The Evil Scientist's Guide to Mind Control ebook DRAFT

Jun 23, 2020 12:04:55

Do NOT buy this book! It isn't a book yet. There's 139 pages of stuff, and maybe in the next few months I'll flesh it out a bit. Or maybe it will be years. We'll see.

During my last Kickstarter I offered it as a stretch goal. So I am putting it here for those folks. And, I figure, if somebody is willing to part with 25 bucks then they can look at an unfinished book too.

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Seller paul wheaton

Jun 23, 2020 14:05:34

Most Excellent!

Jun 23, 2020 14:51:17

I like mad scientists more than evil ones. ;)

Jun 23, 2020 16:47:11

This would make a good supplement to the fallacy list on RationalWiki.

Could you work in an example similar to Johnnie Cochran's famous Chewbacca Defense?

Feb 22, 2024 10:12:53

I give this book 8.5 out of 10 acorns. It probably just has to get finished to get closer to 10.

Caveat: it is not about permaculture, or gardening, or homesteading, or any of that stuff.

But, if you like the way Paul thinks about things, his observations, conclusions, and ideas, then this book is for you.

In fact, I just got off a call with Paul, who was talking about this book.

He said something like "I think it used to be required for a Ph.D. candidate to have some level of mastery of fallacies. Now it seems like nobody really cares. This stuff really ought to be basic educational curriculum.

Case in point:

Jed says 'hey, let's go to a movie.'
Gemma says 'I don't wanna.'
Jed says 'aw, come on!'
Gemma says 'well, okay.'

I'm actually not sure what the point of the anecdote is. Maybe that our discernment for manipulation is so flimsy that it takes very little for us to be bullied without even knowing it.

Oh well. I read it about a year and a half ago and found it to be a helpful reminder of how some of this stuff works. I find myself remembering Paul's descriptions of these tactics when I'm confronted with them in advertising or news.

If I get a chance to read it again, I'll update this review to make it better. I do hope that sometime Paul musters up the gusto to make it a real, live book, although it's already pretty good in this state. Who knows, maybe if you buy it you'll be the one to help him finish writing and polishing so it can get a proper send-off into the world.

Rambling review now over.

Feb 23, 2024 07:49:23

"Aw c'mon" is an example of the overall bizarre power of fallacy! In a world where logic and reason are supposed to be our guide, it takes a back seat to fallacy (aka "deceptive argument"). And nothing demonstrates this twisted power better than "aw c'mon". So simple. So dumb. So effective.

https://permies.com/t/35374/world-lamest-jedi-mind-trick

So if you are an evil scientist looking to expand your recipes for mind control, this book is for you!

And, if you are an evil scientist and you wish to build immunity against people using their mind control on you, then ... this book is for you!

Not insterested in this book? Aw c'mon!

Feb 24, 2024 15:11:50

If your mind control works so well, why aren’t the corporations and governments helping everyone do permaculture yet??

Feb 24, 2024 15:15:20

Joshua Myrvaagnes wrote:If your mind control works so well, why aren’t the corporations and governments helping everyone do permaculture yet??

While others find it easy to put five fallacies into a single sentence, I find that path yucky.

Oh, sure, you could do that. Or you could eat some pie. While reading this tiny ad:

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