but not just my bias

Posted on October 11, 2004 by Lessig

This(‘n that) is brilliant.

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6 Responses to but not just my bias

  2. john says:
    October 11, 2004 at 2:04 pm

    not gonna get stuff like this when the broadcast flag kicks in, are we?

  3. Matt says:
    October 14, 2004 at 12:55 pm

    Well, if there’s one thing we know about American politics, it’s that the same rhetoric that appeals to intellectuals (or, for that matter, anyone with basic critical thinking skills) does not (unfortunately) transfer well to the American public. Bush’s rhetorical strategy can be best likened to Hitler’s, who explained very carefully in his book Mein Kampf that effective political rhetoric was dumb, simple, and loud. Indeed, it seems that American voters shy away from well-reasoned rhetoric about as violently as party-happy students shy away from stern and serious lecturers.

  4. Max Lybbert says:
    October 15, 2004 at 7:01 am

    Well, Matt, according to Godwin’s Law, I hereby declare victory.

    It would have been better to use Bill Clinton as an example, since then I couldn’t have declared victory without posting something first.

  5. S M says:
    October 15, 2004 at 5:55 pm

    Godwin’s law isnt precriptive its descriptive. You do not ‘lose’ when you talk about hitler, it is that it is usually the case if you have resolved to bring up hilter or call another person a Nazi the conversation is effectively over.

    It is good to bring up hitler not in polemics but when the comparison is applicable.

  6. Max Lybbert says:
    October 15, 2004 at 9:52 pm

    Sorry, that’s not how I read the second bullet point in the 4th question of the FAQ:

    If someone brings up Nazis in general conversation when it was vaguely related but is basically being used as an insult, the speaker can be considered to be flaming and not debating.

    The “victory” comes from the concept that flaming isn’t debating.

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