<p>I really liked the movies <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870111/" rel="nofollow"><em>Frost/Nixon</em></a>, <em>Thank You for Smoking</em>, <em>The Social Network</em> and then I found <a href="http://doonesbury.washingtonpost.com/strip/archive/2014/4/23" rel="nofollow">this Doonesbury comic strip</a>. I want to know how to train oneself in this art of obfuscation. I am not saying I want to be (or can be) someone like Nixon, but I am trying to look at it from the perspective of a ethical hacker. How can one learn this kind of political maneuvering, if I can call it that?
Can anyone suggest any books/movies for this?</p>

<p>EDIT: It seems that I am being seen as a wannabe bad guy. It's not just about being Nixon. The movies <em>Thank You for Smoking</em> and <em>The Social Network</em> have depicted similar behaviour, and I liked these movies because they kept a non-judgmental undertone (my opinion). 
My intention was to read/watch something intellectually stimulating. The cancer is not to be hated/feared, but studied and understood.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-30T17:20:25.793Z
@user6267, You're not seen as a bad guy, but this is a self-help question and is therefore outside of the scope of this forum.
Louis Thibault
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-30T19:02:08.463Z
@blz: It's not about self-diagnosis/treatment; there's no need for a medical professional. See [the relevant meta-question](http://meta.cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/502/why-was-my-self-help-question-closed-as-off-topic); I think a new one would need to be raised regarding the applicability of our self-help rules to this kind of "self-help" geared toward skill acquisition and optimization instead of disorder treatment.
Nick Stauner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-30T19:06:35.220Z
@user6267: I'm not sure where you get the idea that you're being perceived negatively. You don't seem to have received any responses at all. (That is, aside from any that might've been deleted?)
Nick Stauner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-30T21:11:04.747Z
@NickStauner, ah then I apologize!
Louis Thibault
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-30T21:16:08.243Z
@blz: no need! Community rules like these are open to revision and interpretation, so it's not necessarily that you're wrong...It's just that this would be an unprecedented (AFAIK) application of the self-help rule, and wouldn't seem to follow the logic of it.
Nick Stauner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-30T21:18:41.860Z
@NickStauner, in that case I'll see you in meta ;)
Louis Thibault
<social-psychology><communication>
How to train oneself in the art of obfuscation
user6267
# How to train oneself in the art of obfuscation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-06-29)

I really liked the movies [*Frost/Nixon*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870111/), *Thank You for Smoking*, *The Social Network* and then I found [this Doonesbury comic strip](http://doonesbury.washingtonpost.com/strip/archive/2014/4/23). I want to know how to train oneself in this art of obfuscation. I am not saying I want to be (or can be) someone like Nixon, but I am trying to look at it from the perspective of a ethical hacker. How can one learn this kind of political maneuvering, if I can call it that?
Can anyone suggest any books/movies for this?

EDIT: It seems that I am being seen as a wannabe bad guy. It's not just about being Nixon. The movies *Thank You for Smoking* and *The Social Network* have depicted similar behaviour, and I liked these movies because they kept a non-judgmental undertone (my opinion).
My intention was to read/watch something intellectually stimulating. The cancer is not to be hated/feared, but studied and understood.

**Tags:** social-psychology, communication

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: @username_0, You're not seen as a bad guy, but this is a self-help question and is therefore outside of the scope of this forum.  
> **username_2**: @blz: It's not about self-diagnosis/treatment; there's no need for a medical professional. See [the relevant meta-question](http://meta.cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/502/why-was-my-self-help-question-closed-as-off-topic); I think a new one would need to be raised regarding the applicability of our self-help rules to this kind of "self-help" geared toward skill acquisition and optimization instead of disorder treatment.  
> **username_2**: @username_0: I'm not sure where you get the idea that you're being perceived negatively. You don't seem to have received any responses at all. (That is, aside from any that might've been deleted?)  
> **username_1**: @NickStauner, ah then I apologize!  
> **username_2**: @blz: no need! Community rules like these are open to revision and interpretation, so it's not necessarily that you're wrong...It's just that this would be an unprecedented (AFAIK) application of the self-help rule, and wouldn't seem to follow the logic of it.  
> **username_1**: @NickStauner, in that case I'll see you in meta ;)  

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## 0 answers

