We can be blind to the obvious, but Kahneman takes it further. He argues we’re also completely unaware of our own blind spots, a double layer of cognitive illusion that’s incredibly difficult to overcome.
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Meaning
It’s a two-part punch. First, we often miss what’s right in front of us. Second, and more crucially, we have no idea that we’re missing it.
Explanation
Let me break this down the way I’ve seen it play out in real life. Your brain has two systems. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and runs on autopilot. It’s what lets you drive a familiar route without thinking. But that autopilot makes assumptions, takes shortcuts, and creates blind spots. The real kicker is that System 2, your slow, conscious, analytical mind, is often lazy. It trusts System 1’s report without question. So you’re not only blind to the gap in your logic, you’re supremely confident that no such gap exists. It’s the confidence of the completely uninformed. That’s the blindness to our blindness.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Personal Development (697) |
| Topics | awareness (126), bias (25), ignorance (10) |
| Literary Style | poetic (635) |
| Emotion / Mood | introspective (55) |
| Overall Quote Score | 87 (185) |
Origin & Factcheck
This insight comes straight from Daniel Kahneman’s 2011 masterpiece, “Thinking, Fast and Slow.” It’s a cornerstone of his Nobel Prize-winning work on behavioral economics, not some misattributed internet wisdom. The book was published in the United States and has become a foundational text for understanding human judgment.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Daniel Kahneman (54) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Thinking, Fast and Slow (54) |
| Origin Timeperiod | 21st Century (1892) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Dr Daniel Kahneman transformed how we think about thinking. Trained in Israel and at UC Berkeley, he built a career spanning Hebrew University, UBC, UC Berkeley, and Princeton. His partnership with Amos Tversky produced prospect theory and the heuristics-and-biases program, culminating in the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. He engaged broad audiences through bestselling books and practical frameworks for better decisions. He continued writing and advising late into life, leaving ideas that shape economics, policy, medicine, and management. If you want to dive deeper, start with the Dr Daniel Kahneman book list and explore his enduring insights.
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness |
| Book Details | Publication Year: 2011; ISBN: 9780374275631; Latest Edition: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013; Number of pages: 499. |
| Where is it? | Part II: Heuristics and Biases, Chapter 10: The Law of Small Numbers, Approximate page 199 (2013 edition) |