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I Wake You Up for the Presidential Debate (Scott Adams)
Scott Adams' Blog ^ | October 19, 2016 | Scott Adams

Posted on 10/19/2016 8:13:45 AM PDT by PJ-Comix

Here’s a little thought experiment for you:

If a friend said he could see a pink elephant in the room, standing right in front of you, but you don’t see it, which one of you is hallucinating?

Answer: The one who sees the pink elephant is hallucinating.

(Excerpt) Read more at blog.dilbert.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: donaldtrump; hillaryclinton
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Remember my rule from above. If you see something unlikely – such as a new Hitler rising in the midst of America – and I see nothing remotely like that – I’m almost certainly right and you’re almost certainly having the illusion. I say that because the person who sees the unlikely addition to reality is the one experiencing the illusion nearly every time. Trump as Hitler-in-America is an addition to reality that only some can see. It is a pink elephant. It is a classic hallucination.
1 posted on 10/19/2016 8:13:45 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
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To: PJ-Comix

Which is more dangerous to you and your loved ones future?

A lewd, crude, bombastic President facing a hostile media and a suspicious Congress/Judiciary or a corrupt, lawless bribeable President with an slavishly adoring media and a lapdog Congress/Judiciary?


2 posted on 10/19/2016 8:21:28 AM PDT by MNJohnnie ( Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered)
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To: PJ-Comix
which one of you is hallucinating?

He is. He endorsed Gary Johnson. Far out, man.

3 posted on 10/19/2016 8:23:21 AM PDT by MUDDOG
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To: PJ-Comix

bookmark


4 posted on 10/19/2016 8:24:44 AM PDT by jonno (Having an opinion is not the same as having the answer...)
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To: PJ-Comix

Good article, but in fairness, I turned it around in my head —

I think Hillary is a globalist who will damage the country, destroy the Supreme Court and the constitution and completely change the demographics of this country, ushering in a future of mass dependency on an increasingly totalitarian government.

That’s the pink elephant I see.

Scott Adams would likely tell me I’m wrong, because other people don’t see what I think I see. So my pink elephant of Hillary is a mere hallucination.

So I’m not sure how useful this article actually is.


5 posted on 10/19/2016 8:25:32 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Abortion is what slavery was: immoral but not illegal. Not yet.)
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To: PJ-Comix

It’s the dems stock in trade. Make you afraid of the other guy, and they are damned good at it.


6 posted on 10/19/2016 8:25:34 AM PDT by refermech
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To: PJ-Comix
Here I pause to remind new readers of this blog that I’m a trained hypnotist and a student of persuasion in all its forms. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to learn the tricks for discerning illusion from reality. And I’m here to tell you that if you are afraid that Donald Trump is a racist/sexist clown with a dangerous temperament, you have been brainwashed by the best group of brainwashers in the business right now: Team Clinton.

AMEN ! ! !

I've been thinking exactly the same thing for quite some time now; and most recently in NYC last night when I overheard a couple of conversations about what a low-life idiot Trump is. (It was a real struggle to keep my mouth shut. But I remembered the old adage: Never teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.)

ML/NJ

7 posted on 10/19/2016 8:25:37 AM PDT by ml/nj (quotequote)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Right.

It’s rhetorically persuasive, but not actually logical. By its very nature, what he is asserting in this article can’t be true.


8 posted on 10/19/2016 8:31:40 AM PDT by ConservativeDude
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To: ConservativeDude

As Adams always says, he’s in the Persuasion business.

He never claims to be in the Logic business.


9 posted on 10/19/2016 8:33:07 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Abortion is what slavery was: immoral but not illegal. Not yet.)
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To: PJ-Comix

I am hallucinating. No way I have a friend who sees pink elephants.


10 posted on 10/19/2016 8:34:17 AM PDT by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Except that Hillary being a globalist (admittedly dreams of open borders) is a given. The other things you listed could be chalked up to pink elephant stuff. Filter out the pink elephants and you’re left with “Better Together” vs “Drain the Swamp”.


11 posted on 10/19/2016 8:34:27 AM PDT by scottinoc
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To: MUDDOG
He is. He endorsed Gary Johnson. Far out, man.

He went a little off the rails when the Billy Bush tape came out. But it looks like Scott is back on track now. He has taken a lot of heat, death threats and considerable loss of income over his observations and support for Trump. I wouldn't place a lot of credence in his “endorsement” of Gary Johnson. At one point he also said he was “endorsing” Hillary for his and his family's safety. The Johnson “endorsement” is the same.

