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Default to empathy — Steph Ango

stephango.com · 472 words · saved by 1 readers

When someone does something seemingly malicious to me, I try to summon my superhero alter-ego: benefit-of-the-doubtman.

There’s a saying you may have heard called Hanlon’s razor: “Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity.” The word “malice” is perfect because it says nothing about the severity of the act. It could describe anything from someone cutting you off in traffic to an accident that blows up the Earth. On the other hand, I find that “stupidity” only describes a narrow band of human behavior. The saying works just as well if you replace that word. For example: Never attribute to malice what can be explained by… a rough day at the office a family emergency an ill-fitting pair of pants

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