Single Word Requests – Word Meaning ‘Lack of Perspective’

single-word-requests

I need a single word that means "lack of perspective."

For example:

  • A child, punished by not getting to watch a rerun of his favorite show, tries to make a federal case out of the issue, writing a multipage essay about it. The child is what?

  • Someone of no account or notoriety is wrong on the Internet. Our subject, who doesn't know them spends all day arguing with them in a private chat. That subject is what?

  • Three blind monks are introduced to an elephant. One, touching the ear, says it's flat. The other, touching the trunk, says it's long and round like a firehose. The last, touching the leg, say's it's like a tree. Our monks are what?

The fundamental problem in all of these cases is that they lack perspective. They have performed a limited analysis. The first two performed a limited analysis of costs and benefits. The last could only speak to their limited knowledge.

You could say the first two were being ridiculous, short-sighted. Perhaps they are "immature" – but that is too vague and poorly defined.

An idiom might be that they can't see the forest for the trees.

You could say the last were ignorant or blind.

What is a single word that describes both?

I think I am looking for a direct antonym to "perspicacious." I suppose I'll offer some ideas in an answer.

Best Answer

In all three cases, the people are, in the sense of the word that doesn't imply anger, argumentative:

1 : given to argument : tending to argue : having or showing a tendency to disagree or argue with other people in an angry way : DISPUTATIOUS · He became argumentative when confronted with the allegation. · an argumentative temperament

2 : consisting of or characterized by argument · argumentative discourse · aired their opinions in an argumentative way

That matches your examples, but not your further qualification of a lack of perspective. A phrase for that might be having tunnel vision:

2 : extreme narrowness of viewpoint : narrow-mindedness; also : single-minded concentration on one objective

(Or, as in the definition provided, being narrow-minded.)

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