@philosophyminis: Do you ever feel like you are surrounded by idiots, as if everybody else has it wrong, and that you are the only one making sense? Well, in his book Surrounded by Idiots, Thomas Erikson argues that the problem isn't that other people are stupid — it's that we are all talking past each other. Erikson uses a four-colour model to explain human behaviour, which he connects back to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. Erikson argues that these are four dispositions or attitudes that all people have to life. First, you have the reds, or the choleric, who are bold, ambitious, and sometimes aggressive. They want results, not small talk. Then, the yellows, or the sanguines, are optimistic and social. They bring the energy, but often lose the details. The greens, or the phlegmatic, are reliable, calm, and supportive. They hate conflict, but can be resistant to change. And finally, you have the blues, or the melancholic, who are analytical and precise. They want the facts, the figures, and the why. Of course, Erikson is well aware that the complexity and variety of the human species cannot be encapsulated in four neat archetypes. But the point is to recognise that when we think somebody is an idiot, or they're stupid, it's more often the case that we are just crossing wires. Erikson argues that the point of all conversation should be to increase understanding. Because after all, when you walk into a room, you are somebody else's idiot. And we need to learn how to speak other people’s languages.

Jonny Thomson

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Friday 09 January 2026 15:14:36 GMT