Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)

by Brandon Sanderson

On an individual basis, in most interactions, this thing we call power—authority—exists only as it is perceived.

Do not let your assumptions about a culture block your ability to perceive the individual, or you will fail.”

This was the mark of humankind: to take the wild, unorganized world and make something logical of it. You could get so much more done when everything was in its place, when you could easily find what or whom you needed. Creativity required such things.