Gaze into the abyss... go ahead.

From GNN:
Thought-Weapons and Manners

...persuasion should be a compulsory subject in school. You can not see thought weapons without a modicum of proficiency with such tools. These techniques are not always weapons, but simply tools. Like how a lever makes a heavy object easier to lift, the word “because” makes people more likely to comply regardless of the reason, a mental stunt academicians have repeatedly proven.

If you haven’t played with these mental tools you don’t know what they look like. I’m not suggesting everybody become a direct response marketer, but I don’t imagine most readers can see the commonly told story of Jesus as structurally identical to a direct response technique called The Zeigarnik Effect, leveraging incomplete information to build anticipation, commitment and a willingness to spend. Do you know how lucky you are Jesus did not come today?

If you don’t know the mechanics of persuasion, you can’t distinguish good ideas from weapons of thought. Since you don’t see the mechanism, you will be prey to those of us more savvy with these tools. The meme pool is infested with sharks. I’m hoping you, dear reader, will learn to swim.