I recently listened to a podcast episode between Malcolm Gladwell (my favourite non-fiction author) and Jay Shetty (my favourite interviewer). While the conversation was wide ranging, there was this one section on contradictions that blew me away. I’ve put the transcript below, lightly edited for clarity.

Shetty: “I love what you’ve said that as human beings, we exploit our contradictions. Can you elaborate on that?”

Gladwell: “I’ve always found that when you get to know someone, what you discover is that they’re full of contradictions. And that being contradictory is one of the defining points about being human…

In my case, my father was English, my mother is Jamaican and I am Irish. I have my foot in two very different heritages. When people ask me which way I identify, my answer is, “I don’t. I’m both.” And being both is a contradiction! … One of the reasons I’m drawn to [racial issues] is I see both sides of them. There’s a part of me that’s white and sees the world through the lens of a privileged white man. And part of me is black and sympathises with the other side of the equation very readily and appreciates it. These two things exist inside of me and my attempt to make sense of this apparent contradiction is what makes me a writer.”

---

Contradictions are glorious. They reveal a truth about us that we sometimes forget: that people are a vat of unique experiences; experiences that make up a unique human being. When viewed as a byproduct of glorious complexity, contradictions can be quite beautiful.

To slap a singular label on someone is not only incorrect, it’s dehumanising. Not all Marxists are the same. Not all Christians are the same. Not all politicians are the same. When we observe behaviour from another that seems odd, perhaps it’s our expectations that require examination, not the other person.

As someone who tends to struggle with contradictions, this message was a great gift. Rather than responding to inconsistencies with annoyance, it’s more productive to embrace people for who they are – a hot mess of experiences that are inherently contradictory. A mess which can be strange, yet hauntingly beautiful at the same time, evidenced by the work of Malcolm Gladwell.

If you want to listen to the episode, you can find it here.