I loathe the expression 'What makes him tick.' It is the American mind, looking for simple and singular solution, that uses the foolish expression. A person not only ticks, he also chimes and strikes the hour, falls and breaks and has to be put together again, and sometimes stops like an electric clock in a thunderstorm.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Complex people cannot be reduced to a single phrase like 'what makes him tick'.
- In plain terms
- People are too complex for simple labels.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid simplifying human nature too much.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What cliches do you use for people?
- How complex is a human being?
Another view
It does not address how to communicate effectively despite complexity.
More from James Thurber
I hate women because they always know where things are.
Permalink to quote #66 I think that maybe if women and children were in charge we would get somewhere.
Permalink to quote #68 Hundreds of hysterical persons must confuse these phenomena with messages from the beyond and take their glory to the bishop rather than the eye doctor.
Permalink to quote #65
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