The Explicit Paradox

Send us Fan Mail Episode 47 - Explicit Paradox I see a thing that happens with communication. When someone tries to make a point their point is less effective rather than more effective once they try "too hard" to make it. An attempt to more explicitly state a thing can sometimes make it less solid, real, or believed by the intended audience. If you had a person who was attractive but who attempted to explicitly tell you about how they were attractive they would become less attractive. If a person tried to explicitly state that they were witty (rather than just being witty) people would naturally wonder if that person is really as witty as they claim. I notice this in all sorts of things that people say. If I felt the need to tell people that I'm intelligent people would immediately worry that I wasn't. There is an aspect of this which is potentially a cultural distaste for bragging. This is why I can't say for certain whether this is universal or cultural. Compare to the "Uncanny Valley" effect: wherein an attempt to artistically portray a human face gives a viewer an offputting effect as the face becomes almost, but not quite, perfect. We can also compare/contrast this with the Streisand Effect where attempts to deny or otherwise limit an idea only makes it more real and talked about. In screenwriting, it is sometimes said of dialogue that it is "exposition". This is dialogue that is meant to tell the audience what is happening. This is often seen as poor screenwriting. This phenomenon is used in comedy very often to make the audience understand what is the butt of the joke. Links https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposition_(narrative) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z36OznHFIt4 https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/state-elections-board-examining-dan-profts-people-who-play-rules-pac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE