Scott Adams: In his own words
You can’t bomb an idea to death. So how do you ever defeat the idea that is ISIS? To kill an idea, you need a hypnotist, or someone skilled in the art of persuasion. I’ll describe one way to do it. I do not expect any of the candidates to…
Read MoreYou probably saw one of several articles describing a study that says Donald Trump speaks at a fourth-grade level. Your first reaction might have been to chuckle at his lack of verbal intelligence. I was laughing too. But if you have been reading this blog lately, you know I was laughing for…
Read MoreThe latest poll out of Iowa shows Carson ahead of Trump. And you know what that means? It means Iowa is about to become irrelevant. Here I am assuming evangelicals will band together to give Carson the win in Iowa before Trump goes on to run the table everywhere else….
Read MoreWe humans like to sort ourselves into categories that are based on how our bodies are different. For example, we see the world as men versus women, and one ethnic group versus another, or old versus young. And we organize our political views around those filters. That made sense throughout…
Read MorePundits declared that Carly Fiornia won the most recent Republican debate. Her poll numbers surged, as you might expect. Meanwhile, I was applying the Master Wizard Filter to the debate and predicting that Fiorina had self-destructed that night by pairing her brand with the image of a dead baby. INTENTIONALLY! In a blog…
Read MoreThis week the media is starting to realize that maybe Donald Trump has a chance of winning the presidency. Howard Kurtz is calling the turn [archive]. You will see a lot more stories and opinions along those lines, assuming Trump’s numbers stay strong. But here’s the fun part: How do you…
Read MoreThis article in the Washington Post describes Trump’s persuasion skills as a function of his energy and big ideas. Or, as the article says, people respond to narcissists. Look how hard some parts of the media are trying to push a narrative in which Trump’s success is not related to anything Trump…
Read MoreThe Washington Post’s Stephen Stromberg says Hillary Clinton won the first Democratic debate with her line about being a progressive who likes to get things done. Personally, that line didn’t register with me at all. It has no visual or emotional content. The Master Wizard filter says that line was irrelevant. According to the…
Read MoreI’m reporting for jury duty selection this morning. I have served a few times, and I recommend it to any citizen who has the opportunity. The experience does a good job of getting you invested in the system, and it makes you appreciate your country a bit more when you…
Read MoreI was just reading the transcript of Bill Clinton’s interview with Colbert. Based on that text alone, I wonder who Bill Clinton wants to win the presidency. Clinton talked about Trump’s “macho” appeal with the public. But Clinton didn’t say macho was a bad thing. Let me give you a hypothetical. Suppose I told you…
Read MoreOn October 1st, I blogged that Trump was starting to define Rubio as a “rube,” although Trump had not yet used that actual word (as far as I know). The human mind automatically connects things that are related. If you tell me a man named Rubio is easily duped (as Trump suggests), the…
Read MoreThe word “narcissist” gets tossed around a lot, especially when Donald Trump is in the news. That word can mean at least three different things, depending on who is saying it. For example, calling someone a narcissist could mean… 1. I don’t know what big words mean, but I use them…
Read MoreWhen a skilled persuader exerts influence on a large group, people will generally react in one of three ways. 20% Will be heavily influenced right away, and be happy about it. 60% Will be mildly influenced, over time, with repetition. 20% Will be unusually angry, comparing the persuader to evil…
Read MoreBefore you read this post, you might want to read my post on why sensational stories such as this are almost always untrue. The context is perfect. — In Florida, a school board paid settlements of $200,000 apiece to the families of three students who died after being hypnotized by their principal. (In this context, “after”…
Read MoreWarning: This post will generate massive cognitive dissonance in some readers. If you think you can learn from that, please read on. If that prospect makes you uncomfortable, please don’t read it. — If you compare Donald Trump to whoever you have in mind as your ideal president, Trump probably comes…
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