On Context

Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World
07/01/13, by Sam McNerney, on Big Think.

Extract:

“McNerney: Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World” (a book by Sam Sommers) is a reaction to the idea that personalities are immutable, that the individual changes the situation but not the other way around. We’re more influenced by those around us than we’d like to believe. Even our private sense of identity is highly context-dependent. (...)

Sommers: Yes, the real moral of the book is that personality is overrated. Why do we put so much stock in the idea of immutable character? The world is a frighteningly unpredictable place–it's reassuring to at least be able to hang our hats on the idea that the people around us are reliably predictable entities."