Scott Adams' Blog

Updating the Persuasion Stack (National Review’s Trump Cover)

Posted January 22nd, 2016 @ 9:26am in #Trump

I need to add one level to the BOTTOM of the persuasion stack. That level involves arguing about the definition of a word.

Persuasion Stack
Identity (best)
Analogy (okay, not great)
Reason (useless)
Definition (capitulation)
You’ll see a lot of debate on whether Trump is a true conservative or not. That is argument by definition. It is the linguistic equivalent of throwing your gun at a monster because the magazine* is empty.

0 Comments

Bernie Sanders Turns on the Iowa Afterburners

Posted January 21st, 2016 @ 12:01pm in #Trump #bernie2016

As I have taught you, persuasion can be ranked like this:

1. Identity (best)

2. Analogy (okay)

3. Reason (useless)

Bernie Sanders had been operating in the lower two categories along with Hillary Clinton. But his new ad, set to a Simon and Garfunkel tune, is pure identity (America!) and pure gold.

That should put him over the top in Iowa, according to the Master Persuader filter.

0 Comments

Trump’s Talent Stack: Systems versus Goals

Posted January 21st, 2016 @ 8:14am in #Trump

This post will make more sense to the people familiar with the systems-versus-goals idea in my book.

One of the most powerful systems I have seen involves layering one modest skill on top of another until the effect is something special. For example, I combined the following modest skills into a cartooning empire:

0 Comments

Solving the Gun Problem With an App

Posted January 21st, 2016 @ 7:13am in #gun control #nra

Today I give you a bad idea with the hope that you can fix it. As usual, this idea is more for fun than for reality. Unless you fix it. No pressure, but lives are at stake.

The question is whether an app could reduce the death toll from mass shootings in public places. Follow me on this and see if there’s something there.

0 Comments

Master Persuader Scorecard - Iran Update

Posted January 21st, 2016 @ 12:18am in #Trump

On September 21st, 2015, I blogged about the Iranian nuclear negotiations. I showed my evidence and my argument that Iranian President Rouhani is – like President Obama – a Master Persuader. And I predicted that Rouhani could persuade the real boss in Iran, Khamenei, to accept the deal.

Many of you thought Rouhani would have no chance of persuading Khamenei. But Khamenei accepted the deal.

0 Comments

Boycott Valentines Day?

Posted January 20th, 2016 @ 11:52am in #Trump #Sanders #hillary2016

Let’s say you’re a Democrat, and male, and you can’t imagine voting for a Republican. But at the same time, you can’t stomach the fact that Hillary Clinton is playing the Gender Card.

How do you vote?

0 Comments

The Gender Card Top

Posted January 20th, 2016 @ 10:00am in #Trump

In late October 2015, Hillary Clinton started playing the gender card. I predicted that her support would start dropping after I heard her play that card in the televised debate.

See this graph of her dropping popularity with men in Iowa. That last drop-off in November starts soon after she went full-sexist. In the 2D world, it is a coincidence. In the 3D world, it was guaranteed to happen. (Because identity beats reason.)

That’s how Trump wins in a landslide if Clinton is nominated. Clinton’s brand as a Democrat depended on her not jumping the shark from equality to superiority, even if people think she is right that men are bad listeners. Clinton said other things about men too, but I wasn’t listening.

0 Comments

The Palin Endorsement (Master Persuader Series)

Posted January 19th, 2016 @ 5:03pm in #Trump

Because I know you will ask…

In the 2D world of traditional politics, Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Donald Trump looks like a yawn because she’s seen by many as a policy lightweight. But in the 3D world of persuasion, where Trump lives, it is probably a home-run.

0 Comments

Trump’s Dog Problem

Posted January 19th, 2016 @ 10:37am in #Trump

If I asked you to rank your own intelligence compared to a specific dog, you would probably put yourself on top – with a confidence bordering on smugness – and rank the dog as a distant second.

I totally agree with your assessment, and I haven’t even met the dog in question. But here’s the interesting part:

The dog doesn’t know you’re smarter.

The dog might know you usually touch a thing on the wall when you enter a room after dark, and the room lights up. But the dog chalks that up to coincidence. Dogs see no need to overthink these sorts of things.

This brings me to Donald Trump.

0 Comments

Robots Read News about British Politicians and Trump

Posted January 19th, 2016 @ 9:10am in #Trump

If your firewall is being run by the British Government, see the image on Twitter here.

Changing topics…

0 Comments