Looked again at the Austin “free” university, which is still waiting for accreditation so it can say the same things all the other universities are saying. The website had an article by Boghossian, one of the big Cancelleds. This led to his Youtube channel where he “challenges” the beliefs of the wokesters in Socratic style.

Boghossian’s key question is What would it take to change your beliefs? This is a standard question asked by salesmen.

But this type of self-questioning and surveying is much less effective than direct experience. As usual, Duane Jones had something to say about hypothetical discussions:

Recently I was with a client who demanded that a study be made of duplication in the ten magazines that he was using, and a study of the potential buying power for his product in 262 counties covered by network radio. I made the studies and submitted them; but I respectfully said: “This is all very interesting but not my language. You might as well talk about the temperature of this room. After we agree, what are we going to do about it?” The secret of success is to build advertising that checks itself by means of actual sales over the dealer’s counter.

You have to induce the customer to SAMPLE the product or EXPERIENCE the culture. In the case of Boghossian’s subject matter, direct experience might be difficult, but it’s the only way to dissolve theoretical ideas and biases about other types of people.

I didn’t understand the special qualities of criminals until I spent time in jail. I didn’t understand the value of physical work until I worked in a printshop.

Back in the ’60s some leftists achieved direct experience despite their own worst intentions. They took factory jobs with the goal of radicalizing the union workers. Instead, they came to understand WHY the union workers hated hippies, and often got deradicalized.

Boghossian appears to be using pretty much the same techniques that the Alinskyans use. The result of these verbal techniques is NOT a new direct understanding of the world. The result is a decreased connection with physical reality, and more vulnerability to verbal input.

He would be helping the unorthodox side more by persuading youngsters to leave college and start an ordinary job. As long as they’re immersed in college (whether orthodox or fake unorthodox) they will only be exposed to verbal thinking.