#rhetoric — Public Fediverse posts

The Lexicon of Pop – Explained

Once upon a time (cliché) I started to study (alliteration and sibilance) rhetoric and figures of speech (tautology), and because I’m an absolute idiot (understatement) I decided to embed the learning by writing a short poem about each one (anti-climax). The results were somewhat less than spectacular (litotes). In fact ‘litotes’, a term describing the figure of speech whereby we state or imply one thing in order to emphasise the opposite (usually for very negative or positive effect) and pronounced, “lih-toe-tees”, was one of the three or four that I managed to write before I gave the whole thing up as a bad idea. See for yourself:

Litotes
Dating him isn’t all bad, she thought. It could be worse
He’s no Adonis, and he doesn’t quite fit in his shirts.
He could tidy up more and his cooking could be better.
And he could use more common sense because he’s not that clever.

He’ll never win an Oscar, never run a marathon,
His sense of fashion in the 80s is something we won’t dwell upon.
I won’t play his CDs in the car until his choices are less dour.
I couldn’t stand to hear him sing much longer in the shower.

I can say all these things to him, although he hates complaints like these
Because surprisingly enough, he’s never heard of litotes.

The best thing that you can say about it is that I was inspired by Wendy Cope’s poem “Faint Praise”; a phrase, like the poem it recalls, also being an example of litotes.

I never gave up wanting to learn more about them. I listened to the audiobook of Mark Forsyth’s ‘The Elements of Eloquence’ (sassily and snarkily spoken by Simon Shepherd), I collected new examples that I found in writing and on the web, and I made digital flashcards out of them which helped me understand that I do not learn anything from using flashcards.

And then, one day, while I was in the shower, which is where I often do my best thinking and my worst singing, it occurred to me that in order to learn these figures I needed an appropriate setting. I needed some way of locating them within a context that was both informative and memorable, something that I could readily quote from memory, that would help illustrate concepts and examples. If only there was a way to make it like A-B-C, as easy as 1-2-3, as simple as Do Re Me… and that’s literally how the idea came about. I would, I decided, collect as many rhetorical, grammatical and syntactical devices as I could, and find examples from pop songs to help us all understand them. And by ‘pop’ I really do mean ‘popular music’, and I reserve the right to plunder from rock and R&B, soul and skiffle, glitch and gaba as required.

The last piece of the puzzle was a name. Names are so important to me; they set my mental expectations, like knowing the genre of a book. I needed a name that (like me) was camp, eloquent, and often dressed in a gold lamé suit. And so, taking inspiration from the 12th bestselling album of 1982 in New Zealand, “The Lexicon of Pop” was born.

There’s also a more serious side to this. Like a lot of people in my social media echo chamber, there’s weariness of social media in general. Posting has now become such hard work and the days of “twitter on the shitter” and of spewing 140 characters of word salad every time you have 6 unoccupied seconds are long gone. The emphasis is on such heavy curation, social media is no longer any fun. And that’s not taking into account how hate-filled social media spaces have become; and when they are not hate-filled, they are AI slop-filled. The emphasis on short-form video that is chosen for you destroys any semblance of social; sharing has become asynchronous.

I regularly see Gen X speaking on-line about how much they lament that blogging has died. Not those overly polished travel influencers who get paid to stay in Abu Dhabi hotels, or mummy bloggers who use their children as content. But real people, just talking about their lives, obscure obsessions that they harbour, or random shit that they are into. The comments of those blogs were the original media. That’s where you got to know people. 

And that last – random shit – is really where I come in. I love writing, but I struggle when I don’t have a purpose. I worry too much about what the audience needs from me, but that’s what I’m trying to change here. I wanted to pick something that I was hugely into (pop music) alongside a purpose (learning something new about language, but also the mental health benefits of being creative).

