I once met a man who thought he was Sherlock Holmes. In a genial manner, he proceeded to tell me about my background based on what he had deduced from sitting through one of my workshops.
He was almost entirely wrong.
His analysis was not slipshod; it was just off-target. The experience emphasized the danger of making assumptions about people. Here are some common danger zones:
- Health
- Wealth
- Childhood
- Ancestry
- Employment experience
- Religious beliefs
- Political beliefs
2 comments:
This reminded me of a conversation I recently had with a college professor friend of mine. She said that she routinely teaches texts and literary works where she does not agree with the subject matter because they are excellent examples of the concepts she is teaching. I'd be willing to bet there are more than a few students of hers who would make similarly erroneous assumptions about her politics, religious beliefs, and so on, as a result.
CincyCat,
That's a great example.
I often list books with which I disagree in my reference materials simply because I want to reinforce the importance of getting other perspectives.
Michael
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