unknown unknowns

[rone]

Thanks to the talented Penny Hill: Rummy wins the coveted Foot in Mouth award for his soon-to-be-classic 'unknown unknowns' speech.

I still find it hard to believe there's an electrical appliance maker named SMEG.

Comments

It gets better

[pdcawley.livejournal.com]

The story goes that they reached the press conference stage of launching a product to be called the Smeg MA. Apparently the giggles from the journos gave them a hint that something might be amiss.

[lusercop.livejournal.com]

It's slightly silly, actually, as I think the unknown unknowns speech is actually amongst the more sensible things that Rumsfeld has said ("the more you learn the more you realise you don't know" kind of thing), and I'm not sure I can see a better way to express what he was trying to say. Ahhhhhhhhhnuhld's comment about gay marriages between a man and a woman, on the other hand...

[manfire.livejournal.com]

Indeed, I agree with what Natalie Solent wrote (http://nataliesolent.blogspot.com/2003_11_30_nataliesolent_archive.html#107032222101719110) about this particular award.

[lusercop.livejournal.com]

The only thing that's wrong with the comment you link to above is that it makes it seem like Rumsfeld always talk sense. This is far from being the case. Unfortunately the particular thing they chose does actually make sense, and is humourous. I have to admit to being surprised that ronebofh didn't make more of a comment about the current California governor and his runner-up position given his apparent opinion of the man... :-)

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

If people want Bush to leave theology to theologians, it follows that Rumsfeld should leave epistemology to philosophers.

I think there's probably a clearer way to express what he said, but that he even went into that ramble is a bit odd.

I think

[vardissakheli.livejournal.com]

he was struggling to quote George Will. (http://www.oakridger.com/stories/010201/opE_0102010041.html) I agree: It's gobbledegook. It may not be meaningless, but its meaning was poorly connected to its context and not worth anywhere near the number of words devoted to it.

BTW, did he say "known knowns" or "no knowns"? Most of the reports I read at the time said the latter, which is even more baffling. But the former is just as much gobbledegook, being tautologous and, well, tautologous.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Ah, but Ahnuld's sentence was evidently a thinko, and not what i'd call gobbledygook or otherwise obfuscated language.

[ex-askesis860.livejournal.com]

What boggles me is that they didn't even quote the capper to that speech: "The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

I also don't think Rumsfeld is a bumbler, or that his speeches are mangled in any way. What they have is a dazzling emptiness. I'm not sure what the "unknown unknowns" speech should be called, but it's not inept.

[ratphooey.livejournal.com]

SMEG makes very attractive refrigerators, actually. They come in many pretty colors.

It

[vardissakheli.livejournal.com]

could only happen in "LODNON."

[eviltofu.livejournal.com]

This is not a Red Dwarf (http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/) reference right?

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

No, it's a talk.bizarre reference. "It's so cheesy, it should be called Kraft Smegma and Macaroni!"