--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Blindness to larger contexts is a…" description: "\"“Blindness to larger contexts is a constitutional defect of human thinking imposed by the painful necessity of being able to concentrate on only one th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/hugh-nibley-13330_quote_blindness-to-larger-contexts-is-a-consti_174017.jpg" --- # Blindness to larger contexts is a constitutional defect of… ![“Blindness to larger contexts is a constitutional defect of human thinking imposed by the painful necessity of being able to concentrate on only one thing at a time. We forget as we virtuously concentrate on that one thing that hundreds of other things are going on at the same time and on every…” quote by Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/hugh-nibley-13330_quote_blindness-to-larger-contexts-is-a-consti_174017.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/hugh-nibley-13330_quote_blindness-to-larger-contexts-is-a-consti_174017.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/hugh-nibley-13330_quote_blindness-to-larger-contexts-is-a-consti_174017.jpg) > ““Blindness to larger contexts is a constitutional defect of human thinking imposed by the painful necessity of being able to concentrate on only one thing at a time. We forget as we virtuously concentrate on that one thing that hundreds of other things are going on at the same time and on every side of us, things that are just as important as the object of our study and that are all interconnected in ways that we cannot even guess. Sad to say, our picture of the world to the degree to which it has that neatness, precision, and finality so coveted by scholarship is a false one. I once studied with a famous professor who declared that he deliberately avoided the study of any literature east of Greece lest the new vision destroy the architectonic perfection of his own celebrated construction of the Greek mind. His picture of that mind was immensely impressive but, I strongly suspect, completely misleading.”” [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human cognition tends to focus narrowly, ignoring many simultaneous, equally important contexts, leading to an overly simplistic worldview. **In simple terms:** We often miss the bigger picture because we concentrate on one thing at a time. Key Takeaway Broaden awareness beyond single‑task focus. Themes cognition context knowledge bias interconnectedness Mood thoughtful critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic research - personal decision‑making - creative problem solving Key Concepts limited attention false certainty intellectual humility Questions to Reflect On - How might expanding your focus change your conclusions? - What important contexts are you overlooking? A Different Perspective A single‑task focus can miss critical information and cause misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindness/) ## Related quotes > [Sandoz turned and accepted the book, looking at the spine. "Aeschylus?" 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The first thing we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/what-can-we-say-for-and-about-this-behavioral-version-this-bounded/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [Philosophy is the thoughts of men about human thinking, reasoning and imagining, and the real values in human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-william-eliot/philosophy-is-the-thoughts-of-men-about-human-thinking-reasoning-and/) [Charles William Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-william-eliot/) > [In recent times, more and more human thinking has come to assume that the idea of a universal natural law and the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/in-recent-times-more-and-more-human-thinking-has-come-to-assume-that/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [Then you have a big problem, because a human is a thinking animal. If you don't think, you're not really a human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/then-you-have-a-big-problem-because-a-human-is-a-thinking-animal-if/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Human's can't live in the present as animals do; they just live in the present. But human's are always thinking about the future or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/townes-van-zandt/human-s-can-t-live-in-the-present-as-animals-do-they-just-live-in-the/) [Townes Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/townes-van-zandt/) > [Human thinking envelope the world with mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/you-ng-micky-m-yzzy/human-thinking-envelope-the-world-with-mystery/) You'ng Micky M'yzzy ## More by Hugh Nibley > [Joseph Smith could not have picked a better year to start The Book of Mormon than 600 B.C.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/joseph-smith-could-not-have-picked-a-better-year-to-start-the-book-of/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [ \[Eve\] sees through Satan's disquise of clever hypocrisy, identifies him, and exposes him for what he is...\[ever since Satan has\] had it in for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/eve-sees-through-satan-s-disquise-of-clever-hypocrisy-identifies-him/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [The worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence on proper dress and grooming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/the-worst-sinners-according-to-jesus-are-not-the-harlots-and/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [Only if you reach the boundary will the boundary recede before you. 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Anyone who is repenting. No matter how bad he has been, if he is repenting he is a righteous man. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/who-is-righteous-anyone-who-is-repenting-no-matter-how-bad-he-has/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [Competitiveness always rests on the assumption of a life-and-death struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/competitiveness-always-rests-on-the-assumption-of-a-life-and-death/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [Being self-taught is no disgrace; but being self-certified is another matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/being-self-taught-is-no-disgrace-but-being-self-certified-is-another/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [Why do people feel guilty about TV? What is wrong with it? Just this: it shuts out all the wonderful things of which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/why-do-people-feel-guilty-about-tv-what-is-wrong-with-it-just-this-it/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [Nobody loves the rat race, but nobody can think of anything else—Satan has us just where he wants us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/nobody-loves-the-rat-race-but-nobody-can-think-of-anything-else-satan/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [Why read the Book of Mormon? Because angels do not come on trivial errands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/why-read-the-book-of-mormon-because-angels-do-not-come-on-trivial/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [If you pray for an angel to visit you, you know what he'll do if he comes. 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Here's $10, go and save 1,000 kids from blindness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-give-money-to-unicef-because-i-like-the-bang-for-your-buck-aspect/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [The recovery of spiritual sight and the healing of physical blindness have much in common. Some of those whose bodily eyes were blind received…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-palamas/the-recovery-of-spiritual-sight-and-the-healing-of-physical-blindness/) [Gregory Palamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-palamas/) > [The simplest things to see are the things we are most blind to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milliton-munney/the-simplest-things-to-see-are-the-things-we-are-most-blind-to/) [Milliton MUNNEY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milliton-munney/) > [Blackout is the way we feel how the blind people feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blackout-is-the-way-we-feel-how-the-blind-people-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The blindness of the eye in darkness is as life in the absence of true love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brain-emrys/the-blindness-of-the-eye-in-darkness-is-as-life-in-the-absence-of/) [Brain Emrys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brain-emrys/) > [It was a huge deal, a huge musical discovery that became life lessons learned. You can't return from having an experience like that. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-harper/it-was-a-huge-deal-a-huge-musical-discovery-that-became-life-lessons/) [Ben Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-harper/) [Browse all 580 Blindness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Blindness to larger contexts is a constitutional defect of human thinking imposed by the painful necessity of being able to concentrate on only one thing at a time. We forget as we virtuously concentrate on that one thing that hundreds of other things are going on at the same time and on every side of us, things that are just as important as the object of our study and that are all interconnected in ways that we cannot even guess. Sad to say, our picture of the world to the degree to which it has that neatness, precision, and finality so coveted by scholarship is a false one. 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