“When you blog purely for the intrinsic joy of the craft—the mental exercise of untangling an idea, crafting a sharp sentence, and playing with language—it transforms from a performance into a genuine creative sanctuary.And ironically, that “writing for an audience of one” approach is almost always what produces the best, funniest, and most authentic work. When you aren’t trying to game an algorithm or chase engagement, you have total freedom to be as pedantic, absurd, and ridiculously niche as you want.”

And what could be more pedantic, absurd and ridiculously niche than examining pop music lyrics to learn about language?

The Lexicon of Pop – Explained

Once upon a time (cliché) I started to study (alliteration and sibilance) rhetoric and figures of speech (tautology), and because I’m an absolute idiot (understatement) I decided to embed the learning by writing a short poem about each one (anti-climax). The results were somewhat less than spectacular (litotes). In fact ‘litotes’, a term describing the figure of speech whereby we state or imply one thing in order to emphasise the opposite (usually for very negative or positive effect) and pronounced, “lih-toe-tees”, was one of the three or four that I managed to write before I gave the whole thing up as a bad idea. See for yourself:

Litotes
Dating him isn’t all bad, she thought. It could be worse
He’s no Adonis, and he doesn’t quite fit in his shirts.
He could tidy up more and his cooking could be better.
And he could use more common sense because he’s not that clever.

He’ll never win an Oscar, never run a marathon,
His sense of fashion in the 80s is something we won’t dwell upon.
I won’t play his CDs in the car until his choices are less dour.
I couldn’t stand to hear him sing much longer in the shower.

I can say all these things to him, although he hates complaints like these
Because surprisingly enough, he’s never heard of litotes.

The best thing that you can say about it is that I was inspired by Wendy Cope’s poem “Faint Praise”; a phrase, like the poem it recalls, also being an example of litotes.

I never gave up wanting to learn more about them. I listened to the audiobook of Mark Forsyth’s ‘The Elements of Eloquence’ (sassily and snarkily spoken by Simon Shepherd), I collected new examples that I found in writing and on the web, and I made digital flashcards out of them which helped me understand that I do not learn anything from using flashcards.

And then, one day, while I was in the shower, which is where I often do my best thinking and my worst singing, it occurred to me that in order to learn these figures I needed an appropriate setting. I needed some way of locating them within a context that was both informative and memorable, something that I could readily quote from memory, that would help illustrate concepts and examples. If only there was a way to make it like A-B-C, as easy as 1-2-3, as simple as Do Re Me… and that’s literally how the idea came about. I would, I decided, collect as many rhetorical, grammatical and syntactical devices as I could, and find examples from pop songs to help us all understand them. And by ‘pop’ I really do mean ‘popular music’, and I reserve the right to plunder from rock and R&B, soul and skiffle, glitch and gaba as required.

The last piece of the puzzle was a name. Names are so important to me; they set my mental expectations, like knowing the genre of a book. I needed a name that (like me) was camp, eloquent, and often dressed in a gold lamé suit. And so, taking inspiration from the 12th bestselling album of 1982 in New Zealand, “The Lexicon of Pop” was born.

There’s also a more serious side to this. Like a lot of people in my social media echo chamber, there’s weariness of social media in general. Posting has now become such hard work and the days of “twitter on the shitter” and of spewing 140 characters of word salad every time you have 6 unoccupied seconds are long gone. The emphasis is on such heavy curation, social media is no longer any fun. And that’s not taking into account how hate-filled social media spaces have become; and when they are not hate-filled, they are AI slop-filled. The emphasis on short-form video that is chosen for you destroys any semblance of social; sharing has become asynchronous.

I regularly see Gen X speaking on-line about how much they lament that blogging has died. Not those overly polished travel influencers who get paid to stay in Abu Dhabi hotels, or mummy bloggers who use their children as content. But real people, just talking about their lives, obscure obsessions that they harbour, or random shit that they are into. The comments of those blogs were the original media. That’s where you got to know people. 

