Stereotypes can enable efficient thought rather than only distort it
Evidence
Beginnings, which was produced before Said had thought of reinventing himself as the defender of Islam against stereotypes and generalizations, contains some remarkable instances of just that sort of thing, for example: ‘It is significant that the desire to create an alternative world, to modify, or augment the real world through the act of writing… is inimical to the Islamic world-view.’ While on the subject of stereotypes, it is worth considering whether it is possible or even desirable to dispense with them altogether. As a leading mathematician has pointed out: ‘many stereotypes permit the economy of expression necessary for rapid communication and effective functioning. Chair is a stereotype, but one never hears complaints from bar stools, recliners, bean bags, art deco pieces, high-back dining-room varieties, precious antiques, chaises longues, or kitchen instances of the notion.’ — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 505
Categorization
- XREF: Irwin’s own project — rehabilitating orientalist scholarship — depends on this same distinction between useful generalization and hostile stereotyping.
- CANDY: The ‘chair is a stereotype’ mathematician’s point is a compact, shareable zinger.