--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The combination of power, optimism and…" description: "\"“The combination of power, optimism and abstract thinking makes powerful people more certain. The more cut-off they are from others, the more confident..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/margaret-heffernan-6923_abstract-thinking_the-combination-of-power-optimism-and-ab_2242169.jpg" --- # The combination of power, optimism and abstract thinking… ![“The combination of power, optimism and abstract thinking makes powerful people more certain. The more cut-off they are from others, the more confident they are that they are right.” quote by Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/margaret-heffernan-6923_abstract-thinking_the-combination-of-power-optimism-and-ab_2242169.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/margaret-heffernan-6923_abstract-thinking_the-combination-of-power-optimism-and-ab_2242169.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/margaret-heffernan-6923_abstract-thinking_the-combination-of-power-optimism-and-ab_2242169.jpg) > ““The combination of power, optimism and abstract thinking makes powerful people more certain. The more cut-off they are from others, the more confident they are that they are right.”” [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confidence can stem from isolation and optimism, but it may blind people to alternative views and reality. **In simple terms:** Powerful people can become overconfident when detached. Key Takeaway Balance confidence with humility and diverse input. Themes confidence optimism isolation leadership Mood reflective cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - executive meetings - team brainstorming - strategic planning - innovation sessions Key Concepts cognitive bias groupthink ego decision making Questions to Reflect On - How does isolation affect your confidence? - What steps can you take to seek dissenting opinions? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to blind spots and poor decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-thinking/) [Confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confident/) [Confident Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confident-right-3135883/) [Judgement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgement/) [Optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimism/) [People Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-certain-561710/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-optimism-5088379/) [Powerful people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-people/) ## Related quotes > [“Being confident you are right is not the same as being right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/being-confident-you-are-right-is-not-the-same-as-being-right/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [I'm confident that if you do what's right, and you work hard and you pray a lot, no matter what it is, everything will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heart-evangelista/i-m-confident-that-if-you-do-what-s-right-and-you-work-hard-and-you/) [Heart Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heart-evangelista/) > [I have never been 100% confident that I am right about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahadh-faasil/i-have-never-been-100-confident-that-i-am-right-about-anything/) [Fahadh Faasil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahadh-faasil/) > [“Please do make your decisions in life and feel confident that they are right. However, if fate is involved, feel just as confident even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-elizabeth/please-do-make-your-decisions-in-life-and-feel-confident-that-they/) [C. Elizabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-elizabeth/) > [“He wasn't normally conscious of it, but there was one part of his body that was extremely sensitive, somewhere along his back. This soft,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/he-wasn-t-normally-conscious-of-it-but-there-was-one-part-of-his-body/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I think, first and foremost ,Marie Antoinette was intellectually impoverished. 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The categories are listed below along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/there-are-three-categories-of-criteria-that-an-individual-must-meet/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [Art - when it is really doing what it should do - teaches abstract thinking; it teaches teamwork; it teaches people to actually think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-t-jones/art-when-it-is-really-doing-what-it-should-do-teaches-abstract/) [Bill T. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-t-jones/) > [“The brain works in a holistic, cooperative way that makes our basest desire or most abject fear as expressive of who we are as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/the-brain-works-in-a-holistic-cooperative-way-that-makes-our-basest/) [David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/) ## More by Margaret Heffernan > [Companies are bought for their revenue, customer base, technology, or people. A few great companies offer all of these, but any valuable business offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/companies-are-bought-for-their-revenue-customer-base-technology-or/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-biggest-catastrophes-that-we-ve-witnessed-rarely-come-from/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [I haven't always hated McDonald's. 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I'd even be happy to hear an honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/i-don-t-mind-if-the-couple-next-to-me-is-tense-or-the-kids-are-whiny/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [British innovation in design, in the creative arts, in engineering and manufacturing is world class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/british-innovation-in-design-in-the-creative-arts-in-engineering-and/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [Huge open source organizations like Red Hat and Mozilla manage the collaboration of hundreds of people who don't know one another and have spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/huge-open-source-organizations-like-red-hat-and-mozilla-manage-the/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [Words are how people think. When you misuse words, you diminish your ability to think clearly and truthfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/words-are-how-people-think-when-you-misuse-words-you-diminish-your/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [“Humans do not have enough mental capacity to do all the things that we think we can do. 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The categories are listed below along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/there-are-three-categories-of-criteria-that-an-individual-must-meet/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [“I began to realize that an intuitive understanding and consciousness was more significant than abstract thinking and intellectual logical analysis,” he later said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/i-began-to-realize-that-an-intuitive-understanding-and-consciousness/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The abstract thinking of the world is never to be expected of persons in high places...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/the-abstract-thinking-of-the-world-is-never-to-be-expected-of-persons/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [There are all kinds of features that will become part of cell phones that will help us offload the more laborious things of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cooper/there-are-all-kinds-of-features-that-will-become-part-of-cell-phones/) [Martin Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cooper/) > [“Common Core math standards seem unaware that children are not miniaturized adults, who are absolutely incapable of certain kinds of cognition. For example, genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/common-core-math-standards-seem-unaware-that-children-are-not/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [“The most dangerous thing about an academic education is that it enables my tendency to over-intellectualize stuff, to get lost in abstract thinking instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-most-dangerous-thing-about-an-academic-education-is-that-it/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Thinking - in particular abstract thinking, which most of us are introduced to through the study of mathematics and literature - helps us learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/thinking-in-particular-abstract-thinking-which-most-of-us-are/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [I think, first and foremost ,Marie Antoinette was intellectually impoverished. 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