Rationality as a mental illness

 

Rationality as a mental illness

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1979509450927919358

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

·

Oct 18

Same

Quote

Pascal Anglehart 

@DemosKratosCA

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Oct 17

I have a mental illness that makes me think that people will change their minds if I present the correct arguments with the appropriate facts and data.

Divine Code 

@slc_saint

·

Oct 18

Same goes for anti-mormonism. Apparently actual history, manuscripts and documents don't matter and anything anyone wants to make up about us is the gold standard.

MoundLore

@MoundLore

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Oct 18

Facts used to end debates. Now they start them.

Kyle Becker

@kylenabecker

·

Oct 18

"You cannot reason someone out of a position they did not reason themselves into." — Jonathan Swift

Matt Van Swol

@matt_vanswol

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Oct 18

It worked for me. I had no idea we even had an illegal immogration problem until I got on X. I had no idea how much the media lied until I got on X. It works. It just doesn’t work for everyone. Sadly… that’s a reality I’m also coming to understand.

TrueTruth

@TrueTruthToday

·

Oct 18

People don't resist the truth because they are unconvinced by facts, data, and arguments. They resist truth because their commitment to a particular worldview or narrative trumps their desire to be logical or consistent. Pride doesn't let people admit when they are wrong, even if they recognize that the facts go against them. Scripture characterizes this as a suppressing of truth, so it's not more information or better arguments that are needed. The source of embracing untruth is ultimately found in the willful denial of God. Therefore, truth is a moral and spiritual battleground, and not merely academic debate (1 Cor. 2: 14; Rom 1: 18-21).

Cosmokramer

@Cosmokrame18809

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Oct 18

It's cost me my deepest relationships. I've lost complete communication with my two Sons -Both High School Teachers. A year ago we were on our 34th year of being BEST FRIENDS. A truly loving family doing everything together.....for our whole lives. I never missed a thing! Ever. I haven't spoken to them in 6 months. 66 years old, and our family spontaneously combusted. We never saw it coming. Their hatred for Trump just keeps growing. The more successes he has. the deeper the hatred became. Peace deals, lowering inflation, lower fuel costs, it doesn't matter. Now I'm on the other side. Our boys went from thanking us every day for the lives we've paved for them, the unwavering support for everything they did, to complete Blackout. This is the biggest part people are missing. It was simply impossible to blow up a family as close as ours. It happened......without my wife or I saying a thing. This is having a larger impact on American Families than people understand. It's destroying many more lives than y'all think. My Wife and I lost the only things we cared about. How do you fix that? We carry on, and pray for them. It's a mental illness that has no answer. We voted for someone they didn't, so that's it? Until TDS is solved, many families will suffer this same fate. I haven't the slightest idea how one recovers from this,. I just have to know that God has a plan, and I'm a part of it.

Nomad

@NomadProduct

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Oct 18

Back to Aristotle: persuasion is 'logos' (logic, facts, knowledge, words), 'ethos' (credibility, relatability, capturing attention) and 'pathos' (emotion, sentimentality) Highly effective persuasion requires all three.

Ginny | Cleaning Biz Guide

@GinnyC33

·

Oct 18

Ha ha I was just having a conversation with grok on this very topic. From Carl Sagan: “It is far easier to reach someone who is already on your side than to persuade a skeptic. When facts conflict with our beliefs, we are more likely to reject the facts than change our beliefs. One of the saddest lessons of history is this: When a belief is based on faith or emotion, no amount of logic or evidence will change it.”

Six Elements of Instinctual Trust

 for hundreds, if not thousands of years, lawyers have been appealing to the wrong decision-maker. We’ve got two decision-making systems within our brains. Our fast brain, that’s our gut brain, and our slow brain, our calculating brain. Well, your fast brain, that’s your decision maker. You didn’t get married because of logic. You didn’t buy your most recent car or house because of logic. 

We make the most important decisions of our lives based on emotion. 

And then our slow brain comes along and justifies it for us.

So we think, so when you stand up in front of a jury in court, they’re making their decision based on logic, based on emotions, not logic. And if you can grab their emotions and hold onto their emotions during the same trial and make them think and feel what you want them to think and feel, most of the time you’re going to win.

https://www.georgiatortlaw.com/podcast/episode-26-the-art-and-science-of-performance-in-trial-advocacy/

_____

Judson Vaughn is a former Hollywood character actor, director, and filmmaker known for roles in films like The Truman Show (1998), Kalifornia (1993), RoboCop 3 (1993), and In the Line of Fire (1993). He has transitioned into teaching persuasive communication skills, particularly for trial lawyers, through companies like Judson Squared (co-founded with trial lawyer Judson Graves) and JurisPerfect Performance Lab, where he serves as co-founder, advocate, and instructor. Vaughn draws on his acting background to train professionals in nonverbal and verbal techniques for building rapid trust and influence, emphasizing how to engage the brain's decision-making systems in high-stakes settings like courtrooms.