And that last – random shit – is really where I come in. I love writing, but I struggle when I don’t have a purpose. I worry too much about what the audience needs from me, but that’s what I’m trying to change here. I wanted to pick something that I was hugely into (pop music) alongside a purpose (learning something new about language, but also the mental health benefits of being creative).

“When you blog purely for the intrinsic joy of the craft—the mental exercise of untangling an idea, crafting a sharp sentence, and playing with language—it transforms from a performance into a genuine creative sanctuary.And ironically, that “writing for an audience of one” approach is almost always what produces the best, funniest, and most authentic work. When you aren’t trying to game an algorithm or chase engagement, you have total freedom to be as pedantic, absurd, and ridiculously niche as you want.”

And what could be more pedantic, absurd and ridiculously niche than examining pop music lyrics to learn about language?

I don't understand.

An allegedly "scholar' account because he quoted allegedly another "scholar",

"... LLMs are so costly that companies externalize the costs on a massive scale - on those who don't use them and society at large. Increased hardware prices... "

Externalise means outsourcing - they didn't offload the cost, it is just basic supply and demand that drove up the prices. That's just how economy works, doesn't it?

Unless he has solid evidences of direct cash flow between hardware companies and LLM developers - how do they externalise their costs?

Corporations benefit from stock prices, market demands, and offer discounts to customers aren't news.

Where has the logic gone?

#logic #rhetoric #LLM #AI

I don't understand.

An allegedly "scholar' account because he quoted allegedly another "scholar",

"... LLMs are so costly that companies externalize the costs on a massive scale - on those who don't use them and society at large. Increased hardware prices... "

Externalise means outsourcing - they didn't offload the cost, it is just basic supply and demand that drove up the prices. That's just how economy works, doesn't it?

Unless he has solid evidences of direct cash flow between hardware companies and LLM developers - how do they externalise their costs?

Corporations benefit from stock prices, market demands, and offer discounts to customers aren't news.

Where has the logic gone?

#logic #rhetoric #LLM #AI

🎭 Behold, an exposé on the art of "lofty rhetoric" 🤡—because nothing says "internal dissent" like crafting marketing slogans for the #tech overlords. 📢 Bravo, #New #Yorker, for another illuminating piece on the complexities of Googler life, complete with the rebel tale of a #corporate #bard. 👏
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/the-voice-of-google #lofty #rhetoric #internal #dissent #culture #HackerNews #ngated

🎭 Behold, an exposé on the art of "lofty rhetoric" 🤡—because nothing says "internal dissent" like crafting marketing slogans for the #tech overlords. 📢 Bravo, #New #Yorker, for another illuminating piece on the complexities of Googler life, complete with the rebel tale of a #corporate #bard. 👏
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/the-voice-of-google #lofty #rhetoric #internal #dissent #culture #HackerNews #ngated

Does anyone have opinions on O? When it's genuinely being used for apostrophe (the figure of speech), as a kind of cheep-ass vocative, "O death", etc, I still like to use it, because it's distinguished from the more general interjection for someone who's probably actually present, or to indicate disappointment, a sudden thought, etc. So you'd have

O death, where is thy sting

but

Oh, death, before you go, you left your soup spoon here last week

I know apostrophe isn't very popular in general these days, but where it's used, I think it helps to distinguish it from other uses. But some people are saying O is archaic even when apostrophe is intended.

What do folk think?

#writing #grammar #rhetoric

Does anyone have opinions on O? When it's genuinely being used for apostrophe (the figure of speech), as a kind of cheep-ass vocative, "O death", etc, I still like to use it, because it's distinguished from the more general interjection for someone who's probably actually present, or to indicate disappointment, a sudden thought, etc. So you'd have

O death, where is thy sting

but

Oh, death, before you go, you left your soup spoon here last week

I know apostrophe isn't very popular in general these days, but where it's used, I think it helps to distinguish it from other uses. But some people are saying O is archaic even when apostrophe is intended.

What do folk think?

