“The confidence that individuals have in their beliefs depends mostly on the quality of the story they can tell about what they see, even if they see little.”
What this quote means
Kahneman points out that our confidence in our beliefs rests less on solid evidence and more on the coherence of the story we tell ourselves. We fill gaps with our imagination and then feel certain, even with little information. This makes us vulnerable to illusions and biases. To make better decisions, we must embrace uncertainty and actively seek out different perspectives.
How to apply it daily
When you feel certain, ask yourself: What evidence do I really have? Look for information that contradicts your viewpoint before concluding.
Continue
Related quotes
Same author or same theme — keep reading.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”Create visual
“Very few of us are what we seem.”Create visual
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”Create visual
“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”Create visual
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”Create visual
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”Create visual