11 Comments
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Joshua Beaumont's avatar

The 13 soldiers probably refers not to Benghazi but to Abbey Gate during the surrender of Kabul

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Craig M. Dunham's avatar

Good catch, Joshua. Thanks. I appreciate the correction and fixed it in the post.

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Rich VanGilst's avatar

The words "government" and "screw-up" are pretty much synonyms today.

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Craig M. Dunham's avatar

My gut reaction is to agree (and I do, for the most part), but when I think about how fast everything moves now (compared to even 25 years ago), I'm actually surprised we don't hear more about these snafus. Of course, part of the reason we didn't (as much) during the Biden administration was the media's protection of it (and him), so there's that.

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KC's avatar

I want to be like this guy from Ford when I grow up. Wait, I'm already that guy and I get mercilessly harangued about it. I love it. For me, it's not a 'slam' against the person who has made the mistake; it's an interesting foray into how our brain works and why it grasps the words it does when it's not.... right. (Cognitive Science major here, from before it was 'cool.') Sigh.

But for some reason everyone takes it as a criticism of their poorly uttered phrases. I wish it weren't so.

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Craig M. Dunham's avatar

Solidarity, my friend. Words are funny things; people even funnier. The combination, then, can be downright hilarious. The key to enjoying without alienating is to be the first to volunteer and laugh at your own failures first. (Here I'm remembering the time I spoke on the topic of "magnanimity" and, upon reviewing the video, realized I had somehow mispronounced the word at least half the time I used it.) Lesson learned; laughs gained.

Press on, O Cognitive Science one.

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Ed Martin's avatar

The article on the Fire executive was my kind of read it was light hearted and amusing and 100% enjoyable

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Ed Martin's avatar

*Ford

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Craig M. Dunham's avatar

I enjoyed that one as well. Pretty funny. Thanks for reading and letting me know you did.

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John Gillman's avatar

Got me interested in the upcoming movie and his book. Thanks Craig!

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Craig M. Dunham's avatar

Glad to help, Fish. Thanks for reading (and let me know what you think if you read the book or see the movie).

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