Quotes About Perception

Or was she making a connection that wasn't there, like an amputee who still feels a missing arm or leg long after it's gone?

Red shoes are for toddlers and whores," Ginny had quipped.

Eighteen years ago, Lydia had told her that the problem with Paul Scott was that he didn't see Claire as a normal, imperfect human being. He was blind to her faults. He covered her missteps. He would never challenge her or scare her or infuriate her or stir up any of those fiery emotions that made it worthwhile to put up with a man's bullshit.

I see you, she told him. I see exactly who you are.

It was a triptych, three canvases hinged together to make one image when it was open, another image when it was closed. He had always assumed she liked the duplicity of the piece. It was just like Angie, one thing inside, another out. Just like Michael Ormewood, come to think of it. What a perfect pair.

John had learned a long time ago that the reason the middle class had it so good was because they expected things to be better. They wouldn't settle for less than they were worth. They'd just get into their shiny cars and go where they were appreciated. Poor people, on the other hand, were used to just taking what was given to them and being grateful for it.

Their whole life, they're the center of attention. People want to be around them just because they're attractive. Their jokes are funnier. Their lives are better. And then suddenly, they get bags under their eyes or they put on a little weight and no one cares about

the great thing about lying was people believed it so long as the lie was close enough to the truth. Lena

conversation. He'd felt his gut clench at Emma's

A PARTICULARLY BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IS A SOURCE OF TERROR. —Carl Jung

children sometimes, where, as a form of self-defense, they've learned to read mood and nuance better than the typical child. They absorb an incredible amount of blame to keep the peace. They are the ultimate survivors." Faith

Maybe that's why Claire had perfected the art of invisibility. It was a form of self-preservation. You couldn't resent what you could not see. She was so quiet, but she noticed everything. Her eyes tracked the world like it was a book written in a language she could not understand. There was nothing timorous about her, but you got the feeling that she always had one foot out the door. If the situation got too hard, or too intense, she would simply disappear.

We think they're real." Lydia tried to play devil's advocate again. "We think that girl looked like Anna Kilpatrick. We think that she was mutilated in the same way, based on what her mother said and did during a press conference. But are we one hundred percent certain? Or are we just talking ourselves into it?" "Confirmation bias." Claire scowled at her own words. "What's the downside of calling Mayhew?

Paul. She hadn't just watched him die. She had taken in his death like a hummingbird drawing nectar.

was a truth universally acknowledged that your mother was the only person in the world who could say, "Your hair looks nice," but what you heard was, "Your hair always looks awful except for this one, brief moment in time.

Her hearing had faded out as soon as he'd touched her—maybe it was the angels playing harps or the exploding fireworks. Maybe her drink was too strong or her heart was too lonely.

Claire joined her, absently watching a lone squirrel hop across the decking and drink saline water from the pool. Asking what to do next was a loaded question, because what it all boiled down to was whether or not Claire wanted to know more. This was past red pill/blue pill. This was skinning the proverbial onion.

These were the qualities that painted young me as smart and ambitious and young woman as trouble.

Everyone knows you're beautiful," he'd told her, "but no one knows that you're clever." Clever. Anybody could be smart. It took a special somebody to be clever.

Ben Hecht said, "Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell time by watching the second hand of a clock.

The world stops for you when you're pretty. That's why woman spend billions on crap for their faces. Their whole life, they're the center of attention. People want to be around them just because they are attractive. Their jokes are funnier. Their lives are better. And then suddenly, they get bags under their eyes or they put on a little weight and no one cares about them anymore. They cease to exist.

these were the qualities that painted young men as smart and ambitious and young women as trouble.

Change your language and you change your thoughts.

The biggest obstacle to learning something new is the belief that you already know it.