I like to think of as many dichotomies as I can to give myself a better idea of what one might mean. For example, "all or nothing" is mentally the same as black and white to me, "left or right", etc. One thing that one notices pretty quick with dichotomies is the use of the word "or" and that there are only two choices, no in-between of any sort. Either a person, thought, thing, feeling, choice, or event is good or it is bad.

Think of seeing with no depth perception and the errors one might make? Black and white thinking is perception in two dimensions, without color, instead of three (or more :-)