#rhetoric — Public Fediverse posts

#Rhetoric has always played a role in #diplomacy & #foreignpolicy, & ancient #history is replete with #advice. Maitreya Thakur (FCDO) discusses rhetorical #multilingualism in the #West & #India.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2026/08/17/nyaya-and-cross-cultural-persuasion-in-a-multipolar-world/

A quotation from John Kennedy

But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high — to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech (1960-07-15), “The New Frontier,” Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech, Democratic National Convention, Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

More about this quote: wist.info/kennedy-john/25388/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #johnkennedy #johnfkennedy #jfk #attack #campaign #debate #future #inspiration #politicians #politics #rhetoric

Generalizing claims like "narratives are everywhere", "reality consists of contradictions", "life is but a network of practices" etc. are not useful statements that reveal something about the world. Rather they are pleas for a research program that uses narratives, contradictions or practices as a general lens for analysis.

#academia #rhetoric

Supposing the sub-disciples of philosophical dialogue were originally Dialectic and Rhetoric as a knowledge of philosophical dialogue cannot advance without a comprehension of them. Why then divide philosophy into metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics and logic presupposing the dogma of an empiricist nomenclature?

Answer: To control the direction and minds of the youth, so explaining why the oligarchs executed Socrates as he gave them the dialectic method so they could be free from dogmatic systems of naming! If Aristotle found a way to further undermine the oligarchs abuse of power, it can, and is still being done today. Their time is coming to an end. #philosophy #dialectic #rhetoric #metaphysics #epistemology #ethics #aesthetics #logic #oligarchs #Socrates #Aristotle

”This is a distinctive and unique evil. It has always been driven by a hatred above all else, for civilisation itself. It is a revolt of the worst against the best. A revolt of the weak and cowardly against strong and the good. It is perpetuated by those who cannot build and achieve great things and take their revenge by seeking to destroy those who can. This is what radical leftism is.”

This is Marco #Rubio, uttering quintessential #nazi #rhetoric.

Calling him ”Nazi Marco” from now is ok. 😰

A quotation from Terry Pratchett

“If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly,” said Granny, fleeing into aphorisms, the last refuge of an adult under siege.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 3, Equal Rites (1987)

More about this quote: wist.info/pratchett-terry/8523…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #terrypratchett #discworld #grannyweatherwax #adage #adult #aphorism #appealtotradition #argument #debate #proverb #rhetoric #saying

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?

🎭 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

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

@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

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

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://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

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]

"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

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

#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/