What Do You Want to Hear?
“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” - William James
The quotable quote today from famous American psychologist William James was today’s Joke of the Day. Ever since looking at that, I’ve been seeing it come true all day long. Perhaps this very saying installs itself as its own prejudice, and I understand what I see and hear in light of it.
A woman on a real estate site I frequent asked for honest feedback into her web site, which was basically an ad for how yippie-skippy she was (so far so good I suppose), but which hid the listings under an obscure click path seven layers deep.
Anyone who’s been here more than a minute knows I don’t hide the listings. If anything, I try to err on the side of hiding everything else. Well, except maybe our company phone number. I have a definite idea in mind about who you should call when you’re looking at those listings and have a question. 
Regarding the woman with the web site feedback request, I should have known better. “What do you want to hear?” is already overkill. One should probably look at “Give me honest feedback on my web site” as one of those questions on a par with “Does this dress make me look fat?”
Of course, I am no different from anyone. I have my prejudices as well. Pepsi, not Coke. SEO, not Image Marketing. Don’t check the box that says Buyer will pay Section 2, not do-check-the-box. However, I do allow myself the conceit of believing that, occasionally at least, if I ask for an opionion, I’m really interested in the answer.
