Episode 2444 CWSA 04/14/24 — Scott Adams Philosophy

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MainContent Politics as Persuasion

Back to episode — Episode 2444 CWSA 04/14/24

Context —

when we don't need to work are the ones who are working even though they don't need to work. I feel like they're disproving their own argument. I don't need to work but you see me here literally seven days a week. I work seven days a week but I don't need to. It's just who I am. I wouldn't know how to not work. So here's what I think. I think the aggressive people who need to work for whatever re…

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on until they believe what you're telling them and then you can tell them anything because you've trained them that it's accurate information. As soon as people believe it's accurate information you own them.

Take Walter Cronkite. When I grew up and even today people say you know Walter Cronkite, he was the real news and you got the straight news, no bias. That Walter Cronkite. I wish we could go back to those times because he would play it right down the middle. Now look at Walter Cronkite with the benefit of the goggles which you've learned to wear in our modern times. Do you think there's any chance at all that Walter Cronkite was not owned by our intelligence people? Does anybody think that was honest and unbalanced news? Of course it wasn't. Of course not. It's never been.

Now it does seem to me that Walter Cronkite was probably allowed to tell the news just the way he wanted to 98% of the time. So if you're watching some human interest story or somebody got murdered it's probably exactly what happened. It's only when something matters, as in what's the point of this war or are we winning the war, are we getting to space, are we the greatest country, the things that the intelligence people would care about, there's no way in the world he's just winging it on those things. I think they're just telling him what to say and always have. That's my view of the world.

So yes, when Facebook says they're spending 20 billion and have 40,000 people dedicated to tell you what the facts are, that means that elections don't matter anymore. That's what it means. Because if they can tell you what the facts are they can tell you who's going to win the next election. It's the same story.

All right. Fog of war over in Israel. As you know Israel had, I don't know, a few weeks ago attacked an Iranian asset in another country, an embassy or consulate or something, killed some people. So Iran said it had to retaliate and it did. So it sent around I don't know two to 300 projectiles. So a bunch of drones and a bunch of intercontinental missiles allegedly. America and UK and Israel and some other friends knocked down just about every one of those drones and missiles. Only maybe a couple got through causing minor damage, nothing major.

Now have you ever heard the phrase a theater of war? Used to hear a lot about World War I. It was like the Pacific Theater. You know it was like a theater of war. Did you ever think that was a weird kind of way to say it? Because theater seems like acting whereas war seems like the most real thing there could ever be. It's a weird combination of theater of war. But then you fast forward to Israel and Iran who have apparently negotiated the war in advance. All right guys we're going to take out one of your consulate guys. What you'll do is you'll respond with a bunch of missiles but give us some warning. Make sure that we have our anti-missile stuff in place. We'll shoot down your missiles but if a few get through and we'll put a price tag on it, make it sound expensive and dangerous. And then we might need to respond also so we'll probably respond in some way that's sort of indirect and not quite enough to start a war. And it's literally theater. It's literally theater. It's two countries pretending to be at war. And not only are they pretending, they're telling us they're pretending and then they're do

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ing it in front of us. I'm going to pretend to fight back because that's how my population will feel good that we did something. All right great. We understand that this is a pretend attack so we won't attack back too hard but we might need to do a little bit, just a little mop-up pretend attack after this. And Iran would be, we thought that our pretend attack would be all we needed but I can see…

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Wisdom from this episode

"Keep telling people the same thing until they believe what you're telling them and then you can tell them anything because you've trained them that it's accurate information. As soon as people believe it's accurate information you own them."

Once people are trained to see your information as reliable, you can tell them anything and they'll believe it. Controlling perceived accuracy grants ownership over their worldview.

"When Facebook says they're spending 20 billion and have 40,000 people dedicated to tell you what the facts are, that means that elections don't matter anymore. Because if they can tell you what the facts are they can tell you who's going to win the next election."

Whoever controls what the public accepts as facts can dictate election outcomes, rendering voting meaningless.

"Did you ever think that 'theater of war' was a weird kind of way to say it? Because theater seems like acting whereas war seems like the most real thing there could ever be. It's literally theater. It's two countries pretending to be at war. And not only are they pretending, they're telling us they're pretending."

The term 'theater of war' is sometimes literal: opposing sides quietly negotiate attacks and responses in advance, staging conflict for show while informing the audience it's scripted.