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Given a thimbleful of [dramatic] facts we rush to make generalizations as large as a tub.
Gordon Allport
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Interpretation

What this quote means

We often overreach in our conclusions based on limited evidence.

This quote by Gordon Allport highlights the tendency of individuals to draw sweeping conclusions from a small amount of information or data. It serves as a reminder of the importance of critical thinking and the need to seek broader, more comprehensive evidence before forming generalized beliefs or assertions.

Themes

GeneralizationFactsCritical ThinkingKnowledgeEvidence

In practice

Example use cases

During a debate on social media, one could cite this quote to argue against hasty conclusions drawn from anecdotal evidence.

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People who are aware of, and ashamed of, their prejudices are well on the road to eliminating them.
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The scientist, by the very nature of his commitment, creates more and more questions, never fewer. Indeed the measure of our intellectual maturity, one philosopher suggests, is our capacity to feel less and less satisfied with our answers to better problems.
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Quote by Gordon Allport | QuoteProject