#writing #grammar #rhetoric

RE: https://glammr.us/@LibraryLoon/116918734042873059

Is the AI Bubble Bursting? Gambling on the AI Forward University – Alex Reid, Professor of Digital Rhetoric, Media, and Artificial Intelligence

https://profalexreid.com/2026/07/13/is-the-ai-bubble-bursting-gambling-on-the-ai-forward-university/

"How might the representations and discourses of the “AI Forward” university be placed within broader conversations and positions on the near future (4 years) of Frontier AI. This is a first effort at mapping out these positions, with all the various caveats. I’d appreciate your thoughts. …"

#ai #artificialintelligence #ChatGPT #education #highereducation #mediastudies #philosophy #rhetoric #technology

RE: https://glammr.us/@LibraryLoon/116918734042873059

Is the AI Bubble Bursting? Gambling on the AI Forward University – Alex Reid, Professor of Digital Rhetoric, Media, and Artificial Intelligence

https://profalexreid.com/2026/07/13/is-the-ai-bubble-bursting-gambling-on-the-ai-forward-university/

"How might the representations and discourses of the “AI Forward” university be placed within broader conversations and positions on the near future (4 years) of Frontier AI. This is a first effort at mapping out these positions, with all the various caveats. I’d appreciate your thoughts. …"

#ai #artificialintelligence #ChatGPT #education #highereducation #mediastudies #philosophy #rhetoric #technology

As someone who has lived in both countries I find this to be a fascinating comparison.

https://youtu.be/Fkde5ba6ATY

#rhetoric

@SecondUniverse As someone with multiple #disabilities who was made to jump through the WCA hoop more times than I can remember now, in spite of qualifying for the highest rate, & longest term, of #ESA, I can tell you I was constantly made to feel like dirt - a lead-swinging #benefit scrounger leaching off the taxpayers. The vile #rhetoric coming out of #Labour AND #Tory #politicians was - & is - utterly inexcusable, as is that from the #media.

@SecondUniverse As someone with multiple #disabilities who was made to jump through the WCA hoop more times than I can remember now, in spite of qualifying for the highest rate, & longest term, of #ESA, I can tell you I was constantly made to feel like dirt - a lead-swinging #benefit scrounger leaching off the taxpayers. The vile #rhetoric coming out of #Labour AND #Tory #politicians was - & is - utterly inexcusable, as is that from the #media.

@SecondUniverse As someone with multiple #disabilities who was made to jump through the WCA hoop more times than I can remember now, in spite of qualifying for the highest rate, & longest term, of #ESA, I can tell you I was constantly made to feel like dirt - a lead-swinging #benefit scrounger leaching off the taxpayers. The vile #rhetoric coming out of #Labour AND #Tory #politicians was - & is - utterly inexcusable, as is that from the #media.

@SecondUniverse As someone with multiple #disabilities who was made to jump through the WCA hoop more times than I can remember now, in spite of qualifying for the highest rate, & longest term, of #ESA, I can tell you I was constantly made to feel like dirt - a lead-swinging #benefit scrounger leaching off the taxpayers. The vile #rhetoric coming out of #Labour AND #Tory #politicians was - & is - utterly inexcusable, as is that from the #media.

nevmenandr.github.io/portfolio/assets/pdf/compana.pdf

This paper examines the phrase "computer analysis" in Russian media. While "computer" is often linked to "virtual" (meaning imaginary or illusory), in media texts, "computer analysis" actually functions as a marker of authority and truth — a rhetorical device that lends credibility, not doubt. A neat case of linguistic stereotypes vs. actual usage.

#ComputerAnalysis #MediaStudies #CorpusLinguistics #Rhetoric #Linguistics #LanguageAndMedia

nevmenandr.github.io/portfolio/assets/pdf/compana.pdf

This paper examines the phrase "computer analysis" in Russian media. While "computer" is often linked to "virtual" (meaning imaginary or illusory), in media texts, "computer analysis" actually functions as a marker of authority and truth — a rhetorical device that lends credibility, not doubt. A neat case of linguistic stereotypes vs. actual usage.

