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RobinHanson's avatar

You are the only one using the verb "prevent". It is enough for context to make subtext either easier or harder, to raise the question of which one we prefer it to be.

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bernardguerrero's avatar

I'm still having some trouble imagining how you *prevent* subtext. It's effectively private key encryption, right? The speaker encodes the message they really want to send, knowing that the intended recipient is equipped with a corresponding "private key" that lets them figure out the true message. (I suppose that the analogy breaks down insofar as everybody claims to have access to the private key and offers to tell you what the "dog whistle" really means.)

But insofar as sender and receiver have a prior chance to collaborate, anything can act as an encoding/decoding key. "I will say in very plain fashion that the sky looks a bit green today; you will take that to mean rise up and kill our oppressors, as I never speak of the color of the sky being other than blue!"

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