Judge Andrew P. Napolitano on the history of money.

[william.scherk]

There has been a world-class eruption of understanding here at OL. I stand in awe of successful communication, when those volleys of questions and statements that aim true and shoot straight are rewarded with returned volleys of information. Explosions of insight. Glimmers of knowledge fusing in the milky darkness.

We start with Exhibit 2a, a claim by the Defendant that the Complainant admitted something epistemologically significant.

2a. included your admission that you do not feel comfortable with the theory that debt is the source of money, so

I have a feeling you have no idea what I am getting at and do not care to know.

Frankly, I prefer you to ignore my request for thoughts and bash the things you like to bash, or simply say, "I'm not interested," than to attribute me with bogus positions like the one above (that's not the only one) and go off on a mea culpa detour that sounds like a stretch.

We revert first to consider the tort at issue. Defendant 'bashed' Judge, OL, Glenn and by extension, the Complainant.

I am an award-winning numismatist, a world class authority on the history of money. But you link to Judge Napolitano because no one from Objectivism Online could be an important authority.

The Complainant sets the terms:

I am structuring my new career as an explainer of complex matters to the general public and a maker of systems that allow them to use this knowledge--personally use it--in a manner that benefits them (if they so choose). There are different names for this, "celebrity expert," "guru," "coach," "authority" and so forth, and I don't like any of those titles, but that's what people use.

(Apropos, I'm considering "pathfinder" for the time being. It has a nice ring, at least to my ear. I also want to include the "toolmaker" idea.)

From this basis, the Complainant requested a response of the Defendant.

We adjudicate neither the 'authority' of the Defendant (be it 'world-class' or 'little-league') nor the proper name for the Complainant (be it Celebrity Expert or Help Me With My Homework).

To recap: a 'story of money' by a former Judge. A critique by OL's self-styled authority on money. A rejoinder and request from the Coach.

Is there a contractual issue to consider? Is there an implied duty of the Defendant to respond to the Complainant?

MSK wrote on December 10 in Post #7: Michael, So I ask you. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thoughts you could give that would make sense to a 14 year old and not leave out anything fundamental?

Here, the request seems on the face straightforward: Give thoughts that make sense to a high-school kid without leaving out fundamentals.

The Defendant says no:

• No, I have no thoughts on what you wrote
• you offer your own views of what is important about money, but confess to being unable to explain them to a 14-year old.

The Complainant withdraws his request for homework assistance:

The takeaway of all this musing is that it looks like I will have to look elsewhere for the stuff I am interested in discussing. I need a certain kind of perspective and information on the origins of money and I thought Michael was qualified to provide some input, being a "world class authority" and all. But "won't do it" equals "can't do it" in terms of the outcome, and neither works for getting the job done. So off I go looking in other directions...

Me, I have an itch to scratch on the history of money, a reference I am trying to hunt down from faulty remembrance.

It concerns rings of precious metals (picture a coarser slinky) that emerged in the Middle East (not the ring-money of the Celts, however). Once I track down the (I think National Geographic) story it came from, I will post it.

I have sympathy for both Michaels in their standoff. On the one hand, the Michael whose deconstruction of Napolitano's errors is worthy, but whose expertise is unacknowledged. We can differ in assessing the awkwardness of proclaiming oneself to be 'world class.'

For the other Michael, I feel for him too. I did not see any coherent theory emerge from his ramblings -- save that we should consider the power of story. If he wanted Marotta's help in figuring out a dumbed-down history to market to teens, he lost out.

The history of money is fabulous and instructive, and is nine yards long. Anyone with an interest in explaining it to a new audience has to acquaint himself with the historical and archaeological work done to date.

If the ultimate aim is to market a Distilled History pitched to sophomore-age audiences, as a Knowledge Coach or a Guru or Celebrity Expert, the pitch to Michael Marotta has failed. That's too bad, but to lay fault to one side or the other is unproductive.

Perhaps the best way to approach the next step in the marketing is to collar some materials on the history of money and crib the major points. In my search for the missing story on money-rings or proto-money, I came across several layman-friendly sites, pithy and profound. I give a hint of one.

Michael's rambles on money underline both the fun and the challenge of presenting coherent histories/narratives/stories. I will try to answer the gist of his observations in a separate comment. To be an explainer of complex matters is hard work.

