[commentary] Eleanor Roosevelt's Notes on Conversation and the Types of Humans

August 2016

I remember coming across this famous quote by Eleanor Roosevelt as a youngster, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” Ever since then this quote often floats into my head as I attempt to make sense of different crowds.

But I realized recently that this quote should be qualified a bit further. One should not feel bad talking about human drama, and feel as if they must talk philosophy for the entirety of the dinner. I think the idea Eleanor was getting at was that Great minds are capable of enjoying all three types of conversation, where as small minds are confined to solely one type. She did not mean that Great minds exclusively discuss ideas.

The structure of well conducted conversations between two friends is one that likely alternates between all three levels throughout. I might talk about racial and sexual politics in one moment, and then laugh and discuss a funny incident involving my pet the next.