--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The inability to envision a certain kind…" description: "\"The inability to envision a certain kind of person doing a certain kind of thing because you've never seen someone who looks like him do it before is n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/michael-lewis-705_appearance_the-inability-to-envision-a-certain-kind_1661238.png" --- # The inability to envision a certain kind of person doing a… ![“The inability to envision a certain kind of person doing a certain kind of thing because you've never seen someone who looks like him do it before is not just a vice. It's a luxury. What begins as a failure of the imagination ends as a market inefficiency: when you rule out an entire class of…” quote by Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/michael-lewis-705_appearance_the-inability-to-envision-a-certain-kind_1661238.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/michael-lewis-705_appearance_the-inability-to-envision-a-certain-kind_1661238.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/michael-lewis-705_appearance_the-inability-to-envision-a-certain-kind_1661238.png) > “The inability to envision a certain kind of person doing a certain kind of thing because you've never seen someone who looks like him do it before is not just a vice. It's a luxury. What begins as a failure of the imagination ends as a market inefficiency: when you rule out an entire class of people from doing a job simply by their appearance, you are less likely to find the best person for the job.” [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Limiting hiring based on appearance narrows talent pools, creating market inefficiencies and missed opportunities. **In simple terms:** Bias in hiring reduces talent and efficiency. Key Takeaway Challenge appearance-based hiring biases. Themes bias employment diversity Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - recruitment - HR policies - talent acquisition - inclusion training Key Concepts human capital market efficiency Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations broaden their view of candidate potential? - What systems prevent overlooking talent? A Different Perspective May underestimate other forms of bias beyond appearance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appearance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) [Best person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-person/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Envision Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envision-certain-760713/) [Failure Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-imagination-232322/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Inability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inability/) [Inability Envision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inability-envision-401839/) [Inefficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inefficiency/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [“What begins as a failure of the imagination ends as a market inefficiency: when you rule out an entire class of people from doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/what-begins-as-a-failure-of-the-imagination-ends-as-a-market/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“I had a novice's hunger for history, but also a novice's inability to envision it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/i-had-a-novice-s-hunger-for-history-but-also-a-novice-s-inability-to/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [It seems to me that my lack of faith is not, as I once thought, a triumph of the rational mind, but rather a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zo-heller/it-seems-to-me-that-my-lack-of-faith-is-not-as-i-once-thought-a/) [Zoë Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zo-heller/) > [An orthodox belief in big government's inefficiency cannot coexist with an orthodox belief in private industry's inability to compete with big government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/an-orthodox-belief-in-big-government-s-inefficiency-cannot-coexist/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [In my dream the angel shrugged and said, if we fail this time, it will be a failure of imagination. And then she placed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/in-my-dream-the-angel-shrugged-and-said-if-we-fail-this-time-it-will/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [“In my dream, the Angel shrugged and said, “If we fail this time, it will be a failure of imagination.” And then she placed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/in-my-dream-the-angel-shrugged-and-said-if-we-fail-this-time-it-will-2/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Not thinking it's possible is a failure of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/not-thinking-it-s-possible-is-a-failure-of-imagination/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [Novels are routinely denigrated when characters are not found to be likable. Is Raskolnikov likable? Is King Lear? The plethora of such naive readers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/novels-are-routinely-denigrated-when-characters-are-not-found-to-be/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Do they see the lethal insanity of a race to the brink of oblivion, and then over the edge? Apparently not. If they did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/do-they-see-the-lethal-insanity-of-a-race-to-the-brink-of-oblivion/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Oppression involves a failure of the imagination: the failure to imagine the full humanity of other human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/oppression-involves-a-failure-of-the-imagination-the-failure-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Belief in the supernatural reflects a failure of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/belief-in-the-supernatural-reflects-a-failure-of-the-imagination/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [I stare out the window and reflect on the similarity between writing and saving a life and the inevitable failure of one's imagination and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/i-stare-out-the-window-and-reflect-on-the-similarity-between-writing/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [It's a failure of imagination if you can only write what you know - we have to be able to imagine different worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/it-s-a-failure-of-imagination-if-you-can-only-write-what-you-know-we/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [War is an absolute failure of imagination, scientific and political. That a war can be represented as helping a people to 'feel good' about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/war-is-an-absolute-failure-of-imagination-scientific-and-political/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [For me, it's always a failure of the imagination. I have that anxiety that time is passing, that everything is ultimately fleeting and impermanent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/for-me-it-s-always-a-failure-of-the-imagination-i-have-that-anxiety/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) ## More by Michael Lewis > [“Crucial decisions are made, today as thousands of years ago, in terms of the intuitive guesses and preferences of a few men in positions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/crucial-decisions-are-made-today-as-thousands-of-years-ago-in-terms/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“You saw someone who reminded you of you, and then you looked for the reasons why you liked him. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/you-saw-someone-who-reminded-you-of-you-and-then-you-looked-for-the/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“At other places management says, ‘Well, gee, fellas, do we really want to bet the ranch on this deal?’ Lewie was not only willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/at-other-places-management-says-well-gee-fellas-do-we-really-want-to/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“BILLY WOULD SAY later that his wife left him because she was unnerved by his intensity—that she could even see it in his hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/billy-would-say-later-that-his-wife-left-him-because-she-was-unnerved/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“The great thing about baseball players, from the point of view of personal hygiene, is how seldom they break a sweat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-great-thing-about-baseball-players-from-the-point-of-view-of/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [There was but one question he left unasked, and it vibrated between his lines: if gross miscalculations of a person's value could occur on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/there-was-but-one-question-he-left-unasked-and-it-vibrated-between/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“The author refers to a player's affected nonchalance and comments he is, "too young to realize you are what you pretend to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-author-refers-to-a-player-s-affected-nonchalance-and-comments-he/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [A banking system is an act of faith: it survives only for as long as people believe it will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/a-banking-system-is-an-act-of-faith-it-survives-only-for-as-long-as/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [Some coaches believed they could judge a player's performance simply by watching it. In this they were deeply mistaken. The naked eye was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/some-coaches-believed-they-could-judge-a-player-s-performance-simply/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“No longer were the prices of ordinary mortgage bonds allowed to roam inefficiently, for they were now linked to the CMO market, in much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/no-longer-were-the-prices-of-ordinary-mortgage-bonds-allowed-to-roam/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“The difference between Strauss and Ranieri?” says one trader still at Salomon. “That’s easy. 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Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [The essence of worldliness is exclusion of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jacobsen/the-essence-of-worldliness-is-exclusion-of-god/) [Henry Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jacobsen/) > [We must, however, note that what are usually called the high religions made their appearance within about twenty-five hundred years - most of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/we-must-however-note-that-what-are-usually-called-the-high-religions/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [You can have a nice body, dress with the latest fashion. But if you don't have self-confidence sweetheart, forget about looking sexy, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/you-can-have-a-nice-body-dress-with-the-latest-fashion-but-if-you-don/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [So may the outward shows be least themselves; The world is still deceived with ornament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-may-the-outward-shows-be-least-themselves-the-world-is-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I'm OK with my appearance. I have made my peace with it after a long and frankly exhausting battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/i-m-ok-with-my-appearance-i-have-made-my-peace-with-it-after-a-long/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Appearance records are pretty special. Mine means a lot to me, not only because I love stats, but because it shows that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james/appearance-records-are-pretty-special-mine-means-a-lot-to-me-not-only/) [David James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james/) > [Every man would fall in love with their voice, their lovely appearance, but no man would ever get past that. They'd never really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/every-man-would-fall-in-love-with-their-voice-their-lovely-appearance/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [I already know what things look like - I don't want description. People believe in appearances, and I don't believe in appearances at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-already-know-what-things-look-like-i-don-t-want-description-people/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) [Browse all 2,446 Appearance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The inability to envision a certain kind of person doing a certain kind of thing because you've never seen someone who looks like him do it before is not just a vice. It's a luxury. 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