Newspeak word, and one of the central pillars of Ingsoc. Crimestop refers to the ability to stop
short of any thought that might be heretical or unorthodox before it is
even thought, as if by instinct. It is the ability to misunderstand analogies, fail to perceive logical errors, and be repelled or
bored by any train of thought or conversation that might be inimical to Ingsoc. Of course, this process is not
unique to Ingsoc, and has been and
still is applied by most religious and political extremists.
Crimestop is not stupidity, or at least not natural stupidity. It is the ability to deliberately retard one's own intelligence, and, of course, to forget the process of doing it by doublethink.
