Chapter 10

Here's the pattern Melville reveals: We judge by appearance first, character later—and that snap judgment often blinds us to reality. Ishmael sees tattoos and strange customs, assumes 'savage,' then discovers someone with more dignity than most people he knows. It's the First Impression Trap: our brain takes visual shortcuts to categorize people as safe or dangerous, like us or not like us, worthy or unworthy. This served our ancestors well when quick judgments meant survival. But now it just makes us miss out on valuable connections and opportunities. The mechanism is pure efficiency—our brain trying to save energy. Rather than carefully evaluate each person we meet, we scan for familiar markers: clothes, accent, mannerisms. Match our tribe? Friend. Don't match? Potential threat. Queequeg breaks this system because nothing about him fits Ishmael's categories. The harpoon-shaving, tomahawk-smoking, head-selling roommate should be terrifying. Instead, he's courteous, composed, and completely comfortable in his own skin. Ishmael's prejudice crashes into Queequeg's humanity, and prejudice loses. You see this pattern everywhere today. The charge nurse who dismisses the traveling CNA with the accent—missing twenty years of experience. The patient who demands a different aide because of skin color—rejecting the most skilled caregiver on the floor. The coworker everyone avoids because of their beat-up car and Walmart scrubs—who turns out to give the best advice about handling difficult families. That resident who seems standoffish but is actually just introverted and would make a loyal friend. We're all Ishmaels, making split-second judgments that rob us of allies, mentors, and friends. Here's your navigation tool: When you catch yourself making assumptions about someone, pause and ask: 'What am I actually seeing versus what am I projecting?' Watch their actions for a full shift before deciding who they are. Notice competence, kindness, reliability—the things that actually matter. Queequeg uses his harpoon as a fork, but he handles it with precision. Different doesn't mean wrong. Sometimes the person who seems strangest at first glance becomes your fiercest ally. Give them the chance to surprise you. When you can see past surface differences to recognize actual character—when you judge by actions rather than appearances—that's amplified intelligence.