The art of persuasion
Ever since Aristotle’s “Rhetoric”, people have been interested in the power of persuasion. Today, I came across an unusual but possibly very effective way that neatly sidesteps arguments: to place a bet. Economic Optimism? Yes, I’ll take that bet. As the leader of the Cornucopians, the optimists who believed there would always be abundant supplies [...]
Yes we can… what?
The newspaper headline yesterday (Thursday, Nov. 6th, 2008) was イエス・ウィー・キャン We can what? Americans pride themselves on being a can-do nation: not just a nation of practical people of ability, but also of an optimistic attitude that is expressed in that old chestnut: “The possible we do straight away. The impossible takes a little longer.” [...]
