Rands has a fantastic article this week on truth and spin:

Traditionally, the opposite of Truth is Spin. Spin is a pejorative term that comes out of Public Relations land. Spin is the deliberate selection of facts constructed to prove a specific point. For example, if there was a presidential debate where one of the candidates magically transformed into a blue whale in the middle of the debate, there would be someone from the blue whale’s camp on camera, after the debate, explaining the many benefits to America of being lead by a blue whale. They’d point out, “Are you aware of the average brain size of a blue whale? What do you think they’re doing with all that grey matter? Can you name a single war involving a blue whale?” While the rest of us would be giggling, someone, somewhere would think, “Yeah, I really want a blue whale as President… we could really use a bigger pool in the White House”.

In the rest of the article, he goes on to discuss the efficiency of communicating enthusiasm that good spin has. I was reminded somewhat of this guy, who was told by YCombinator that he was a “Woziak looking for a Jobs.”

Sometimes a good idea isn’t enough; you need a good idea and the charisma to persuade everyone else of its significance.

← Earlier Later → Posted at 12:41 pm to Asides.