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arundelo comments on Open Thread March 31 - April 7 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion

2 Post author: beoShaffer 01 April 2014 01:41AM

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Comment author: FiftyTwo 07 April 2014 05:04:10PM 4 points [-]

There's a rhetorical technique called "dubitatio" - where you deliberately act unsure, less skilled or less intelligent in order to make yourself sound more credible. E.g. "Although I'm just a simple man unused to public speaking I think...." Obviously it depends on the audience you're appealing to, it works best with people who mistrust skilled orators

(George W Bush did this a lot, his famous 'Bushisms' were almost all deliberate, and playe to a base who distrusted 'elites' and made him sound more honest and down to earth.)

Comment author: arundelo 08 April 2014 02:52:09AM 2 points [-]

Phil Hartman's SNL character Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm just a caveman ..."