What are you thinking? The mention of those two words likely brings the typical image of a dog urinating on a hydrant. That is the generalization, but it is not the norm for hydrants nor dogs. We are rife with stereotypes and are quick to create them. We use them to describe situations, events, and even more so, to describe people, individuals, and groups.
When we generalize, we seek to label people. We talk about ‘them’ and ‘those people. We alleviate the distinctions and the exceptional, and we bring it to the average. And in doing so, we lose richness and uniqueness. Inevitably we mischaracterize, leading to incorrect or flawed assumptions and judgments
Are we not richer for being far more open-minded in our thoughts about people and recognizing the strengths of individuals rather than placing them into groups? After all, average rarely produces any exceptional experience. Why be average?
