Scott Adams' Blog

What the Heck is Fascism?

Posted December 4th, 2015 @ 10:17am in #Trump

Trump’s critics like to label him a fascist. I didn’t know what that word meant, so I made the mistake of looking it up.

It turns out that no one agrees what the word means. So if you use the word, you’re literally acting like an idiot, because the word has no definition except for the one in your mind. It is sort of like talking in tongues and wondering why no one else is nodding in agreement.

A writer for SLATE, Jamelle Bouie, recently referenced the Umberto Eco 14-element definition of fascism to analyze Trump (and decided it didn’t quite fit.) I will do the same, below.

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My Prediction about My Predictions (Trump Persuasion Series)

Posted December 3rd, 2015 @ 9:31am in #Trump

Over at 2016 Presidential Campaign Predictions they are tracking pundit predictions for the presidential race, including mine. But they have my Trump prediction dated in November. The first time I predicted he would win it all was August. I revised the prediction to “landslide” in October.

In the unlikely event that my August prediction turns out to be right (that Trump wins it all), the world is not ready to believe I could see it so early. Assuming I did.

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Trump’s Favorability - (part of my Trump Persuasion series)

Posted December 2nd, 2015 @ 8:15am in #Trump

Business Insider reports that Trump’s favorability rating among Republican voters was 23% before he announced his candidacy.

In July it had climbed to 59%.

Today it is 69%. That means it tripled this year.

As the article notes, this is surprising because Trump has been a known quantity for decades, and people generally don’t change their minds about known quantities to such a degree.

In other words, something Trump is doing or saying – and the public are not quite sure what – is changing people’s minds.

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That Time the United States Government Was Replaced and No One Noticed

Posted December 1st, 2015 @ 8:48am in #Trump

Do you remember the time when the government of the United States was replaced with a different system and no one even noticed?

Probably not. I didn’t notice until yesterday.

Anyway, the old Constitution is gone, and in its place we have social media. The so-called “government” still has budgets and politicians and processes. But at this point in history they just do what social media tells them. They have to. Doing otherwise means failure and job loss.

When the Constitution was designed, communication among citizens was limited. We needed to elect smart leaders who would ride their horses to Washington DC and vote for our interests. The system was brilliant, and served the country well.

But now we have the Internet. Today, social media decides what is “right” and politicians follow their lead. That seems to be working. Don’t believe me?

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How Trump Can Solve Immigration

Posted November 29th, 2015 @ 9:57am in #trump

Donald Trump is in hot water lately for treating a writer with a joint disease the same way he treats everyone else. Most people, including me, felt Trump’s behavior was appalling. If Trump shakes off that controversy and goes on to win the presidency, he has some big campaign promises to keep about immigration.

Let’s talk about that.

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Trump Trouble Report

Posted November 26th, 2015 @ 11:39am in #Trump

According to the press, Donald Trump had a bad week. If the game we are playing is two-dimensional politics, they are 100% right.

But what if the game is three-dimensional politics? The third dimension is emotion and persuasion, not reason. Let’s see how Trump did in the third dimension.

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Trump’s Current Odds

Posted November 19th, 2015 @ 8:36am in #Trump

Drip…drip…drip…

Nate Silver’s current opinion of Donald Trump’s odds, from Business Insider today:

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The way I characterize the situation is that Trump brought a flamethrower to a stick fight. What’s the track record for sticks beating flamethrowers? Hard to say, but a stick won all the other stick fights. We know that much.

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Cognitive Dissonance Update 1

Posted November 16th, 2015 @ 11:28am in #trump

In a prior post, and as part of my Master Persuader Series (about Trump), I predicted that Trump’s success would trigger cognitive dissonance the likes of which you have rarely seen. That is a tell for mass persuasion.

I give you two examples from today.

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Election Notes (Trump and Stuff)

Posted November 12th, 2015 @ 9:49am in #trump #carson #fiornia #republican #democrat #election

In no particular order.

Trump the Incumbent

When Trump hosted Saturday Night Live, his opening skit involved a future fantasy with Trump as president doing great things. As regular readers of this blog noted that night, he made you think past the sale. I assume Trump was involved in approving or suggesting that theme. Brilliant persuasion technique. Probably his best move so far.

In the minds of many, Trump is already running as an incumbent president. He simply seems as if he already has the job. Trump has made you think of him as both the sitting president … and an outsider… at the same time. Hypnotists use this method so the subject will embrace the interpretation with the greatest personal appeal. Do you like Trump for being an outsider, or do you like him as the incumbent president of your imagination? Pick one.

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The Upside of Ben Carson

Posted November 6th, 2015 @ 9:27am in #Trump #ben carson #hillary clinton

I recently blogged that a Trump presidency would probably boost confidence in the economy and pay a big dividend in GDP over time. Economies move with psychology, and Trump is the best at business-related psychology in all its forms.

But what about Ben Carson, you ask? Does he bring an economic upside too?

Yes – a monstrous one. In fact, Carson brings with him the Godzilla of economic possibilities. And I apologize for not putting together the pieces until now. Carson is a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity for the United States. He could bring an asset to the White House that you might never see again. That asset is the fixer of climate change. It is the healthcare improvement of all time. It is an enormous boost to worker productivity, if not the largest ever. What could be such a big deal, you ask?

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