I’ve noticed the term ‘narrow-minded’ is used exclusively as a slander, to describe people who cannot see beyond a given frame of reference, who are prone to rigidity and overly dogmatic in their perspectives.
This is an unfortunate curse of words. Narrowness considered by itself is no dishonor and considered in light of human ability or knowledge is no evidence of incompetence. For example I take no issue with a painter who is narrow minded about brushes, or a sushi chef who is narrow minded about California rolls, or a dentist who is pleasantly narrow minded about cavity fillings.
In these examples a narrow mind is simply a specialized mind. a mind preoccupied with certain clear conclusive ideas about a subject. Too often we conflate a narrow mind with a closed mind, or worse, an inflexible mind. They’re not the same. We’re too narrow about narrowness.
As a man who dabbles in photography there’s nothing I savor more than the satisfying cluck of the shutter when you’ve found something worth shooting. I’ve come to think that a healthy mind is like the shutter on a good camera; it moves smoothly back and forth, expanding and contracting, depending on the subject. The subject is the key. An open mind, like an open shutter, lets in light. It’s thirsty for information. It’s curious. A narrow mind, like a narrow aperture is focused. It hits a mark like an arrow. You have to have both. Whether the picture turns out or doesn’t, it all depends on what you’re aiming at.
show & tell 