Here are the 7 tell-tale traits of conspiratorial thinking, summarized (& more easily remembered) with the acronym CONSPIR. More details in The Conspiracy Theory Handbook … How do you spot a conspiracy theory?Read more
Communication
Posted inCommunication / Internet / Police / ToMl
Metadata is more revealing
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Obama administration on Tuesday over the National Security Agencys secret program to vacuum up the phone records of … Metadata is more revealingRead more
Posted inCommunication / Language / Rhetoric / ToMl
Extended metaphor
Extended metaphor is, for me, the most important rhetorical device. This figure is at the heart of some of Lincoln’s greatest speeches and Shakespeare’s greatest … Extended metaphorRead more
Posted inCommunication / Language / Rhetoric / ToMl
Be a master of metaphor
Metaphors are the Rolls Royce of figures. Or, to put it more aptly, metaphors are the Toyota Prius of figures because a metaphor is a … Be a master of metaphorRead more
Posted inCommunication / Language / Rhetoric / ToMl
Use irony, the twist we can’t resist
Irony, derives from the Greek eironeia (“dissimulation”), the term given to the action and speech of the eiron, or “dissembler,” a stock character in Greek … Use irony, the twist we can’t resistRead more
Posted inCommunication / Language / Rhetoric
Foreshadowing
As a theatrical device, the essence of foreshadowing can be found in Anton Chekhov’s advice to a novice playwright: “If there is a gun hanging … ForeshadowingRead more
Posted inCommunication
How to be as persuasive as Abraham Lincoln
Part 1: Study the figures of speech and Shakespeare In a famous 1858 speech, Lincoln paraphrased Jesus, saying “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” … How to be as persuasive as Abraham LincolnRead more
Posted inClimate Disaster / Communication / Global Warming / Science
Why still there are global warming deniers
Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable … Why still there are global warming deniersRead more