their deepest questions. With great fanfare they turn the computer on. As the machine starts all the people gathered to watch the event stop moving, they stop thinking.
The idea is that the thoughts of the people come from their environment. The mind is a filter for the thoughts of the universe, allowing them to be experienced. Hence the mind is not the originator of thought. The computer, being so powerful, sucked the thoughts from the universe before the people. And so the people fell silent, without thought.
I thought it was utter nonsense at the time, but I have come back to revisit these ideas and would really like to read/listen to the story again...