We are smart and we know that if we generalize anything it means that it is applicable at all times. Right?

What we practice, though, is very different. Most people don’t need a
lot of proof to make far reaching conclusions and generalizations. Have
you heard someone say “He’s always late”, “He’s mean”, “She is always
complaining” etc. They may be true or they may not be. But the way
these statements are made it is as if “they are true all the time under
all circumstances.”

A personal experience: A couple of weeks ago I was finding a parking
spot at a shopping complex. It was a busy weekend so there were not
many spots left. It was already dark and I was driving slowly. After a
few minutes, I found one but could not park there immediately as the
car in the next spot had both the back doors open. A couple were
standing outside from both the doors and it appeared like they were
trying to fix something. I had to wait. After a few minutes, I started
losing patience and was starting to conclude how inconsiderate some
people were and started to wonder “Why don’t they fix whatever they
were fixing when they park their car at home?”  I was getting
ready to make some conclusions. Just then both the husband and wife
came out – each one with holding a cute little kid. Both kids were
sleeping happily and it was clear to me that the couple were trying to
take them out without disturbing their sleep. My generalization thought
process came to a screeching halt. It was confirmed again – it’s so
easy to fall into the trap and generalize.

If you observe carefully, the root cause is our tendency to “assume that something is true for the whole when it’s only true for the part.” You can beat this system by just slowing down whenever you are making far reaching conclusions or generalizations.