Life Is Short - Generalise
Generalisation (generalization), is usually regarded with complete negativity - especially by well-educated, sophisticated and politically correct individuals. To them, the person who generalises jumps to conclusions based on limited experience. He is also simplistic and immature. When these generalisations apply to certain cultures or peoples, he may even be branded a racist or sexist.
The Chinese have a saying that discourages generalisation too. It translates as knocking everyone overboard with the same bamboo pole.
The dictionary says that to generalise is:
1. to form (general principles or conclusions) from (detailed facts, experience, etc.); infer
2. to think or speak in generalities, esp in a prejudiced way
I suspect that even the politically correct people who condemn others for generalising are themselves guilty of it at one time or another. Is it pure coincidence that all departmental stores have their cosmetics department right at the front entrance? Or is there some unsavoury sexist generalisation involved?
“Hello sir. Congratulations, sir. You’ve just won a free ticket to the Maldives and we would like to invite you to collect your ticket at our office….”
Wow, you’ve just won a prize. But wait a minute. There’s no such thing as a free lunch (a very popular generalisation). Would you need to attend a 30-minute presentation before they give you the ticket? No harm listening, but what if they use hardsell tactics to pressure you to take up some timeshare scheme? It’s an old scam and calling it an old scam is actually another act of generalisation. You haven’t met the smooth-talking, sincere-sounding guy at the other end. You are actually jumping to conclusions if you hang up the phone or tell him to keep the ticket for himself. Would you fear being condemned for generalisation and attend the presentation? Would you give every free lunch offer a fair hearing before deciding that it isn’t a free lunch?
Not being as sophisticated and politicaly correct as some people, I’m not so averse to generalising. Life is unpredictable. But there are certain patterns of behaviour which we observe as we gain more experience. Every time we apply our instincts and experience to a new situation, we are generalizing. And the success that so many experienced people in every field of art, science and business enjoy only goes to show that the trouble with generalisations, is that they are generally true.
Another reason for generalisation has to do with age. At an age when people lament: “If only I knew…”, you know that time is not on their side. I doubt I would have another 46 years to make the same mistakes I made in the last 46 years. At this age, I find it easier and easier to understand why so many older fogies are so quick to judge. Listen to the more successful ones and you’ll find them not just very confident but also very prejudiced. I had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of them in Thailand during my younger days. At that time, my politically correct mind went diametrically against their swift, prejudiced judgement and conclusions. Fortunately for me, it didn’t take me too long to admit defeat and acknowledge their distasteful, prejudiced wisdom.
It’s a bit harsh to say that a leopard never changes its spots (another popular generalisation). It’s even harsher not to give a person a second chance, but then again, life is short. What do you lose by not giving a person with a “history” (of betrayal, dishonesty etc) a chance when the world is full of people without that “history”? Does it really benefit you to be so forgiving? Does it really benefit you to be so politically correct and non-judgemental? I may want to experiment if I have many more years to squander. Not when life is so short. Time to move on and trust my instincts and experience in dealing with new, unfamiliar things.
