When it comes to intellectual development, I have a standard. It is one derived from J.L. Borges’ Fictions:
“Every man should be capable of all ideas…”
To me, it is apparent that if I can think all thoughts, I will be in a much better position to make the right choice.
The opposite of this many-mindedness is a single-mindedness, the tendency to see the world through a single, dominant perspective, instead of a multi-faceted one.
In the past I had struggled with this idea in it’s non-word form. I could see the words but I had no appropriate image to map them to. I do now.
Imagine a black-and-white spectrum like the political left-versus-right dichotomy. Thinking solely in terms of left-versus-right is, undoubtedly, an impoverished method of thought. But add in a few more dichotomies and it’s possible to become a nuanced political thinker. Thus:
Or alternatively, I like to think in terms of eyes—compound or non-compound.
Swell & Cut 