One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

This is why Ann Althouse is my favorite blogger.  She is incredibly insightful about human nature.  I thought this was really interesting.

For years — decades — I’ve found insight into the way other people think with the simplification that there are 2 kinds of human minds: Those that focus on difference and those that focus on similarity. I think most people, like Jonah, figure things out by observing and heightening the ways in which things are different. We’re taught to pursue that tendency from an early age. Think of the kindergarten/”Sesame Street” quizzes asking which of these things is not like the other. But the skill of likening things to others is also useful. Perhaps it should be encouraged by repurposing those old quizzes and asking kids: If you had to explain why all these things are alike, what would you tell me?

I think I am going to start asking my kids to tell me why things are similar.  What a good skill to nurture.