Quotes About Open-mindedness

I don't want to talk, to communicate, with someone who agrees with me; I want to communicate with you because you see it differently. I value that difference.

Probably the most important deposit you could make would be just to listen, without judging or preaching or reading your own autobiography into what he says. Just listen and seek to understand. Let him feel your concern for him, your acceptance of him as a person.

came into focus. Through continued calm, respectful, and specific communication, each of us in the room was finally able to see the other point of view. But when we looked away and then back, most of us would immediately see the image we had been conditioned to see in the ten-second period of time. I frequently use this perception demonstration in working with people and organizations because

others and be open to their perceptions, thereby getting a larger picture and a far more objective view.

Think about a person who typically sees things differently than you do. Consider ways in which those differences might be used as stepping-stones to third alternative solutions. Perhaps you could seek out his or her views on a current project or problem, valuing the different views you are likely to hear.

The real jewel in this distinction is that we are NEVER stuck where we are. We can learn our way through or out of anything. We have neural pathways in our brains that can support the adoption of new ways of being—no matter our ages. We have unlimited capacity for curiosity, learning, knowledge, and wisdom, throughout our lifespans. We possess the mental flexibility to move past "what we know" or—more accurately— "what we think we know.

How can a hard and fast view of a world that is never hard and fast possibly be accurate?

As little children we readily accept the first story we're given at home, or school, or church. We're told stories of nationalism, religion, racism, politics, and family. All too often we accept them before we learn to weigh them against other views. And all too often we're inclined to accept these (or other) frozen views rather than see each situation for what it is.

Have fun, think small, don't fear the obvious.

Consider the kind of questions that kids ask. Sure, they may be silly or simplistic or out of bounds. But kids are also relentlessly curious and relatively unbiased. Because they know so little, they don't carry around the preconceptions that often stop people from seeing things as they are. When it comes to solving problems, this is a big advantage.

Another cardinal rule of thinking like a child: don't be afraid of the obvious.

We'd like to bury the idea that there's a right way and a wrong way, a smart way and a foolish way, a red way and a blue way. The modern world demands that we all think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally; that we think from a different angle, with a different set of muscles, with a different set of expectations; that we think with neither fear nor favor, with neither blind optimism nor sour skepticism. That we think like—ahem—a Freak.

even the smartest people tend to seek out evidence that confirms what they already think, rather than new information that would give them a more robust view of reality.

When you ask the question differently, you look for answers in different places.

be one of the key functions of the lab conference. In Dunbar's research, outsiders working on different problems were much less likely to dismiss the apparent error as useless noise. Coming at the problem from a different perspective, with few preconceived ideas about what the "correct" result was supposed to be, allowed them to conceptualize scenarios where the mistake might actually be meaningful.

Abraham Maslow once famously said,22 "When all you've got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." What he meant was, when it comes to problem-solving, we tend to get locked into using familiar tools in expected ways.

The quality most desirable in a CEO? According to a global survey conducted by IBM of 1,500 top executives in sixty countries: creativity.

If you have to silence people who disagree with you, does that mean you have no good arguments for why they're mistaken?

Anyone who turns love between two consenting adults into a negative, doesn't understand the meaning of the word.

You must force yourself to consider opposing arguments. Especially when they challenge your best loved ideas.

I love different themes, different venues, different movies. I love to jump about and tackle different subjects. I have no intellectual master plan.

Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind.

I've always felt like you should love who you love - sexuality doesn't matter. It would be so cool in the future if it weren't even an issue to anybody anymore.

Bad evangelism says: I'm right, you're wrong, and I would love to tell you about it