A difference which makes no difference is no difference at all.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- If a difference has no practical impact or observable consequence, it is essentially meaningless.
- In plain terms
- If something makes no real change, it is not a real difference.
- What can you take from it?
- Focus only on differences that have practical consequences.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does this distinction change how you act?
- What observable difference does this make?
Another view
Some abstract differences may matter internally even if they lack external effects.
More from William James
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.
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