It's a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn't want to hear.

Cavett’s line wryly captures a common human bias: most people prefer information that confirms their existing views and avoid uncomfortable truths. The “rare person” is the one with unusual intellectual humility—someone willing to invite criticism, hear bad news, or confront evidence that undermines cherished beliefs. In the world Cavett knew best—public conversation, interviews, and celebrity culture—the remark also points to how status and ego can insulate people from candor, surrounding them with flattery and agreement. More broadly, it’s a compact observation about self-deception and the difficulty of honest dialogue: wanting truth in the abstract is easy; wanting it when it hurts is uncommon.