Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America

by Scott Adams

The Roseanne situation is what caused me to suggest the Forty-Eight-Hour Rule for public clarifications. The rule, if followed, would allow anyone to clarify a statement that has been interpreted negatively. Once the clarification is given, I think the press and the public should accept the clarification. But wait, you say—what if the clarification is nothing but an ass-covering lie? The Forty-Eight-Hour Rule suggests you should accept the lie as if it were the truth, then move on. That’s how a lot of social interactions work. We call it “manners.” YOUR FRIEND: Sorry I’m so late. Traffic was terrible! YOU (THINKING): That’s probably a lie. YOU (TALKING): Glad you got here safely! Let me buy you a drink. We can’t be the thought police. It isn’t a practical way to run a society. But it is both practical and useful to insist that people do and say the right things. If you have evil thoughts, but consistently do and say things that are good for the world, you’re a good person in my book. Shorter version: You are what you do, not what you think.