The tendency to divide humanity into heroes and villains, saints and devils, is a habit more of the primitive mind than of the reflective one.
A telling measure of a person’s cognitive sophistication is how they assess polarizing figures—be it Elon Musk, Greta Thunberg, Marine Le Pen, or Jacinda Ardern. Each is a nexus of contradictions, a repository of both virtue and folly. To apprehend this is not a mark of indecision, but of discernment.
The capacity to speak about them with nuance signals more than finesse—it stands as a quiet rebuke to simplistic thinking. It suggests a willingness to resist the pull of reductive narratives, to hold conflicting truths, and to embrace complexity over convenience.
Idea for Impact: True understanding lies not in easy answers, but in the ability to recognize and reflect on the layered realities others prefer to flatten. That, ultimately, is the mark of a mind equipped to navigate a complicated world.
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