Edited December 13, 2012 by william.scherk

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

William,

Your court-room metaphor isn't relevant, and you are so far off the rails on your comments about me wanting to do dumbed-down marketing to teens, etc. etc. etc, that it's not worth untangling. Either you are interested in understanding what I am getting at or you are not.

Going by your comments, I don't believe you are.

But thanks for the Glyn Davies link.

That actually is in the ball-park of what I'm looking for. It's not the whole enchilada from what I skimmed, but the book looks like a good source for a few ideas.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

To be an explainer of complex matters is hard work.

William,

I don't believe you will be interested, but if you think that's hard work, try being an explainer of complex materials with aims of helping empower people to be self-reliant--to use their own thinking and devices at their level of knowledge and as they see fit--instead of just bestowing your wisdom and resources on them.

Then try to market it to them without laying an egg.

That's a teensy bit harder than hard work

Michael

[syrakusos]

William, I wrote about Glyn Davies (and his sister, Linda) for my ANA column several years ago. As for the rings, as I recall, rings of gold suggesting a monetary use are known from the pyramids of pharaohs. I believe that the relevant painting shows them being weighed. However, no other tradition supports a continuation of that. So, it remains intriguing, but inconclusive. Similarly - somewhat related, I trust - excavations from Minoan sites show rooms suggestive of retail shops, but, again, no other evidence supports the existence of active retailing as we know it. Perhaps the key problem with reconstructing the history of money (and the history of commerce generally) is that we project ourselves on the past too easily. None of the economists who theorized about the origins of money actually collected archaic money. None of the Oxbridge numismatists who theorized that coins were invented to serve the needs of commerce worked in retail or wholesale trade.

(And just to say, I liked the courtroom scenario.)

[Selene]

"Baal,Selene, Daunce, and other Little Rascals in Our Gang"

I am honoured to secure a place in such a world-class chorus. I guess we all know who Spanky is, but I hasten to assure everyone that I did NOT grow up to get away with murder. Not literally, anyway, and I don't think Baal did either.

OK...enough of this intellectual crap..

Let's get back to the He Man's Women Hater's Club ....As a self-appointed world wide expert on women, we had to make a special exception to admit "Alfalfa," AKA "Carol" to the club.

"http://www.youtube.com/embed/wBIC8JTQMMQ"

**

This involved violating the Constitutional rules for a complete physical examination and the defeat of the motion regarding the assertions of:

1. Transsexual allegations;

a. was a man, now a woman;

b. was a woman now a man, but cross dressing;

2. Transgender allegations:

3. hermaphrodite allegations; and

4. a host of other allegations which we can find no historical evidence of that class of sexuality ever existing.*

* We are withholding a final conclusion on #4 because we have to conduct a complete historical analysis which will include an investigation of "eunichism" and other classes that are not upper, middle, or lower classes of sexuality.

**Tabled for next meeting is the application of PDS for admission to the Club, it seems that "Alfalfa" has endorsed the application, but insisted on conducting the complete physical exam personally.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wBIC8JTQMMQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Still working on how to post YouTube

[syrakusos]

There has been a world-class eruption of understanding here at OL. ...

I have sympathy for both Michaels in their standoff. On the one hand, the Michael whose deconstruction of Napolitano's errors is worthy, but whose expertise is unacknowledged. We can differ in assessing the awkwardness of proclaiming oneself to be 'world class.'

We all know the difference between an egoist and and egotist. You can judge for yourself whether I crossed all the Ts. Goto the American Numismatic Society library database and enter "Michael Marotta". Goto the library of the American Numismatic Association, and you will find two of my lectures offered on DVDs. The ANA also supports the Harry Bass Index of Articles which provides essentially the same list as the ANS, but includes about 30 more. The ANA granted me several literary awards. My first, on the origins of coinage, corrected the Encyclopedia Britannica; and came from a nomination by the Smithsonian's Elvira Clain-Stefanelli. The second was for a biography of Sir Isaac Newton's tenure as warden and master of the British Royal Mint, a story told much better a couple of years later by MIT's Thomas Levenson (one of my reviews here). I hold four certifications from the American Numismatic Association (general, grading US coins, detecting counterfeits, and judging literature exhibits). I also have had publications in Asloia Numismatica (Oslo), Coin News (UK), and Chopmark News (Taipei), but my international reputation really comes from my articles in The Celator.

[PDS]

"Baal,Selene, Daunce, and other Little Rascals in Our Gang"

I am honoured to secure a place in such a world-class chorus. I guess we all know who Spanky is, but I hasten to assure everyone that I did NOT grow up to get away with murder. Not literally, anyway, and I don't think Baal did either.

