Sir John seems to be accepting of a large variety of people. He shows an interest in everyone from the young people of the area and the young ladies of the cottage to those more his own age, like Mrs. Dashwood and Brandon. I would say that it was very open-minded and generous of him, except that I think the foundation of it is his lack of perception and understanding of any of them. Although we all view people from our own perspective, Sir John is less perceptive than most, and views everyone through a very strongly-tinted lens. So perhaps he just doesn't see that Brandon is more subdued that he (Sir John) is.