Scott Adams' Blog

Can Trump Change the Frame on His Perceived Sexism?

Posted April 28th, 2016 @ 9:10am in #Trump

Donald Trump called John Kasich “disgusting” for how he eats. Trump insulted Rand Paul’s looks. He said Rubio was sweaty and little. He mocked a disabled guy (an enemy reporter) who has a bad arm. Ted Cruz turned into “lyin’ Ted” and Jeb Bush got tagged with the “low energy” kill shot.

Trump also said, “Look at that face” about Carly Fiorina. He made a reference to Megyn Kelly bleeding from “wherever” and he calls Hillary Clinton “crooked” nearly every day.

What do you call it when a man insults his enemies who are both male and female? Democrats call it a “woman problem.” And indeed it is. Here I remind you that reason is not part of persuasion. If the public sees Trump as having a “woman problem” then he does. 

So how could he fix it?

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And Then There Were Two

Posted April 27th, 2016 @ 8:09am in #Trump

Hillary Clinton effectively sealed her nomination last night. And Donald Trump almost certainly did the same, winning five states by larger margins than the polls and the pundits expected.

Why did Trump exceed expectations?

Probably lots of small reasons added together. But I’ll call out a few from the field of persuasion.

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The Unfavorability Illusion

Posted April 26th, 2016 @ 9:58am in #Trump

Regular readers remember I blogged that Megyn Kelly got her new haircut because of Trump’s influence. This article seems to confirm it.

You also know I predicted that Megyn Kelly would do an interview with Trump that would mark Trump’s third-act solution. That interview is scheduled for May 17.

It is worth noting that while you were watching Trump do his thing, Megyn Kelly came out of it stronger, with a higher profile, a better job, and a sure-fire ratings bonanza with the upcoming Trump interview. Kelly turned me into a fan along the way. Nicely done.

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Cyberbombs and ISIS

Posted April 25th, 2016 @ 9:36am in #trump #ISIS

According to the news, the United States is stepping up its use of cyber attacks and psychology against ISIS. For example, our cyber forces are creating fake messages to send ISIS fighters to the wrong places.

Update: Here’s more about current efforts.

But the funniest part is that the U.S. military is openly bragging about their cyber tricks. That’s because the bragging makes the tricks stronger. We want ISIS to distrust 100% of their communications. That way we can use a few fake messages to destroy the credibility of all.

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How Powerful is Persuasion?

Posted April 21st, 2016 @ 8:51am in #Trump

I have been writing about Donald Trump’s powers of persuasion for months and yet many of my readers are still persuasion doubters. I get that. We like to think of ourselves as creatures of reason. 

But we are not creatures of reason. We aren’t even close. Science has known this for a long time.

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Trump Dominates the Empire State

Posted April 20th, 2016 @ 10:05am in #Trump

By now you know Trump won big in the New York primary. Bigger than most people expected. 

According to a Fox poll, Trump leads nationally with Republican “men, women, every age group, every income group, and among those with a college degree and those without.” 

So, if somehow the GOP nominates a candidate other than Trump, the only Republicans who will be angry about it are …“men, women, every age group, every income group, and among those with a college degree and those without.” 

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The Value of Not Voting

Posted April 19th, 2016 @ 8:21am in #Trump

Anderson Cooper of CNN says he probably won’t vote in the coming election. He says voting would bias him when he covers political news. I agree.

I call it the joiner problem. The minute you take a side, you start acquiring confirmation bias to bolster your sense of rightness. Objectivity is nearly impossible once you commit to a team. 

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The Trump Chess Board

Posted April 18th, 2016 @ 8:31am in #Trump

With the New York State primary tomorrow, let’s see how the chess board is set up for Trump. 

The Lead

Trump has the lead in delegates for the Republican race and that lead will grow with the upcoming primaries.

Momentum

After Trump wins the New York primary he will be the one with momentum for a few weeks.

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Ayatollah So

Posted April 14th, 2016 @ 8:21am in #Trump

In Iran you can vote for anyone for President so long as that person has been approved by the Ayatollah Khameini. We Americans call that system a dictatorship.

Voters in America recently discovered that they live under an Iranian type of system and didn’t know it. In the primaries, voters participate in some sort of ritualistic placebo voting while party leaders select the candidates. In the general election, the richest and smartest of the elite use money and psychology to brainwash the masses into imagining they have independent opinions and that their votes matter. We call that a republic.

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Bono Says Send in the Clowns

Posted April 13th, 2016 @ 10:28am in #bono #ISIS #Trump #persuasion

Bono suggests using comedy to fight ISIS. The idea is completely stupid except for the fact that it is totally genius. I agree with Bono that psychology (persuasion) is the key to beating ISIS. I wrote about it here.

You shouldn’t be surprised when Bono is right. He has a genius-level IQ. Or to put it another way, if you think Bono makes no sense – about anything – the odds are good that the problem is on your side.

Bono is the real deal – a Master Persuader all the way down to his DNA. 

Bono’s suggestion to send in Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, and Sasha Baren Cohen to defeat ISIS is pure Trumpian hyperbole by design. Bono made it visual so you would remember it, and so you would quote it. He isn’t seriously suggesting we send stand-up comedians to war zones. The fact that you think he MIGHT be serious is the genius of it. That’s what makes you talk about it.

Listen to Bono’s quote about maleness, and about the power of mocking. He’s spot on.

How powerful is mocking as a tool of persuasion? It’s hard to say, but if you look at the growth of business books in the 1990s you might find that the growth stopped at about the same time Dilbert came on the scene and mercilessly mocked the industry. Maybe the business book industry had just run its course. Maybe it was a coincidence. But I can tell you I have gotten hundreds of email messages from managers and authors who say they cancelled plans because they imagined how those plans would sound when mocked in a Dilbert comic.

Mocking is powerful force. And it has special power among the young. 

Could we mock ISIS out of existence, thus killing it as an idea?

I say yes. I’m with Bono. Take him seriously.