OK...enough of this intellectual crap..

Let's get back to the He Man's Women Hater's Club ....As a self-appointed world wide expert on women, we had to make a special exception to admit "Alfalfa," AKA "Carol" to the club.

"http://www.youtube.com/embed/wBIC8JTQMMQ"

**

This involved violating the Constitutional rules for a complete physical examination and the defeat of the motion regarding the assertions of:

1. Transsexual allegations;

a. was a man, now a woman;

b. was a woman now a man, but cross dressing;

2. Transgender allegations:

3. hermaphrodite allegations; and

4. a host of other allegations which we can find no historical evidence of that class of sexuality ever existing.*

* We are withholding a final conclusion on #4 because we have to conduct a complete historical analysis which will include an investigation of "eunichism" and other classes that are not upper, middle, or lower classes of sexuality.

**Tabled for next meeting is the application of PDS for admission to the Club, it seems that "Alfalfa" has endorsed the application, but insisted on conducting the complete physical exam personally.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wBIC8JTQMMQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Still working on how to post YouTube

Speaking of thrusting, I am reminded of the line, "some are thrust into greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." If nominated, I will serve in the Club to the best of my world class abilities.

[syrakusos]

I have to conclude that this is one "world class authority" who isn't much interested in discussing the topic of his expertise here on OL unless he can use to to bash OL, bash Napolitano, and bash Glenn Beck.

I mean, why use information to build stuff when you can use it for an earth-shattering world-saving cause where you get to point your finger at enemies and trounce them in imaginary battles? Right?

I sent Andrew P. Napolitano (www.judgenap.com) a Contact message with my criticisms. Is it your general belief that any criticism of someone's work should be sent to the author? I mean if someone were to criticize President Obama for being a foreign-born marxist dictator, then rather than merely posting that here, the writer should print it out and mail it to the White House? Somehow, that seems counterproductive on several levels...

[PDS]

There has been a world-class eruption of understanding here at OL. ...

I have sympathy for both Michaels in their standoff. On the one hand, the Michael whose deconstruction of Napolitano's errors is worthy, but whose expertise is unacknowledged. We can differ in assessing the awkwardness of proclaiming oneself to be 'world class.'

We all know the difference between an egoist and and egotist. You can judge for yourself whether I crossed all the Ts. Goto the American Numismatic Society library database and enter "Michael Marotta". Goto the library of the American Numismatic Association, and you will find two of my lectures offered on DVDs. The ANA also supports the Harry Bass Index of Articles which provides essentially the same list as the ANS, but includes about 30 more. The ANA granted me several literary awards. My first, on the origins of coinage, corrected the Encyclopedia Britannica; and came from a nomination by the Smithsonian's Elvira Clain-Stefanelli. The second was for a biography of Sir Isaac Newton's tenure as warden and master of the British Royal Mint, a story told much better a couple of years later by MIT's Thomas Levenson (one of my reviews here). I hold four certifications from the American Numismatic Association (general, grading US coins, detecting counterfeits, and judging literature exhibits). I also have had publications in Asloia Numismatica (Oslo), Coin News (UK), and Chopmark News (Taipei), but my international reputation really comes from my articles in The Celator.

I don't think anybody is disputing your credentials.

I think some may be wondering whether you have inadvertently beclowned yourself for self-identifying as a "world class" expert, while including yourself among the group of "first among equals" on this forum--and to the owner of the forum at that--in the same breath that you refuse, with a rather dismissive wave of the hand, to answer a couple of genuine questions involving your purported world class expertise. The combination of these these elements leaves one with the impression that there is horse's-assery afoot.

I find your contributions to the forum valuable, by the way, and hope you continue with them, but you might consider cutting others some slack now and then.

[caroljane]

"Baal,Selene, Daunce, and other Little Rascals in Our Gang"

I am honoured to secure a place in such a world-class chorus. I guess we all know who Spanky is, but I hasten to assure everyone that I did NOT grow up to get away with murder. Not literally, anyway, and I don't think Baal did either.

OK...enough of this intellectual crap..

**Tabled for next meeting is the application of PDS for admission to the Club, it seems that "Alfalfa" has endorsed the application, but insisted on conducting the complete physical exam personally.

None of the other applicants have complained.

[caroljane]

Michael, is your project a book you are writing?

