Gardner on Seeking Out Differences

Columnist Charles Assisi has written about Howard Gardner in a feature in Mint on Sunday, the digital Sunday-only version of India's second-largest business newspaper.

In the article, titled "Opposites ought to attract," Assisi shares his reflections about why he is thankful that the people in his life closest to him are very different from himself. For example, although he is an atheist, a progressive, and an ambitious person, he has a devoutly Catholic wife and two best friends, one of whom is anti-secularist and the other of whom is an alcoholic businessman.

Assisi thinks back on a conversation that he had with Howard Gardner in providing some explanation for the situation. According to Gardner, because people tend to gravitate towards those who agree with their own views, it is necessary, especially in today's digital world, to seek out alternative perspectives and to listen to those with whom we disagree. By doing so, we are not only able to enrich our own perspectives but also hold a mirror up to ourselves and shift opinions if we discover new information.

Click here to read the full article via Mint on Sunday.