The Six Elements of Instinctual Trust form the core of Vaughn's system of persuasive communication, described as precise, objective, primarily physical skills (nonverbal cues involving body, face, and voice) that allow users to secure and maintain trust from others—such as judges, jurors, or clients—in fractions of a second. This framework is taught in his courses, like Persuasive Performance Skills for Fearless Trial Lawyers, and is positioned as a foundation for directing emotions, "writing" body language to lead others, and bypassing logical defenses to appeal directly to instinctual responses. While the exact elements are proprietary and detailed primarily in paid workshops or online programs (not fully disclosed publicly), available descriptions highlight related concepts and techniques, including:

• Koragraphy: A coined term likely referring to choreographed or patterned nonverbal movements to influence perception.
• Dominant Face: Techniques for projecting authority or control through facial positioning and expressions.
• Performance Face: Controlled facial cues to convey intent, such as using passive, pleasant smiles upon entering a room to instantly connect with an audience.
• Consumption: Possibly related to how one "consumes" or processes social cues, or directs others' attention.
• What You Are Looking For: A framework for interpreting responses, with sub-categories like Attraction (positive pull), Connection (rapport), Nothing (neutral), Anti-Connection (mild disconnect), and Repulsion (strong aversion).
• Nature & Nurture: Balancing innate instincts with learned behaviors to build authentic trust.

Additional techniques tied to the system include optimizing handshakes (e.g., varying length, arm hold, and eye contact for impact, as seen in examples from presidents like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton), asymmetry in posture (e.g., crossed ankles for appeal), and avoiding mismatched expressions that undermine credibility. Vaughn's workshops, such as those held in Atlanta in 2025, involve mock trials where participants practice these in binders outlining the elements, focusing on emotional engagement over pure logic. For full access, his programs are available via judsonsquared.com or jurisperfect.com.

9 𝕏 posts

16 web pages

Establish clarity

 

Wildfire Whispers

@WildfireWhisper

If you watch Charlie Kirk’s debates, there’s something you’ll see in almost all of them. It’s easy to miss until it’s pointed out to you, but once you’re aware, you’ll notice every time. Here’s the pattern I’ve observed: 1. His first mission is to establish clarity. - Asks his opponent to state their argument - Asks them to define terms - If they struggle with either, he offers one to them and asks if it’s FAIR 2. His second (and most important) mission is to find something, no matter how small, on which he can say the magical phrase: “I AGREE” Human beings WANT to be agreed with. It’s a fundamental drive. It establishes rapport, and helps us feel acknowledged and humanized. Saying “I agree” or “we agree” lowers defenses. Which is THE KEY. Because once defenses go up, communication stops. Charlie knew this, and it was one of his biggest strengths and secret weapons. But he never said it insincerely. That’s why his first step was CLARIFICATION. In order to find a sincere point of agreement, you have to understand what the other person is trying to say. This is a known debate tactic. But even though many skilled debaters use it, few wield it in quite the same way as he did. Why? Because Charlie wasn’t trying to just WIN. He was trying to CONVINCE. He wanted the person across from him to end up BESIDE him. Humiliation wasn’t the goal. Because a person who is simply humiliated or defeated either doubles down or shuts down and walks away. Which is why, if you watch, you’ll see how intently Charlie hunts for the moment he can say “I AGREE”… usually even before he begins his counterattack. He lights up with excitement every time he finds it. Because he knew that once their perspective was entirely dismantled, they’d find themselves floating in a sea of uncertainty… and he wanted them to have a life ring to hold onto. One that was tethered to reason, truth, and a person with whom they knew they could AGREE. Even if only about something small. It’s how he managed to never close the door on someone. It’s how he so beautifully built connection during—and even THROUGH—argument. And it’s something I think we should all notice and study, when we watch him, so that we can do it too. Real winning is about keeping the focus on what you’re fighting FOR, rather than who you’re fighting against. Charlie knew that. It’s become my favorite thing to look for in his debates. And, the more I see it… the more I feel like it’s the real key to carrying on his legacy, and picking up his mic.

Find the right church

Collin Rugg

@CollinRugg

·

5h

Charlie Kirk on knowing if you have found the right church. “You only need Jesus, or you believe you need Jesus, if you know you're off the mark.” “You cannot talk about a Savior if you never talk about sin. And the modern church is afraid to talk about sin. Why?” “Because I might judge somebody. I might offend somebody. To the modern church, happiness is the goal, judgment is the ultimate sin and God is just a guess.” “In a true biblical church, God is the ultimate truth, holiness is the goal, and the greatest sin is blaspheming in the name of God and defiling the name of Jesus Christ.”  

“That's how you know you're sitting in a Bible-based church.” 

men of corrupt minds...

 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-to-the-church-not-after-18-december-1833/1

Let the elders be exceedingly careful about unnecessarily disturbing and harrowing up the feelings of the people. Remember, that your business is, to preach the gospel in all humility and meekness, and warn sinners to repent and come to Christ.8

 Avoid contentions and vain disputes with men of corrupt minds, who do not desire to know the truth. Remember that “it is a day of warning, and not a day of many words.”10

 If they receive not your testimony in one place, flee to another, remembering, to cast no reflections, nor throw out any bitter sayings. If you do your duty, it will be just as well with you, as though all men embraced the gospel.

8. William W. Phelps gave similar advice to “Elders of the Church of Christ” in The Evening and the Morning Star over a year earlier:

9. See Titus 3:9.

10. Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:58].

The "third rail" of stupidity

 

as Forrest Gump was known to say: “Stupid is as stupid does!” 

Getting people to admit that they’ve behaved stupidly is a very heavy lift. Just as Social Security has been called the “third rail” of American politics, admitting stupidity is the third rail of the American psyche. In addition, I have found that stupid actions tend to be based on rigid ideology or fear, both of which are hard to overcome. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/needed-stupid-anonymous