#equivocation — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #equivocation, aggregated by home.social.
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As I have always been convinced that abuse of Words, has been the great instrument of Sophistry and Chicanery — of party, faction and Division in Society.
John Adams (1735-1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797-1801)
Letter (1819-03-31) to J. H. TiffanyMore info about this quote: wist.info/adams-john/36295/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #johnadams #equivocation #ambiguity #chicanery #deception #language #meaning #persuasion #rhetoric #sophistry #talking #terminology #wordplay #words #definition -
Speech was given to man to conceal his thoughts.
[La parole a été donné à l’homme pour déguiser sa pensée.]Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) French secularized clergyman, statesman, wit, diplomat
(Attributed)More info about this quote: wist.info/talleyrand/79291/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #talleyrand #communication #concealment #dissembling #doublespeak #equivocation #language #lying #miscommunication #obfuscation #speech #thought
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A quotation from Judith Martin
Honesty is a virtue, but not the only one. If you’re in a courtroom, you need the whole truth and nothing but the truth; in the living room, sometimes you need anything but. Often.
Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
Essay (1996-03/04), Modern Maturity magazineSourcing, notes: wist.info/martin-judith/77499/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #missmanners #candor #equivocation #family #home #honesty #kindness #whitelie
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A quotation from Mignon McLaughlin
Our children know we lie to them, but not — thank God — how much.
Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 2 (1963)Sourcing, notes: wist.info/mclaughlin-mignon/76…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #childrearing #children #dishonesty #equivocation #falsehood #lying #parenting
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A quotation from Mignon McLaughlin
Our children know we lie to them, but not — thank God — how much.
Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 2 (1963)Sourcing, notes: wist.info/mclaughlin-mignon/76…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #childrearing #children #dishonesty #equivocation #falsehood #lying #parenting
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A quotation from Mignon McLaughlin
Our children know we lie to them, but not — thank God — how much.
Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 2 (1963)Sourcing, notes: wist.info/mclaughlin-mignon/76…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #childrearing #children #dishonesty #equivocation #falsehood #lying #parenting
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A quotation from Judith Martin
If you can’t be kind, at least be vague.
Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
“Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1982-08-28)Sourcing, notes: wist.info/martin-judith/2703/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #missmanners #ambiguity #courtesy #discretion #equivocation #gentility #kindness #mildness #vagueness
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@SharkAttak A chief failure of the profit motive is that it cares not a whit where profit comes from.
If profit derived only from wealth as defined by Adam Smith ("the produce and labour of the nation"), that would be fine.
But profit is in fact an accounting artefact, not an economic one. That bit of equivocation is at the heart of a great deal of the apparent contradictions and fallacies of mainstream economics.
Profit is based on realised costs and revenues, which means that any trick which can be used to lower or offset / externalise costs, and to inflate or capture revenues, is a net gain to the business.
That's why "free market" entrepreneurs are not in fact in favour of free markets where they can secure higher profits by suppressing free markets. Whether that's through dumping toxic waste (physical or informational), fraud, slavery, labour oppression, tax avoidance, quashing or buying competitors, oppressing suppliers, inserting themselves as middlemen in trade (capturing both supplier and consumer surplus), monopolisation, regulatory capture, lobbying, or any of the other abuses.
Markets can be effective, but generally only where there is a balance of power between capital, labour, government, and common weal generally. If you read Smith closely you'll find that he's a champion of small scale commerce, but casts a jaundiced eye on monopolies (he doesn't use that word, but search for "engross" within Wealth and you'll find some mention), and those who can influence the State to their own interests (wool merchants get a call-out).
As best as I've been able to trace, it, the principles of cost accounting in the US were set out by Alexander Hamilton Church (and yes, related to that A.H.), see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton_Church.
There's a wonderful inquiry into cost accounting by Leo Tolstoy in, I think in What Is To Be Done, (sometimes "What Then Must We Do") a collection of essays: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F_(Tolstoy) https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/leo-tolstoy-what-is-to-be-done.
I'm pretty sure @pluralistic is aware of much of this but AHC may be of interest.
#Economics #EconomicFallacies #equivocation #profit #wealth #ProfitVsWealth #AlexanderHamiltonChurch #accounting #FreeMarkets #LeoTolstoy #WhatIsToBeDone #WhatThenMustWeDo
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Today’s word is #Equivocation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivocation
“… equivocation ("calling two different things by the same name") is an informal fallacy resulting from the use of a particular word or expression in multiple senses within an argument.”
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The #washingtonpost was kind enough to provide a copy of the memo ordering the freeze. I attach screen captures here.
This memo is a masterclass in #LogicalFallacies, especially #equivocation: using vague, undefined terms with ambiguous meaning, leaving it to the mind of the reader to choose the definition that best suits their personal interpretation. It is a classic trick to fool the audience while providing no grounding for your position.
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The #WashingtonPost opinion columnist Eugene Robinson expresses well the (intended) confusion caused by the #LogicalFallacy called #Equivocation: “Now we know, apparently, that Trump and the MAGA base don’t mean the Tuskegee Airmen when they excoriate DEI. But exactly what do they mean?”
This shows a #CriticalQuestion to ask before believing someone. “What do they mean?”
From: What the Air Force’s Tuskegee Airmen mishap reveals about Trump’s DEI war https://wapo.st/4hazEH7
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A quotation from Taleb, Nassim Nicholas:
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People are much less interested in what you are trying to show them than in what you are trying to hide.
»Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/taleb-nassim-nicholas/73541/#quote #quotes #quotation #discretion #equivocation #hiding #interest #showing #truthseeking
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A quotation from Taleb, Nassim Nicholas:
«
People are much less interested in what you are trying to show them than in what you are trying to hide.
»Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/taleb-nassim-nicholas/73541/#quote #quotes #quotation #discretion #equivocation #hiding #interest #showing #truthseeking
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A quotation from Taleb, Nassim Nicholas:
«
People are much less interested in what you are trying to show them than in what you are trying to hide.
»Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/taleb-nassim-nicholas/73541/#quote #quotes #quotation #discretion #equivocation #hiding #interest #showing #truthseeking