12 posted on 10/19/2016 8:34:46 AM PDT by fireman15 (The USA will be toast if the Democrats are able to take the Presidency in 2016)
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To: ClearCase_guy
-- I think Hillary is a globalist who will damage the country, destroy the Supreme Court and the constitution and completely change the demographics of this country, ushering in a future of mass dependency on an increasingly totalitarian government. --

So, don't stretch what you see so far into the future. She is for open borders and what is generally called "free trade." She thinks Heller was wrongly decided (so do 4 SCOTUS justices), etc.

The article is plenty useful, because the attacks against Trump are risible and require a ridiculous misinterpretation of what he has said or done.

13 posted on 10/19/2016 8:35:42 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: PJ-Comix

His reasoning seems faulty, but hopefully it converts some from Clinton.

Some people can’t be convinced of the truth so to them that is in addition to reality. By his reasoning the person who believes the least or has the least cognitive ability to perceive the world around him is correct most of the time. He seems to claim a monopoly on the knowledge of reality.

The same reasoning could be used to prove Hillary is not what we say she is.


14 posted on 10/19/2016 8:39:39 AM PDT by refreshed
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To: PJ-Comix

https://www.periscope.tv/ScottAdamsSays/1OwxWrgAnbpJQ?t=4
Scott Adams’ ‘Coffee with Scott Adams’ this morning (video)
(—I haven’t watched it yet—just FYI here)


15 posted on 10/19/2016 8:40:18 AM PDT by libertarian27 (FR Cookbooks - On Profile Page)
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To: MUDDOG

Scott Adams endorsed Clinton, then Johnson, because he literally got death threats etc when he endorsed Trump. It’s well understood that his “endorsement” is B.S.


16 posted on 10/19/2016 8:43:28 AM PDT by ctdonath2 ("If anyone will not listen to your words, shake the dust from your feet and leave them." - Jesus)
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To: ClearCase_guy
I think Hillary is a globalist who will damage the country, destroy the Supreme Court and the constitution and completely change the demographics of this country, ushering in a future of mass dependency on an increasingly totalitarian government.

I said pretty much the same thing to my sister-in-law last night at dinner and her eyes welled up and she said while choking back tears "That's crazy. Do you know how crazy you sound?"

I fought the urge to quote Michael Corleone responding to Kay in a similar situation. It would not have made matters any better.

17 posted on 10/19/2016 8:43:59 AM PDT by Oratam
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To: ClearCase_guy

I considered that to, but we have actual & mounting proof of the corruption, while the “Trump is a racist” etc accusations actually have no proof whatsoever.


18 posted on 10/19/2016 8:46:06 AM PDT by ctdonath2 ("If anyone will not listen to your words, shake the dust from your feet and leave them." - Jesus)
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To: PJ-Comix
I remind you that intelligence is not a defense against persuasion. No matter how smart you are, good persuaders can still make you see a pink elephant in a room where there is none (figuratively speaking)....

Before you scoff at mass, shared illusions as being unlikely, keep in mind that everyone with a different religion than yours is experiencing exactly that. Mass shared illusions are our most common experience.

Intelligence does help against being persuaded by a false belief--but only if it is applied. If he is saying not applying one's intelligence is what he means by "illusion" or "hallucination" then indeed mass illusion is common.

However it is only with actual hallucination cases in a less metaphorical sense that the "extra" information is necessarily a "hallucination"--this does not apply to thinking a hypothesis through where you are trying to figure out if something exists. For example, if most people can see there is such a thing as atoms based on applying intelligence, but a minority can't, it does not follow the minority is right because the atoms are an "extra".

On the other hand, if he means by "illusion" or "hallucination" an actual subjective experience that someone else present ought to see if it were real, then the claim that mass hallucinations are common seems completely unsupportable.

The gripping hand is, that he has snuck in an equivocation fallacy here, I suspect by accident.

19 posted on 10/19/2016 8:47:32 AM PDT by AndyTheBear
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To: Oratam

Saw my formerly estranged sister of 20 years yesterday...she was watching MSNBC and told me she was obsessed and would be making calls for Hillary. I said nothing. After about an hr of conversation on other topics she asked me if I was voting for Hillary - I said no. I also said I wasn’t going to discuss it. (no use). She looked off into the distance and said “I don’t know how anyone could be so STUPID”.

I know how she can be so stupid...she watches MSNBC.


20 posted on 10/19/2016 9:04:11 AM PDT by Aria (2016: The gravy train v Donald Trump)
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