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I sent Andrew P. Napolitano (www.judgenap.com) a Contact message with my criticisms. Is it your general belief that any criticism of someone's work should be sent to the author?

Michael,

I don't know how to say this without sounding gruff, so let it sound like it sounds. My intent is not hostile or snarky.

Here's the deal.

My prime mover is not competition. I have very little interest in whether you are right or wrong. My interest is in the ideas.

That goes for Judge Napolitano, too. There are several things I believe he gets wrong. I prefer to look at what he gets right. "Total baloney" is not a correct term to characterize my evaluation of his presentation above. I only spoke up because it is not accurate, either. Some baloney and some truth is more like it.

Your credentials only matter to me to indicate the facts in your head and your accomplishments. But here's the rub. That's only when relevant. And it's only when I am interested. Since you seem to want adulation and posturing right now, not information sharing, I have decided to seek my information elsewhere. I don't like to jump through irrational hoops to get information and brainstorming-like input. There are plenty of places and people far less complicated for pursuing my interests.

In light of that, I say knock yourself out about Napolitano or Obama or whoever you want to compete against. I'm not a sports fan, so what you propose doesn't mean anything to me. Literally. It means zero. Not good. Not bad. Just boring if I stay with it for more than a few moments.

But let me answer your question. You asked, "Is it your general belief that any criticism of someone's work should be sent to the author?"

"Any criticism" is a pretty large order, don't you think? But let's set that aside. I believe if contact with an author you disagree with is of value to you, you should get in contact. If it is of no value to you, I believe you are wasting your time, but it's your time to waste.

The big unanswered question is about values. What are your values in doing that? Your prime movers?

Do you want to beat the author and win some competitive game that is running only inside your head? Scratch the itch of your own vanity? Or maybe try to trounce someone you consider to be an enemy of your tribe so you can get applause? I, personally am not interested. Not in doing that, not in watching you--or anyone else--do that.

Or do you want to discuss ideas with an intelligent person, even in disagreement, and grow intellectually? Now you're talking my talk. I say go for it and I'll be an avid spectator. And participant where relevant.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Michael, is your project a book you are writing?

Carol,

I'm doing an information product on how and where to use story in selling online and I intend to offer it on the Warrior forum (a place devoted to the make money online market). There is a highly targeted group of buyers for this kind of material over there if it has the right slant.

I have gone through a crap-load of material so far (including my most recent reading charmingly called Aristotle in Hollywood by Ari Hiltunen) and I have been putting out requests for input in several pertinent places. I intend to get this thing right.

I believe I made a mistake trying to get input here on OL, though. Or at least with Michael. Even William. They are moved by different interests.

Ya' can't win 'em all. The thing is to try, try and try. And fail fast so you can try again and succeed.

Michael

[PDS]

Michael, is your project a book you are writing?

Carol,

I'm doing an information product on how and where to use story in selling online and I intend to offer it on the Warrior forum (a place devoted to the make money online market). There is a highly targeted group of buyers for this kind of material over there if it has the right slant.

I have gone through a crap-load of material so far (including my most recent reading charmingly called Aristotle in Hollywood by Ari Hiltunen) and I have been putting out requests for input in several pertinent places. I intend to get this thing right.

I believe I made a mistake trying to get input here on OL, though. Or at least with Michael. Even William. They are moved by different interests.

Ya' can't win 'em all. The thing is to try, try and try. And fail fast so you can try again and succeed.

Michael

Appropos of nothing, the most important element of trial lawyering is, you guessed it, story telling. And usually, the classic Hero's Journey is one the best approaches.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

David,

I went to the site you linked and something looked awfully familiar. Then I saw the title. Of course. I have Christopher Vogler's book The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers.

I haven't read it yet because I have been going through Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces first. I'm only in the first third and I find it pretty hard going so far. There is a lot I have to look up as I go along, especially the arcane references and words like autochthonous (fer Keriiiisakes!!! ).

But there's an interesting thing I noticed. Everybody talks about Campbell because of Star Wars. Well, if you go to the Amazon link I provided and look at the Table of Contents, you can almost see the first movie laid out, step-by-step. When I first saw that, I wondered if George Lucas actually read the book, or if he just copied the TOC (just Part 1) and used each item as a story beat.