#ComputerAnalysis #MediaStudies #CorpusLinguistics #Rhetoric #Linguistics #LanguageAndMedia

This client - contractor world keeps surprising me with how absurd it makes itself. This time *React developer with 10 years of experience* is not qualified because they acquired their experience in a *product company* instead of *contractor company*. Why creates these silly rules that get in the way? #rhetoric

This client - contractor world keeps surprising me with how absurd it makes itself. This time *React developer with 10 years of experience* is not qualified because they acquired their experience in a *product company* instead of *contractor company*. Why creates these silly rules that get in the way? #rhetoric

A quotation from Horace

For ridicule shall frequently prevail,
And cut the knot, when graver reasons fail.
 
                              [Ridiculum acri
Fortius et melius magnas plerumque secat res.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 10 “Nempe incomposito,” l. 14ff (1.10.14-15) (35 BC) [tr. Francis (1747)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/horace/1955/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #horace #argument #comedy #debate #derision #humor #impact #jest #jibe #jokes #laughter #mockery #rhetoric #ridicule #satire #scorn #wit #witticism #writing #persuasion #influence

A quotation from Horace

For ridicule shall frequently prevail,
And cut the knot, when graver reasons fail.
 
                              [Ridiculum acri
Fortius et melius magnas plerumque secat res.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 10 “Nempe incomposito,” l. 14ff (1.10.14-15) (35 BC) [tr. Francis (1747)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/horace/1955/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #horace #argument #comedy #debate #derision #humor #impact #jest #jibe #jokes #laughter #mockery #rhetoric #ridicule #satire #scorn #wit #witticism #writing #persuasion #influence

Praising by Faint Damn

A chat about an eugenicist in California made me think about rhetorical tricks. My gentle readers are familiar with objective allies, where the centrist journalist cries “that candidate is horrible and awful and I am going to put his words on the front page and in the prime-time news every day” and watches the ad revenue roll in, while the candidate launches a line of propaganda on the theme “look how much those elitists hate me and how powerful I am” and hires a new accountant to track his donations. Ever since smartphones came out, vlogs and podcasts are funded by people declaring another influencer the enemy, launching a five-part series to attack them, and sending their viewers to the ‘enemy’ channel until the ‘enemy’ returns the favour by launching a counter-video or anti-episode. This pays much better than useful factual videos on knitting or woodworking. There is a related concept whose name I am trying to find.

The eugenicist explained that after he discovered the online far right, he decided to share their ideas by posting about them a lot and rebutting some of their peripherial points but not the ones he agreed with. He hoped that people would follow his links, read the original posts, and decide they agreed with some of them. He is not the only person to use this gambit.

In his 1764 treatise against execution and judicial torture, Cesare Beccaria included a brief chapter on the crime of heresy:

rational men will see that the place where I live, the present age, and the matter at hand do not permit me to examine the nature of such a crime. It would take me too long and too far from my subject to prove how a perfect uniformity of thought is necessary in a state, the example of many nations to the contrary not withstanding; how opinions that differ only in a few subtle and obscure points altogether beyond human comprehension can nonetheless disturb public order if one of them is not authorized to the exclusion of the others… It would take me too long to prove that, however odious the triumph of force over human minds may seem, since the only fruits of its conquest are dissembling and, consequently, degradation; however contrary it may seem to the spirit of gentleness and brotherly love enjoined by reason and the authority we most revere; it is still necessary and indispensable

This was enough to pass the Neapolitan censor, but in 260 years I do not know anyone who has read that chapter and believed that Beccaria thought heresy should be a crime. He just refused to say that heresy should be legal.

Under Communism, writers learned to summarize the best arguments for a position, then denounce it with a cookie-cutter party-line teaching.

This is similar to but not the same as irony, sarcasm, or litotes. A summary of a book or thinker and a weak criticism can be superficially sincere, even if the author has a hidden agenda.

