Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, 'But how can it be like that?' because you will get 'down the drain,' into a blind alley from which nobody has yet escaped. Nobody knows how it can be like that.
Richard P. FeynmanRead
It is undoubtedly true that some people mistake sycophancy for good nature, but it is equally true that many more mistake impertinence for sincerity.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the confusion between false flattery and true kindness, as well as the misinterpretation of disrespect as honesty.
George D. Prentice points out a common human error in social interactions: people often misinterpret sycophantic behavior as genuine kindness while simultaneously mistaking an impolite or brash attitude for sincerity. This illustrates the complexities of human communication where intentions can be obscured, leading to misunderstandings about others' true nature and motives.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about effective communication in the workplace.
Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, 'But how can it be like that?' because you will get 'down the drain,' into a blind alley from which nobody has yet escaped. Nobody knows how it can be like that.
There's a place in you that you must keep inviolate. You must keep it pristine. Clean. So that nobody has a right to curse you or treat you badly. Nobody. No mother, father, no wife, no husband, no-nobody. You have to have a place where you say: 'Stop it. Back up. Don't you know I'm a child of God?
The only way to bring peace to the earth is to learn to make our own life peaceful.
Don't give to anyone the power to put you down. Haters are losers pretending to be winners.
Make a habit of two things: to help; or at least to do no harm.
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.