The Hiltunen book I mentioned above is highly interesting, albeit a slog of a read. This is because Hiltunen is a Finn and he makes some irritating errors in English, especially when he constantly writes "the audience are." For some reason, that kind of error throws my concentration off and I start daydreaming. So I had to police myself as I read the book and it made my brain hurt. But Hiltunen's approach is one of the most useful I have found in explaining what universal story pleasure is (he calls it the "proper pleasure" and derives it from Aristotle's Poetics).

He also talks about Vladimir Propp's fairy-tale structure (see here and here), which, I was surprised to learn, is just as important to the mythic tradition as the Hero's Journey. Think Cinderella. Propp's typical cast of characters (given in the Wikipedia link) is also just as useful as Campbell's Jungian-based archetypes. And he lays all this down with references to Hollywood movies, TV series, fiction books on the bestseller list, video games, etc.

The reason Hiltunen wrote Aristotle in Hollywood is that he is friends with Christopher Volger. They have had many long discussions over meals during seminars and Volger encouraged him to write it. Frankly, the only reason I read it was because I came across this story. I'm really, really glad I did. And, if Campbell keeps irritating me with all the slogging I have to do just to keep up, I might set him aside, go through Volger's book first, then pick him back up. That'll teach him!

Incidentally, Hiltunen's "proper pleasure," which is basically a 4-pronged pressure build-up--intellectual, emotional, moral and symbolic--that resolves through release in catharsis (or climax), is being borne out by neuroscience. You can get a great layman's guide to what is going on in a recent book, Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron. It's an easy and fun read.

I have also read twice (so far) Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future by Jonah Sachs. I highly recommend this one, even for trial lawyering. At least, I can easily imagine where Sachs's approach would be effective. The only thing is he's a flaming progressive and you have to stomach his gushes about combating global warming and other items from the progressive menu as if they were absolute fact. But it's well worth it. Besides, Sachs seems more like a craftsman than an ideologue.

Incidentally, once I get to a point in reading this stuff where the ideas start repeating and I judge myself to be competent enough (which I feel I am getting close), I intend to take Rand's The Romantic Manifesto and The Art of Fiction and run them through the mill. Not to bash them, but to make them more useful for writing students. There are some hidden traps in those books that will paralyze your writing for years, but there is a lot of good stuff, too. At least, I believe showing where there are widely used different approaches on a confusing point, how to sidestep a creativity-throttling trap, or where an idea is universal, but couched in her sui generis jargon, and things like that would be very useful to a budding writer who wants to follow in her footsteps, but gets stuck and isolated and almost afraid to speak up.

Michael

[caroljane]

Michael, is your project a book you are writing?

Carol,

I'm doing an information product on how and where to use story in selling online and I intend to offer it on the Warrior forum (a place devoted to the make money online market). There is a highly targeted group of buyers for this kind of material over there if it has the right slant.

I have gone through a crap-load of material so far (including my most recent reading charmingly called Aristotle in Hollywood by Ari Hiltunen) and I have been putting out requests for input in several pertinent places. I intend to get this thing right.

I believe I made a mistake trying to get input here on OL, though. Or at least with Michael. Even William. They are moved by different interests.

Ya' can't win 'em all. The thing is to try, try and try. And fail fast so you can try again and succeed.

Michael

What is an information product? I understand this is a marketing term, and you know me and the internet. The only things the term conveys to me are books and videos, or "infomercials". I know, stone age.

[caroljane]

Appropos of nothing, the most important element of trial lawyering is, you guessed it, story telling. And usually, the classic Hero's Journey is one the best approaches.

"And though my client he bare grievous wounds of Subsection VII.xi.-d of the Tax Code, yet valiantly did he set forth to counter-sue both the Board and Management..." ?

[caroljane]

When it comes to simple explanations of complex issues, I will take Judge Judy over Judge Napolitano any day.

[Selene]

When it comes to simple explanations of complex issues, I will take Judge Judy over Judge Napolitano any day.

Carol:

You might have a different opinion had you observed her despicable performances in the NY Family Court, with real people and real children's futures in her hands.

I read her book, ineptly titled: Don't Pee On My Leg And Tell Me It's Raining...http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Pee-Leg-Tell-Raining/dp/0060927941

Now, one could imagine that it reflected some secret kink. However, it unfortunately was about her tenure as a Family Court Judge.

By 1982 Sheindlin's no-nonsense^[1] attitude inspired New York Mayor, Ed Koch, to appoint her as a judge in criminal court.^[1] Four years later, she was promoted to supervising judge in the Manhattan division of the family court.^[1] She earned a reputation as a "tough" judge (though she disagrees with the labels "tough" and "harsh"^[7]), known for her fast decision-making and acerbic wit.^[5]

Would you want your son or daughter to be the recipient of her "fast decision making?"

