If you interview someone. If you talk to someone about themselves. You will get one of two variations of confidence. The modest confidence and the bold confidence. It's difficult to know which one to trust.
What strikes me at the moment is that the person who is modest is probably either, unclear of where they might stand or quite aware of people who are superior to them in the context of the subject being discussed. The person who is bold is probably either, unclear of where they might stand or completely unaware of people who are superior to them. Which to trust? There is also the matter of the interlocutor. The modest person may consider that the interviewer is smart and is asking questions they already know the answer to. The bold person may consider that the interviewer needs instruction and context. On the other hand, the modest person may assume that the interviewer may know nothing and be embarrassed by a frank discussion of facts. The bold person may assume an interactive Socratic confirmation or disconfirmation.
I tend to be bold and make no assumptions about the interlocutor. I expect both theoretical and experiential disconfirmation. My interest is 'Chinese'. What can the two of us do with what we have?
Recent Comments