From Con

Thanks (to Loadstar) for pointing that out with such humble civility, for keeping the issue discreet to the one comment where it belongs and most especially for keeping the discussion civil and not indulging yourself in any tendency to personalize matters (though to correct you on one small point – I don’t wonder why you lose your patience; not at all.

You see, I don’t think about you much at all except when addressing you or reading your posts – wherever did you get such a whacky notion that I ‘wonder why you lose your patience with me’? Why would you ‘bet’ that I see absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever with my own behavior’? I ask seriously and I’d be very interested in your serious answer, if you can spare the time, please.

Totally unrelated, but I Note your use of: ‘absolutely’ and ‘whatsoever’ in same sentence – it reminds me of these fascinating studies regarding the over-use of Superlatives and related trends and usages when certain types express themselves – most especially when they feel a compelling need and desire to be believed AND to be Right. We all know the type can probably think of someone who is a sort of “Cognitive Conservative” – absolutely must be Right, cannot stand to be wrong and when making their case they rely on the only tool in their possession they believe can actually ‘Force The Outcome’, which is Language (the actual Facts & Circumstances simply being what they are).

So The University of Wisconsin Psychology Dept. (I believe) conducted a series of these Studies of the over-use of and heavy reliance on Superlatives; the heavy reliance on Hyperbole; the tactic of repetitive, excalating statements (which, of course, end up using so many Superlatives and so much Hyperbole the penultimate and last statement are often so over-the-top that you can almost imagine the writer struggling to keep them from simply sounding hilarious or satirical rather than their series attempt TO BE BELIEVED! and taken seriously).

I wish I had an internet link – these studies and results are so very interesting and really should be made know to anyone who: tends to constantly over-use Superlatives, rely heavily on platitudes and cliche’s, use Hyperbole to an extreme extent and repeat the same assertion over and over as though each progressive statement reinforced the previous right up to the point where the writer seems to have thus convinced himself/herself, at least, that the statement is actually A Fact, rather than the mere assertion of Opinion that it is.

These Studies produced VERY interesting results that, in part, illustrate latent tendencies of the writer (hidden often from themselves) and expose personality traits which the writer often would rather stay hidden, would cause deep embarrassment and most often would be denied so adamantly (the “lady doth protests too much” type syndrome) by the writer that at the very least, a deep nerve has been touched off and remains exposed and raw, most often dealing directly with Deep-Seated Insecurity and the many ruses, denials, attempts at diversions and distractions; especially the constant use of the ‘reversal’ defense of directing the very trait at those conducting the study or some other externality or person (“YOU’RE the one who’s Insecure, not me!”).

We’ve all come across these kinds of people – everyone seems to know of someone who always uses Superlatives to describe what is definitely NOT “THE MOST” or “The absolute…” or “…I have EVERE seen!” or “…in the World!”. We’ve all come across those use Platitudes and Cliche’s as their primary means of expressing, as though simply copying & pasting from some big Script on their bookshelf ‘Phrases for Argument’, their go-to script for pre-packaged statements and phrases they believe are the be-all and end-all to counter all manner of argument, proven facts, etc.

These Cognitive Conservatives are, at the heart of it all, flat-out in denial and will always respond either with the equivalent of “I knew that!” or “You are wrong; I am right” as they try to prevail solely through the use of ‘piling it on’, as if all it took was the sheer weight of the language they shovel on, as if they could render themselves from In the Wrong TO In the Right by virtue of the power of their language. Unable to face or accept actually being wrong, their denial manifests in that avalanche of Hyperbole. Like I said, we all know the type – they will shovel and shovel the strongest possible language they can muster as though every argument were equally important and To Prevail were the very purpose of conducting an argument in the first place – To Prevail and To Destroy the Opponent.

They never acquiesce or admit being wrong or allow Mere facts to ever get in the way of them proving they are right. They are exhausting to argue with and half the time they do achieve a sort of victory because opponents tend to give them the roll of the eyes accompanied by the inevitable “Whatever…”. Phew!”