This is related to crit-hype, where a critic accepts the premise that a new technology will be almost godlike rather than asking whether that is true and whether the real dangers are in the present. Since 2019, American chatbot companies have been telling reporters that their next product might be too dangerous to release. Then they release it anyways and look for a new reporter who they can tell the next version is even more powerful.

Edit: This is connected to all publicity is good publicity, but is deliberate. The average person responding on corporate social media and thereby promoting the thing they hate in the algorithm does not know what he does, but this tactic is a deliberate attempt to spread an idea or a thinker without endorsing it.

Lastly, this is related to the attention economy, another concept which I do not understand (I would expect an attention economy to reward dense, high-quality information, but many people just want to hang out online with someone articulate and energetic). We would all think it odd if Kat Connor accepted a challenge to a MMA bout from a spotty fifteen-year-old, and there is something just as odd if a professor of computer science at UWaterloo agrees to debate an anonymous account which says obviously P = NP but has never even released a preprint.

I come from Internet culture. The way social media works makes my skin crawl. In our culture, if an idea is bad you make an exhaustive book or website explaining all the ways it is bad, but in social media culture, it is a red flag that your career is funded by posting angry attacks on other social media figures that send your viewers to their content. One reason why I am at a loss this decade is that I have not found a way to respond to this new environment and still be me or someone I would like to be.

You damn someone with faint praise by saying mildly positive things about them. What should we call the reverse, where you share an idea or thinker then make a half-hearted criticism? I am off to do something outside with other people but maybe the Internet can help.

(scheduled 13 June 2026)

Saturday, June 13, 2026

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/06/saturday-june-13-2026/

Saturday, June 13, 2026

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/06/saturday-june-13-2026/

RE: https://mastodon.social/@simone_z/116732313000186566

Well, someone stopped them.

“Anthropic shuts down Fable, Mythos models following Trump admin directive”: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/anthropic-shuts-down-fable-mythos-models-following-trump-admin-directive/

To weaken a bit the promoting #rhetoric of #anthropic, this comment from their side “If this standard was applied across the #industry, we believe it would essentially halt all new #model deployments for all frontier model providers”

#AI #claude #mythos

RE: https://mastodon.social/@simone_z/116732313000186566

Well, someone stopped them.

“Anthropic shuts down Fable, Mythos models following Trump admin directive”: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/anthropic-shuts-down-fable-mythos-models-following-trump-admin-directive/

To weaken a bit the promoting #rhetoric of #anthropic, this comment from their side “If this standard was applied across the #industry, we believe it would essentially halt all new #model deployments for all frontier model providers”

#AI #claude #mythos

RE: https://theatl.social/@DecaturNature/116723222135243123

'Common Sense' by Thomas Paine is a brilliant work of rhetoric, that presented as 'common sense' an idea that had until recently been considered absurd. And somehow it worked - Paine understood the tide of American public opinion, and used it to push us to higher ground.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBhoD5RcJjM

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/147/pg147-images.html

#america250 #rhetoric #history #usa #writing

RE: https://theatl.social/@DecaturNature/116723222135243123

'Common Sense' by Thomas Paine is a brilliant work of rhetoric, that presented as 'common sense' an idea that had until recently been considered absurd. And somehow it worked - Paine understood the tide of American public opinion, and used it to push us to higher ground.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBhoD5RcJjM

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/147/pg147-images.html

#america250 #rhetoric #history #usa #writing

I'm still amazed at how some people with extreme religious or political views online get so carried away.
They rarely make any valid arguments and just end up insulting others, thinking that counts as "winning" the debate.

#apologetic #debate #argument #rhetoric #discourse

I'm still amazed at how some people with extreme religious or political views online get so carried away.
They rarely make any valid arguments and just end up insulting others, thinking that counts as "winning" the debate.

#apologetic #debate #argument #rhetoric #discourse

I'm still amazed at how some people with extreme religious or political views online get so carried away.
They rarely make any valid arguments and just end up insulting others, thinking that counts as "winning" the debate.

