Comments on: How to manipulate groupthink

How to manipulate groupthink

basilwhite — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:55:58 -0800

How to manipulate groupthink: Create a group participation technique that looks and sounds equitable and solicits feedback. Use the feedback to isolate leaders, loudmouths, pushovers and those who agree or disagree with your hidden agenda. Set these groups against each other until your hidden agenda moves from a subject for debate to a principle accepted as true that frames the debate. Start a cable channel! Hope America doesn't learn how to fight back.

By: rushmc

rushmc — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:04:00 -0800

Wait...so Metafilter is starting a cable channel?

By: sharksandwich

sharksandwich — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:05:53 -0800

Or, simply move to the moon.

By: leotrotsky

leotrotsky — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:05:58 -0800

I agree completely!

By: Spacelegoman

Spacelegoman — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:08:20 -0800

OK, that looks like an interesting and worthwhile topic for an FPP, but you need to work a bit harder on your links. Two of them go to the same text on different webpages, and two of them go to a completely unrelated biography of the inventor... then a google search which doesn't seem to actually connect Fox with the technique in question...??? Good idea, terrible execution

By: Spacelegoman

Spacelegoman — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:09:03 -0800

OMG I AM DISRUPTING TEH THREAD

By: trharlan

trharlan — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:09:24 -0800

The Delphi Technique is fascinating. The rest of the post, not so much.

By: leotrotsky

leotrotsky — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:17:26 -0800

some less kooky descriptions of delphi technique ...and this seems apt

By: Steve_at_Linnwood

Steve_at_Linnwood — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:17:57 -0800

Thank you for the link to Google! I would have never thought to look there other wise!

By: davy

davy — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:25:08 -0800

Dammit, rushmc beat me to it.

By: basilwhite

basilwhite — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 11:08:37 -0800

Okay, other than a few outsiders, what are some other examples of why my metafilter post was brilliant? Come on, be brave. I know we got some smart people out there.

By: nofundy

nofundy — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 11:16:56 -0800

From the Delphi link: 2. Stay focused. If at all possible, write your question down to help you stay focused. Facilitators, when asked questions they don't want to answer, often digress from the issue raised and try to work the conversation around to where they can make the individual asking the question look foolish. feel foolish, appear belligerent of aggressive. The goal is to put the one asking the question on the defensive. Do not fall for this tact. Always be charming, thus deflecting any insinuation, innuendo, etc. that may be thrown at you in their attempt to put you on the defensive, but bring them back to the question you asked. If they rephrase your question into an accusatory statement (a favorite tactic) simply state, "That is not what I stated. What I asked was...[repeat your question.]" 3. Be persistent. If putting you on the defensive doesn't work, facilitators often resort to long, drawn out dissertations on some off the wall and usually unrelated or vaguely related subject that drags on for several minutes. During that time, the crowd or group usually loses focus on the question asked (which is the intent). Let them finish with their dissertation or expose. Then nicely with focus and persistence, state, "But you didn't answer my question. My question is --" and repeat your question. Now where have I seen this tactic used recently? Oh yes, Dubya's "news conference!" He never directly answers a question it seems at times, if at all, especially if doing so might make him uncomfortable with his dissonance. "Want to buy some wood? Huh-huh!" Who says you can't train monkeys?

By: C.Batt

C.Batt — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 13:52:27 -0800

Nothing new. Employers have been using those techniques for years now. Foster a sense of ownership and empowerment amongst the employees. Politely listen to, but ignore everything that they have to say. Identify those who don't march to the tune, and deal with them appropriately.

By: basilwhite

basilwhite — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 14:44:00 -0800

Excerpt from Alinsky's "Reveille for Radicals". Disturbed me. http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/support/Assignments/alinsky.html

By: syzygy

syzygy — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 02:38:30 -0800

basilwhite: Okay, other than a few outsiders, what are some other examples of why my metafilter post was brilliant? Come on, be brave. I know we got some smart people out there. I'm pretty dim, but I'll try to offer some positive advice in a helpful, friendly manner: 1. Each individual link in your post should only show up once in the post, i.e. linking two snippets of text to the same URL is considered poor form. 2. The two linked articles found at the URL's ending in "delphi.htm" are slightly different versions of the same article. Linking two snippets of text to the slightly different versions of the same article is considered poor form. 3. I spent time reading the other articles to which you linked, but I still didn't get the relevance of the google search results. Maybe you're trying to say that Fox is using Delphi techniques pioneered by Alinsky? Google search results are generally not considered "best of the web," so use them lightly, and then only when they're clearly relevant and add real value to the post. So, to sum it up: In any post: only link to any specific URL once, only link to the single best of several marginally variant options, and only link to google searches whose relevance is abundantly clear. Otherwise, the info on Delphi and Alinsky was interesting. I'm sure I have read some of it before. It seems like common sense, but it's a good thing to keep in mind when you find yourself in one of these groupthink situations.

By: basilwhite

basilwhite — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 07:03:32 -0800

Wait, let me ramble on about something irrelevant for ten minutes to distract you from your beliefs before we continue.

By: billsaysthis

billsaysthis — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 17:18:29 -0800

Basilwhite, I'm not falling for that trick. Come closer so I can scream in your face and then punch you!