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authority

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    Persuasion Systems Entry #0255

    Why authority is signalled by objects, not arguments

    Authority is read off uniforms, titles, desks and clipboards long before any claim is examined, and the signal keeps working when the claim is absent.

    Master
    The hidden part #0255

    Authority is inferred from props, and props can be acquired far more cheaply than expertise.

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    Rhetoric & Omission Entry #0591

    The reason an argument from authority is sometimes correct

    Nobody can verify most of what they know. Deference is not a shortcut around evidence; it is how knowledge is held when the evidence cannot be checked.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0591

    The choice is rarely between evidence and authority. It is between examined deference and deference that is not admitted.

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    Spatial Design Entry #1085

    The reason a bank lobby is built tall and quiet

    High ceilings and hushed acoustics signal permanence and authority, so the space tells the depositor her money is in serious hands.

    Master
    The hidden part #1085

    The lobby is not built for the teller — it is built for the depositor’s confidence, and the height says your money is beneath something that will not fall.

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