What's the point of generalization?

[Junkhead]

I wonder why we sometimes feel the need to generalize about things. Is only to try to maximize a point we're trying to come across?

[Chiki]

Because generalizations tend to be accurate for most members of the group one is generalizing.

[Constable Reggie]

Yeah, like the fact that the south apparently only consists of white people. Or white and black people, can never be too sure.

[Vorena]

I know for the sciences it is rather important. Having a very generalized statement about a process is very helpful. You only need to memorize and understand a single process in order to apply it to many things compared to very specific processes which are useless in many cases.

^lol I am generalizing about generalizing. I guess I found another purpose. How do you talk about something you do not know the low levels of abstraction for? You generalize in order to talk about a subject you actually know very little about. How does a teacher talk to students learning a new subject? Often times, they will generalize to give you a broad picture sort of understanding before getting into the gritty details.

I would guess that since we cannot grasp too many details at once its easier for humans to take a step back and make statements which generalize in order to make it comprehensible. After we have done this, you could get deeper into the structure of the statement by analyzing various details bit by bit.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Vorena

[Sheth]

It makes the distinction that individual experiences do not necessarily reflect the outcome of similar circumstances in the future.

What's the fire emblem thing? Your own experience means nothing? Yeah, that.

[Rehab]

The point of generalization is to give cognitive therapists everywhere something to groan about. It's a logical bear trap we walk into gleefully.

[Bluedoom]

Just like how light cannot exist without darkness, exceptions cannot exist without generalization. (and then one would think this is a big paradox, because when exceptions don't exist everyone is technically alike)

People who say generalization sucks are generalizing, and therefore contradicting themselves. Definitions of objects are relative and rely on definitions of other objects, so to define one object (or the meaning of 'object' that would go really deep though) would require people to agree to a particular set of sounds/vowels and consonants. In the sense,language came about by everyone accepting particular sounds representing actions. So in a sense you could call this too 'generalization'- we're generalizing that a particular sound means a particular thing/action, when it doesn't HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT.

Generalizing CAN be good, I don't know from where people get this idea that generalization is inherently bad. Generalization which shows discriminative attitude towards people based on one or two personal experiences is what is bad. The ones which don't site scientific explanations are horrendously bad(and even science has its own limits since a scientific study would usually, until many years later, pertain to a small population compared to the LARGE WORLD POPULATION of 7 BILLION.)

[Green Poet]

Brevity of speech, I suppose. There's also the fact that general statements have a lesser chance of being politically incorrect, which is usually an issue in a discussion of such a depth that one re-examines how specific their statements are.

[Esau of Isaac]

Because generalizations tend to be accurate for most members of the group one is generalizing.

White people are racist

Black people are lazy

Mexicans are poor

Asians have tiny penises

French chicks don't shave

British people have bad teeth

Americans are fat

Indians are smelly

Southern people are into incest

Women are bad drivers

LOOK AT THIS TRUTH BEHOLD

Generalizations are fun because they bring color to the world and make it easy to argue over small things. Also it's cool to try and think of where these originated from; every generalization has a nugget of truth from whence it came

Edited May 12, 2013 by Esau of Isaac

[Rehab]

I once saw a Brit comedian who put it something like thusly: "Americans all have the same smile, no individuality to them"

At least as my teeth outgrow my mouth, having foregone the cost of braces so far (thanks mom and dad), I can take solace in my smile kind of looking like 2D's

[Esau of Isaac]

My teeth are all straight, but the incisor on my right is just a bit higher than the one on my left. So since the other are all perfectly aligned, it's like the black sheep that makes the rest of the family look retarded :<

Also my teeth are like on a jihad against the color white. No matter how often I brush or use whitening agents they can't get to be beautiful like all those handsome actors in the movies it's not fair

[dondon151]

I wonder why we sometimes feel the need to generalize about things. Is only to try to maximize a point we're trying to come across?

it's to simplify survival. our ancestors wouldn't have survived if they didn't generalize, for example, vividly-colored organisms to be extremely poisonous, or large animals with sharp teeth to be lethal.

Edited May 14, 2013 by dondon151

[MacLovin]

White people are racist

Black people are lazy

Mexicans are poor

Asians have tiny penises

French chicks don't shave

British people have bad teeth

Americans are fat

Indians are smelly

Southern people are into incest

Women are bad drivers

LOOK AT THIS TRUTH BEHOLD

Generalizations are fun because they bring color to the world and make it easy to argue over small things. Also it's cool to try and think of where these originated from; every generalization has a nugget of truth from whence it came

You forgot a few.

Irish are always drunk.

Blond Women are bimbos.

Jews are penny-pinchers and act like Jerry Lewis's screen persona.

Italians are swarthy and use olive oil in their hair to make it look slick.

Germans are industrious.

Native Americans can't handle liquor.

Canadians are forgotten.

[Steampunk]

That's how our minds work, put simply. We tend to work our way from the vague and general down to the finer details. Look at how education is structured: you're introduced to something, you get a foundation of knowledge, then you work your way up to more specialized info. Most people don't need an expertise outside of their jobs and don't care to spend time becoming an expert in things outside of their personal interest. Thus, their knowledge beyond those two cases is quite shallow and general. In everyday life, that works just fine and most people speak in general terms unless its something they know a lot about. Even then, if you're talking to someone who doesn't understand the subject as well as you, you probably wouldn't inundate them with details and technicalities unless they ask for it or are debating with you.

Also, the more in depth you go, the more you're going to ramble. As Shakespeare once said: brevity is the soul of wit.

[Esau of Isaac]

You forgot a few.

Irish are always drunk.

Blond Women are bimbos.

Jews are penny-pinchers and act like Jerry Lewis's screen persona.

Italians are swarthy and use olive oil in their hair to make it look slick.

Germans are industrious.

Native Americans can't handle liquor.

Canadians are forgotten.

Swedish people wear Lederhosen

Scottish people wear kilts

French people wear berets everywhere

Italians are impolite

Russians drink vodka like water

Chinese like eating dogs and cats