The Mathematics Of Persuasive Communication

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different idea of what you want to say. But suppose you say, “It’s very hot today; the temperature is 28° C.” Now there is no room for confusion. They both know quite clearly that it is 28° C outside and that you consider this to be very hot.

Using as much precise information as possible in a text gives the writer two significant advantages:

• Mind Control

Let’s not be embarrassed by the term “mind control”, because this is precisely what the good expository writer wants to achieve. He needs for the reader’s mind to go only where he directs it and nowhere else.

Because they can be interpreted in unknown ways, ambiguous terms (so-called “weasel words”) such as “hot”, “cold”, “big”, “small”, “good”, “bad”, etc., allow the reader’s mind to escape from the writer’s control. An occasional lapse is not critical; however, too

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