Quotes About Preconception

There was a perception that I'd grown up with a silver spoon in my mouth.

If you knew Norman Mailer and me and were asked to guess which of us cared more about sex, you would, of course, pick Norman Mailer. How wrong you would be.

We have it all arranged in our minds, and the less often we see a particular person the more satisfying it is to check how obediently he conforms to our notion of him every time we hear of him. Any deviation in the fates we have ordained would strike us as not only anomalous but unethical. We would prefer not to have known our neighbor, the retired hot-dog stand operator, if it turns out he has just produced the greatest book of poetry his age has seen.

We have it all arranged in our minds, and the less often we see a particular person the more satisfying it is to check how obediently he conforms to our notion of him every time we hear of him. Any deviation in the fates we have ordained would strike us as not only anomalous but unethical. We would prefer not to have known at all our neighbor, the retired hot-dog stand operator, if it turns out he has just produced the greatest book of poetry his age has seen.

They were a motley, dispirited underclass that wanted black people held down in part because they needed someone to look down upon, as most of the white world looked down on them.

When most people see an adult skipping they assume it must be on the way either to or from the asylum.

Frankly, I don't care what happens to your father, Varina. He's an ignorant, stupid man, a racist, and a bully who molested black women and jailed and beat their men. His sin lies not in his ignorance and stupidity but in his choice to stay ignorant and stupid.

I was starting to buy into my own sort of stereotype in a way.

I was never a playboy, you know? But it's easy to say that because it's just a stereotype. 'OK, this boy did college so he must be a playboy.'

The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory.

What runs so contrary to received wisdom is that it really is the male who is the aesthete while the woman is drawn to abstractions.

Before we mire up too deep in the accusatory voice it might be well to remind ourselves that you can't misrepresent what has yet to occur.

What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.

I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong.

Look. Let's just say he's in Tabitha's line of work. Okay? (Selena) Ladies' lingerie? He hardly looks the type to sell that. (Sunshine)

People don't know how good cauliflower is, because they always have this image of cauliflower cheese - awful, sticky, creamy and rich.

Judge not the horse by his saddle.

Which of these animals is more likely to kill you? A SHARK                                    A DEER           ANSWER: The deer is more likely to kill you. In fact, it's 300 times more likely to kill you (via a collision with your car).

Never, shrieked Paul, would he consent to meet the "filthy Jew": he was coming along tomorrow at the appointed hour to slap his face.

I, like many people, had some sort of preconception about Madonna. One of the preconceptions was that she had the extraordinary work ethic, which turned out to be absolutely true.

When people make up their minds about you, they only see you one way, which is the easy way for them.

She left the window - and I said to myself, The lady is dark. She moved forward a few steps - and I said to myself, The lady is young. She approached nearer - and I said to myself (with a sense of surprise which words failed me to express), The lady is ugly!

It is what we think we already know that often prevents us from learning.

People don't really want to know anything about you. They just want you to fit into their little predetermined slots. They decide what you are in the first two seconds, and they only get nervous or upset if you don't live up to their snap judgments.