2312

by Kim Stanley Robinson

“Do you study rhetoric?” Wahram asked. The qube voice said, “Yes, it is a useful analytic tool.” “Give me an example, please.” “When you say exergasia, synathroesmus, and incrementum together in a list, it seems to me that you have thereby given an example of all three devices in that same phrase.” Swan snorted at this. “How so, Socrates?” “‘Exergasia’ means ‘use of different phrases to express the same idea,’ ‘synathroesmus’ means ‘accumulation by enumeration,’ and ‘incrementum’ means ‘piling up points to make an argument.’ So listing them does all three, yes?” “And what argument would you be piling up points in?” Swan asked. “That I was giving you too much credit in thinking you were using many different devices, when really you only have the one method, because these are distinctions without a difference.” “Ha-ha,” Swan said sarcastically. But Wahram had only just kept himself from laughing. The qube went on: “One could also argue that the classical system of rhetoric is a false taxonomy, a kind of fetishism—” “Enough!