The Power of Being Vague

By Jeremy Gulley

One lesson that I have learned in my life is the power of always leaving a way out. In any situation, it is important to know how to get out quickly if things are to go downhill. One trick is to never back yourself into a corner, so that the ways out are increased, the other and more useful trick (because most of us are too stupid to stay out of corners) is to use the power of being vague.

Vagueness is a term used by philosophers to describe the quality of having a truth-value of one to 10 – rather than simply being true or false. Vagueness, in other words, provides wiggle room so that by using some creative word twisting, we can find ways out of and around any situation.

For example, if you find yourself accidentally saying “I love you” to someone who you don’t really love (I’m speaking specifically to single people who find themselves dating the wrong person, but this advice is certainly applicable in other situations), those words can and will come back to haunt you.

To get out of this, simply call on the power of being vague. Look directly at the person and say, “I said I love ya, not I love you. Big difference!” Though some may find little difference between “I love you” and “I love ya,” the uses are quite different and have distinct social implications. Problem solved.

A great example of how being vague can serve us well is found in the story of Guy Goma:

One day Guy was sitting in a reception room at the BBC studios in London, waiting for a job interview. Guy had applied for the position of data support person. As he waited, a producer entered the room and asked, “Are you Guy Kewney?”

Mr. Goma had recently moved from the Congo and had limited command of English. Thinking the producer said his name, Guy replied, “Yes.”

Guy was taken into a studio where a host of a live TV program was expecting an expert on the trademark dispute between Apple Computer and Apple Corps recording. The interviewer asked Mr. Goma, “Were you surprised by today’s verdict?”

Goma panicked briefly, then, calling on the power of vagueness replied, “I am very surprised to see this verdict, because I was not expecting that.”

The host continued, asking “A big surprise?”

“Exactly,” replied Mr. Goma.

When asked if the verdict would allow more people to download music, Mr. Goma said, “more and more people will be downloading music in the future.”

The interviewer agreed, pleased with the interview and concluded, “Thanks very much indeed!”

Mr. Goma was excused and resumed waiting for his interview.

The power of vagueness can serve us well if used correctly. Next time you are caught in a difficult situation, simply do something that will allow you to get out, or not, depending on how things are going.

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Posted by admin on Feb 9 2011. Filed under Jeremy Gulley, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry