Unsubstantiated: Difference between revisions
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To be contrasted something that did ''not'' happen, which may comfortably described as “false”.<ref>We owe this observation to, among others, David Allen Green. </ref> | To be contrasted something that did ''not'' happen, which may comfortably described as “false”.<ref>We owe this observation to, among others, David Allen Green. </ref> | ||
{{quote|The probe came after reports emerged that an Australian border protection official allegedly paid the captain and crew of a boat carrying about 65 asylum seekers about US$30,000 to turn back to Indonesia in late May. | |||
The Australian immigration minister, Peter Dutton, said on Thursday the claims ''had not been substantiated''. But he did not provide more details, saying the government has a policy of not commenting on operational matters.}} | |||
Thus, it is easy enough to disarm, by asking, “but is it untrue?” | Thus, it is easy enough to disarm, by asking, “but is it untrue?” | ||
Revision as of 12:13, 7 February 2023
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The JC’S favourite Big Ideas™
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Unsubstantiated
/ʌnsəbˈstanʃɪeɪtɪd/ (adj.)
A bullshit artist’s tell. Something inconvenient or embarrassing that happened, but for which there is currently no proof or credible supporting or evidence.
To be contrasted something that did not happen, which may comfortably described as “false”.[1]
The probe came after reports emerged that an Australian border protection official allegedly paid the captain and crew of a boat carrying about 65 asylum seekers about US$30,000 to turn back to Indonesia in late May.
The Australian immigration minister, Peter Dutton, said on Thursday the claims had not been substantiated. But he did not provide more details, saying the government has a policy of not commenting on operational matters.
Thus, it is easy enough to disarm, by asking, “but is it untrue?”
“Substantiation” is thus a second-order property of a fact: something that, in the eyes of the outside world, falls between a “known known” and an “unknown known” in Rumsfeld’s taxonomy — call it a “not officially known”. This is a fact that, in the interior world of the person making the statement, falls squarely in the former category but, as far as she is prepared to admit to her audience, falls in the latter one.
See also
References
- ↑ We owe this observation to, among others, David Allen Green.