LogFAQs > #903952512

Howl posted...

It's also interesting if you watch the difference between when he's talking to his followers and someone who's actually smart like Sam Harris, the level of rhetoric he employs increases pretty dramatically. This is one of the reasons I do not necessarily trust that he has purely altruistic goals in mind. It could just be that he knows people are generally just so dumb that if he speaks to them on his level they just won't understand what he's talking about though.

I do this. I'm torn between wanting to be 100% sure my message gets across, but then also a desire to make my message a little bit more specific, eloquent, and to also play a role in bringing society up to a new standard of language.

Usually not having to ask people, "Do you know what that word is?" is better to me and more convenient and less awkward. And I know a lot of people will avoid looking dumb and asking what something means even though they should probably expect that they won't know some words.