#apologetic #debate #argument #rhetoric #discourse

2022: #Musk forced to buy #Twitter @ $44 B
Value crashed due to #HateSpeech and his #rhetoric

2025: #xAI acquires #X (Twitter) @ $45 B
xAI's tech founders have all left
#Colossus #datacenter is underutilized
Operating #loss in 2025: $6.4 B

2026: SpaceX acquires xAI @ $1.25 T Pre-IPO statements indicate massive losses
Seeking $1.75 T from #IPO = 93.5 × revenue! (note: #profits are negative)

This isn't going to work!

src: https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/05/27/spacex-reveal-finances-warning-ipo/

Unless...
[4/6]

2022: #Musk forced to buy #Twitter @ $44 B
Value crashed due to #HateSpeech and his #rhetoric

2025: #xAI acquires #X (Twitter) @ $45 B
xAI's tech founders have all left
#Colossus #datacenter is underutilized
Operating #loss in 2025: $6.4 B

2026: SpaceX acquires xAI @ $1.25 T Pre-IPO statements indicate massive losses
Seeking $1.75 T from #IPO = 93.5 × revenue! (note: #profits are negative)

This isn't going to work!

src: https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/05/27/spacex-reveal-finances-warning-ipo/

Unless...
[4/6]

is there an established term in rhetoric for trying to spread an idea by criticizing it half-heartedly? Praising by faint damn? #rhetoric #communications #sophistry

"I can't believe the poors would support a horrific creature like you just because they're reduced to slaves in their own homeland!"

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/2119593/i-can-t-believe-the-poors-would-support-a-horrific-creature-like-you-just-because-they

"I can't believe the poors would support a horrific creature like you just because they're reduced to slaves in their own homeland!"

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/2119593/i-can-t-believe-the-poors-would-support-a-horrific-creature-like-you-just-because-they

"I can't believe the poors would support a horrific creature like you just because they're reduced to slaves in their own homeland!"

https://piefed.social/c/roughromanmemes/p/2119592/i-can-t-believe-the-poors-would-support-a-horrific-creature-like-you-just-because-they

"I can't believe the poors would support a horrific creature like you just because they're reduced to slaves in their own homeland!"

https://piefed.social/c/roughromanmemes/p/2119592/i-can-t-believe-the-poors-would-support-a-horrific-creature-like-you-just-because-they

The Problem with Democracy.

👉 https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/the-problem-with-democracy

If you follow my work closely, you know that I am a vocal critic of Democracy and Enlightenment Age ideals. I share a summary overview in this Substack post. I do love my Nano Banana pig image.

#philosophy #politics #blog #podcast #democracy #substack #critique #language #ideology #power #propaganda #hegemony #rhetoric #scepticism

The Problem with Democracy.

👉 https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/the-problem-with-democracy

If you follow my work closely, you know that I am a vocal critic of Democracy and Enlightenment Age ideals. I share a summary overview in this Substack post. I do love my Nano Banana pig image.

#philosophy #politics #blog #podcast #democracy #substack #critique #language #ideology #power #propaganda #hegemony #rhetoric #scepticism

The Truth about Truth – a follow-on to my previous teaser, as it were.

https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/the-truth-about-truth-a-retrospective-e8d?r=pvxh5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

I'm not much of a tease. In any case, I trace my documented journey to determine the folly of Truth.

#philosophy #philosophyofmind #blog #paradigms #rhetoric #power #perception #reality #mediation #encounter #language #grammar

The Truth about Truth – a follow-on to my previous teaser, as it were.

https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/the-truth-about-truth-a-retrospective-e8d?r=pvxh5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

I'm not much of a tease. In any case, I trace my documented journey to determine the folly of Truth.