A...

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

What is an information product?

Carol,

Generally speaking, in the informarketing world, an information product is something for sale that provides actionable information and addresses a need. It comes in physical forms like books, CD's DVD's, tapes, etc. And it comes in virtual form that can be downloaded.

It can be normal information you consume like reading, viewing or listening, or it can be a computer program.

The virtual form is extremely lucrative once you get going because there is simply no overhead with manufacturing, inventory or delivery.

Technically speaking, a music CD is an information product, but art and entertainment are generally not called that.

Why would someone buy an information product when he can get the information for free? After all, you can find most anything you want to know online these days if you look hard enough. This is a question I struggled with and the closest thing I have found for the honest players is that a consumer is literally buying pieces of his own life he would have lost so he can use it for things other than his problem. His time. His effort.

Here's how it normally works. He has a problem. Someone shows up, tells him what his problem is and promises to give him the information to solve it. He pays and gets a system. He learns the system and his problem goes away (or is partially fixed).

Sleazeballs tend to take advantage of the infomarketing system by ramping up the perceived pain in the prospect, promising the moon, then delivering horseshit as they hit the trail with his money. But there is a lot of great stuff around that works.

For example, some really great information products (like those of Eben Pagan) use the 4mat system of presentation. There are basically 4 main kinds of learning focus and each of us has a predominant tendency to favor one. They are:

Why?

What?

How?

What if?

If you hit all four, either mixing them up or even in that order, you make a product that gets the information easily absorbed by the widest number of consumers.

Academics generally don't like this field because it is do-it-yourself (DIY) and that ejects them from their comfort zone. They want distance from selling and they want some kind of gate-keeping system they don't have to deal with for the public to access them or their stuff. Smart academics, though, like Ray Kurzweil, to cite one good example, embrace information marketing (which generally includes direct response marketing straight to the consumer) in addition to their other stuff--and make a small fortune while they make the world a better place.

Michael

[Brant Gaede]

Money: effective, transferable store of value between economic transactions. The effectiveness varies depending on type and circumstance. The valuing is subjective, enough objectified to the satisfaction of sundry and various economic parties. There is no such thing as intrinsic value, not even for gold, not even for oneself. Intrinsic--objective--is metaphysical. Valuing is in one's head.

--Brant

[caroljane]

There is no such thing as intrinsic value, not even for gold, not even for oneself. Intrinsic--objective--is metaphysical. Valuing is in one's head.

--Brant

Yes.

[caroljane]

When it comes to simple explanations of complex issues, I will take Judge Judy over Judge Napolitano any day.

Carol:

You might have a different opinion had you observed her despicable performances in the NY Family Court, with real people and real children's futures in her hands.

]

Would you want your son or daughter to be the recipient of her "fast decision making?"

A...Of course I wouldn't. Watching her I am always grateful I could never have been subject of one of her character analyses, even without cameras on. .To me she is an entertainer and the disputants before her are actors.

I certainly would not consider her an authority on dog breeding, say, either, even if she got a new show, "Sit!", as per MEM's point about Napolitano.

[caroljane]

What is an information product?

Carol,

Academics generally don't like this field because it is do-it-yourself (DIY) and that ejects them from their comfort zone. They want distance from selling and they want some kind of gate-keeping system they don't have to deal with for the public to access them or their stuff. Smart academics, though, like Ray Kurzweil, to cite one good example, embrace information marketing (which generally includes direct response marketing straight to the consumer) in addition to their other stuff--and make a small fortune while they make the world a better place.

Michael

I think I get it. And those ads for the info products, "Doctors hate him!" "Nail Stylists hate her!" etc play on this, no? I can't stand those ads/ To the genius who thought up the slogan I want to say, Guess what, I am not even a doctor or a nail stylist or whatever, but I hate him too. Except for the Language Professor, and I am a language professor of sorts. The Language Professor is kind of cute.

[PDS]

Appropos of nothing, the most important element of trial lawyering is, you guessed it, story telling. And usually, the classic Hero's Journey is one the best approaches.

"And though my client he bare grievous wounds of Subsection VII.xi.-d of the Tax Code, yet valiantly did he set forth to counter-sue both the Board and Management..." ?

No, something more akin to this.