On the propensity to interpret something as true in “Malcolm Gladwell: ‘I’m just trying to get people to take psychology seriously’” in The Guardian (2019 Sep 1)
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The bottom line is that civil society simply cannot function without default to truth…I can’t converse with you, for instance, if I subject every statement that comes out of your mouth to critical scrutiny before I accept it as true. Conversation cannot proceed without default to truth.
— Malcolm Gladwell
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The bottom line is that civil society simply cannot function without default to truth…I can’t converse with you, for instance, if I subject every statement that comes out of your mouth to critical scrutiny before I accept it as true. Conversation cannot proceed without default to truth." in the context of "On the propensity to interpret something as true in “Malcolm Gladwell: ‘I’m just trying to get people to take psychology seriously’” in The Guardian (2019 Sep 1)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Malcolm Gladwell" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born September 3, 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996.
About Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born September 3, 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996.
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