People assume that they perceive reality as it is, that our senses accurately record the outside world. Yet the science suggests that, in important ways, people experience reality not as it is, but as they expect it to be.
Jonah LehrerRead
We need to be willing to risk embarrassment, ask silly questions, surround ourselves with people who don't know what we're talking about. We need to leave behind the safety of our expertise.
Interpretation
Embracing vulnerability can lead to personal growth and deeper understanding.
This quote emphasizes the importance of stepping outside of our comfort zones and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, even if it means risking embarrassment or feeling out of place. By asking questions and engaging with those who may have different perspectives, we open ourselves up to new ideas and deeper insights, ultimately enhancing our wisdom and fostering growth.
In practice
In a team meeting to encourage innovation and creativity.
People assume that they perceive reality as it is, that our senses accurately record the outside world. Yet the science suggests that, in important ways, people experience reality not as it is, but as they expect it to be.
The only way to maximize group creativity—to make the whole more than the sum of its parts—is to encourage a candid discussion of mistakes. In part, this is because the acceptance of error reduces cost. When you believe your flaws will be quickly corrected by the group, you're less worried about perfecting your contribution, which leads to a more candid conversation. We can only get it right when we talk about what we got wrong.
Knowledge can be a subtle curse. When we learn about the world, we also learn all the reasons why the world cannot be changed. We get used to our failures and imperfections. We become numb to the possibilities of something new
We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.
No personal calamity is so crushing that something true and great can't be made of it
For gold is tried in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.
The best way out is always through.
One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose.
...ambition without pious restraint must end in failure, often involving in its ruin that beautiful reverence which solaces common men for the obscurity and poverty of their lot.
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