Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Many rational elites believe their opinions are correct even when reality contradicts them.
In plain terms
Elites often think they are right even when facts disagree.
What can you take from it?
Check your views against reality not just your opinion.

Where it applies

  • leadership
  • public policy
  • academic discourse

Putting it to work

  • test opinions against evidence
  • stay grounded in facts
  • avoid intellectual echo chambers

Questions to consider

  • When have you ignored reality to fit your opinion?
  • How do elites disconnect from reality?

Another view

Sometimes elites rely on models that predict reality even if current data seems wrong.

More from John Ralston Saul

  1. Pessimism: A valuable protection against quackery.

    Permalink to quote #39
  2. 'The recession is over.' This phrase has been used twice a year since 1973 by government leaders throughout the West. Its meaning is unclear. See: Depression.

    Permalink to quote #41
  3. Panic: A highly underrated capacity thanks to which individuals are able to indicate clearly that something is wrong.... Given their head, most humans panic wi…

    Permalink to quote #38

Related quotes

  1. Reason is nothing less than the guardian of love.[2]

    Sam HarrisSam Harris quote #1
  2. Pluralism lets things really exist in the each-form or distributively. Monism thinks that the all-form or collective-unit form is the only form that is rationa…

    William JamesWilliam James quote #7
  3. I think he who knows himself will know accurately, not the opinion of others about him, but what he is in reality: he ought to discover within himself what is …

    JulianJulian quote #8