#philosophy #philosophyofmind #blog #paradigms #rhetoric #power #perception #reality #mediation #encounter #language #grammar

#Profanity is a hallmark of #Trump second term, a Post analysis finds. The analysis of President Trump's #speeches and #socialmedia posts shows a sharp increase in his use of vulgarities, #insults and bombastic #rhetoric since his first term. #racism #hatred #discrimination #gop #maga #republicans #congress #leadership #politics #government #political #opponents #retribution #revenge #threats https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/21/profanity-is-hallmark-trumps-more-combative-second-term/

#Profanity is a hallmark of #Trump second term, a Post analysis finds. The analysis of President Trump's #speeches and #socialmedia posts shows a sharp increase in his use of vulgarities, #insults and bombastic #rhetoric since his first term. #racism #hatred #discrimination #gop #maga #republicans #congress #leadership #politics #government #political #opponents #retribution #revenge #threats https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/21/profanity-is-hallmark-trumps-more-combative-second-term/

CFP (2 wks to deadline) CBI's MOSAICS Symposium on Interdisciplinary AI Studies. We welcome paper proposals from the humanities, social sciences, arts, law, policy...

#aistudies #AI #AILaw #technology ##science #artificialintelligence #sociology #anthropology #geography #art #communication ##mediastudies #English #rhetoric #culturalstudies #law #publicpolicy #hci #philosophy #politicalscience #EthicsInAI #ethics

CFP:

cse.umn.edu/cbi/call-papers

CFP (2 wks to deadline) CBI's MOSAICS Symposium on Interdisciplinary AI Studies. We welcome paper proposals from the humanities, social sciences, arts, law, policy...

#aistudies #AI #AILaw #technology ##science #artificialintelligence #sociology #anthropology #geography #art #communication ##mediastudies #English #rhetoric #culturalstudies #law #publicpolicy #hci #philosophy #politicalscience #EthicsInAI #ethics

CFP:

cse.umn.edu/cbi/call-papers

Angel-makers

A light arcs above the canopy. Meteor or flare gun? We are not alone, gang of atoms, star seeds, angel-makers. Let’s work on our rhetoric, immense first person plural. Say […]

https://cacorbell.com/2026/05/15/angel-makers/
#angel #bone #journal #poem #prosepoem #rhetoric #tree

a lesson in #language - who's "putting personal #policy preferences ahead of proper interpretations of #law"?

10,000 rulings: The courts’ overwhelming rebuke of Trump’s #ICE policies https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/13/10k-rulings-ice-mandatory-detention-trump-analysis-00914195

#rhetoric #semantics #propaganda #doublespeak #euphemisms #gaslighting

a lesson in #language - who's "putting personal #policy preferences ahead of proper interpretations of #law"?

10,000 rulings: The courts’ overwhelming rebuke of Trump’s #ICE policies https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/13/10k-rulings-ice-mandatory-detention-trump-analysis-00914195

#rhetoric #semantics #propaganda #doublespeak #euphemisms #gaslighting

And neither #Goldman nor #Lander have pledged to force a vote on #Trump #impeachment under Rule IX, meaning much of the lofty #ParkSlope #progressive #rhetoric becomes meaningless
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WGblmLsvjvk #politics #protests #fascism #brooklyn

And neither #Goldman nor #Lander have pledged to force a vote on #Trump #impeachment under Rule IX, meaning much of the lofty #ParkSlope #progressive #rhetoric becomes meaningless
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WGblmLsvjvk #politics #protests #fascism #brooklyn

#Iran Escalates #Rhetoric as #US-Iran #Diplomacy Stalls

https://www.thelevantfiles.org/2026/05/iran-escalates-rhetoric-as-us-iran.html

I hired Claude to articulate my thoughts on the self-improvement industry…

https://philosophics.blog/2026/05/01/the-grammar-of-bettering-yourself/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

…and, frankly, LinkedIn and pop psychology. I leverage my notion of ontological grammar.

#philosophy #psychology #blog #podcast #selfhelp #language #power #reason #rhetoric #personadevelopment #bollocks #vulnerability #writing #reading #cognitivebias #llms #claudeai