“Power is an illusion of perception.”

—  Brandon Sanderson, book Words of Radiance

Source: Words of Radiance

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Power is an illusion of perception." by Brandon Sanderson?
Brandon Sanderson photo
Brandon Sanderson313
American fantasy writer 1975

Related quotes

Robert J. Sawyer photo

“Free will is an illusion. It is synonymous with incomplete perception.”

Robert J. Sawyer book Flashforward

Source: Flashforward (1999), Chapter 12 epigram (p. 123; quoting Walter Kubilius)

“Every perception of colour is an illusion.... we do not see colours as they really are. In our perception they alter one another.”

Josef Albers (1888–1976) German-American artist and educator

Quoted in: Abstract Art, Anna Moszynska, Thames and Hudson 1990, p. 147
Quote c. 1949, when Albers started his 'Homage to the Square' series of paintings

Sadhguru photo

“Human perception through the sense organs is always piecemeal. It can give you an illusion of completeness but can never comprehend the whole.”

Sadhguru book Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy

Source: Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“If power was an illusion, wasn't weakness necessarily one also?”

Lois McMaster Bujold A Civil Campaign

Source: Vorkosigan Saga, A Civil Campaign (1999)

Brandon Sanderson photo

“Control is the basis of all true power. Authority and strength are matters of perception”

Brandon Sanderson book Words of Radiance

Source: Words of Radiance

Clifford D. Simak photo

“Space is an illusion, and time as well. There is no such factor as either time or space. We have been blinded by our own cleverness, blinded by false perceptions of those qualities that we term eternity and infinity.”

Clifford D. Simak book A Heritage of Stars

A Heritage of Stars (1977)
Context: Space is an illusion, and time as well. There is no such factor as either time or space. We have been blinded by our own cleverness, blinded by false perceptions of those qualities that we term eternity and infinity. There is another factor that explains it all, and once this universal factor is recognized, everything grows simple. There is no longer any mystery, no longer any wonder, no longer any doubt; for the simplicity of it all lies before us...

“By the basis of power we mean the relationship between O and P which is the source of that power. It is rare that we can say with certainty that a given empirical case of power is limited to one source. Normally, the relation between O and P will be characterized by several qualitatively different variables which are bases of power (30). Although there are undoubtedly many possible bases of power which may be distinguished, we shall here define five which seem especially common and important. These five bases of O's power are:
(a) reward power, based on P's perception that O has the ability to mediate rewards for him;
(b) coercive power, based on P's perception that O has the ability to mediate punishments for him;
(c) legitimate power, based on the perception by P that O has a legitimate right to prescribe behavior for him;
(d) referent power, based on P's identification with O;
(e) expert power, based on the perception that O has some special knowledge or expertness.”

John R. P. French (1913–1995) American psychologist

Source: "The bases of social power." 1959, p. 155-6

Al Gore photo

“Dominance is not really a strategic policy or political philosophy at all. It is a seductive illusion that tempts the powerful to satiate their hunger for more power still by striking a Faustian bargain.”

Al Gore (1948) 45th Vice President of the United States

Quotes, NYU Speech (2004)
Context: Dominance is not really a strategic policy or political philosophy at all. It is a seductive illusion that tempts the powerful to satiate their hunger for more power still by striking a Faustian bargain. And as always happens — sooner or later — to those who shake hands with the devil, they find out too late that what they have given up in the bargain is their soul.

“We must transcend the illusion that money or power has any bearing on our worthiness as children of God.”

Steve Maraboli (1975)

Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 89

Related topics