Skip to Content
Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond
book

Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond

by Alan Axelrod
February 2008
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
192 pages
4h 1m
English
Jossey-Bass
Content preview from Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond

7.1. Lesson 59: Be Skeptical, Never Cynical

People who learn English as a second language are universally appalled by the carelessness with which native speakers pronounce even the commonest words. True enough. English is a loose-fitting tongue. But far more significant than our embrace of a wide variation in pronunciation is our often reckless approach to meaning. Ask most people the difference between skepticism and cynicism, and they will tell you the two words are virtually synonymous or, at least, more alike than different.

They are, of course, quite wrong. Whereas cynics pass through life with a knee-jerk readiness to reject just about everything they see, hear, or even feel, skeptics take in all—but they do so critically, pondering and ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

Business Brilliant - Surprising Lessons from the Greatest Self-Made Business Icons

Business Brilliant - Surprising Lessons from the Greatest Self-Made Business Icons

Lewis Schiff

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780787994594Purchase book