John Cleese on perspective blindness

The danger arises when we overlook the fact that in most areas of life there are other people, with different ways of looking at things, who might deepen our own understanding, just as we might deepen theirs. John Cleese, the British comedian, put it this way: ‘Everybody has theories. The dangerous people are those who are not aware of their own theories. That is, the theories on tion which they operate are largely unconscious’.

Behavioural principles

Behavioural ideas at play in this post

Short, plain-English explanations of the principles behind this post, with links to related books and examples in the archive.

Salience

What stands out captures attention and shapes choice.

More quotes

Processing fluency

Easy-to-process things feel truer, safer, and more appealing.

More quotes

Lateral thinking

Better solutions sometimes appear when we stop pushing through the obvious route.

More quotes

John Cleese on perspective blindness

Behavioural ideas at play in this post

Sharp thinking in your inbox