The character 思考 is formed by combining two independent, meaning-bearing characters, each contributing to a nuanced concept. The first, 思, depicts a brain (囟) over a heart (心), historically representing the seat of thought and feeling, thus meaning "to think". The second, 考, originally depicted an elderly person with a cane, conveying the idea of "examination" or "scrutiny", as from an elder's refined judgment. Therefore, 思考 is a compound where 思 provides the core action of 'thinking,' and 考 deepens it to imply a careful, thorough, and reflective kind of thinking, like pondering or deliberation, created by merging their conceptual fields.