4.7) The Master said, "People are true to type with regard to what sort of mistakes they make. Observe closely the sort of mistakes a person makes ---then you will know his character.
This analect is as true as it can be. The idea expressed in this analect is that you need to watch closely the behavior, especially the mistakes, that a person makes. If you think about it, it works! This can apply for positive and negative attributes.
It has happened to me that when I am getting to know somebody really well I always watch out for the mistakes they commit (especially if those mistakes are repetitive) to see what type of person they are. I am don't necessarily look for mistakes to justify that he/she is a bad person but what type of person you are hanging around with. It can be: evil, compassionate, lazy, funny, intelligent, arrogant, racist, etc. Also you may find a person that has many of these combined, but not all.
This quote relates to the analect from the book:
"Watch you thoughts; they become your words.
Watch you words; the become your actions.
Watch your actions; they become your habits.
Watch your habits; they become your character;
And watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
- Author Unknown
