Khlestakovian Inscrutability
Based on the disingenuity of the main character in Gogol's The Government Inspector, Khlestakovian Inscrutability is a tactic advocated by the members of the Wrights and Sites team and specifically in the practice of Mythogeography. It is a means of gaining access to otherwise restricted areas, affections and intimacies. It is a kind of self-denying ordinance; a modesty, almost a stupidity; allowing others to invent motives and desires for you. It allows others to project their hopes, fears, ideas and expectations onto you without you having to engage in active deception or dishonesty. For example, when you next want to get in to somewhere that is officially 'out of bounds' or private, say as little as possible and, when challenged, look sincerely engaged and say, for example: “I’m interested in here” and leave it at that, staying physically very present, but not overbearing. Given the general human discomfort with gaps and pauses, otherwise obstructive guards, porters, janitors and concierges may fill the void with an invitation. This, possibly, has wider political significance (for the dispersal of leadership). References: Nikolai Gogol Phil Smith's Mythogeography Wrights and Sites |
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