Sophogenic Phrases and Dog-whistles

I made up a word, guys. Is that annoying?

I noticed that there are phrases in English that can instantly reframe a preceding statement. One of these phrases was made annoyingly popular by the television show The Office. You know this phrase. "That's what she said." Immediately upon hearing this phrase, the mind creates a context in which the preceding statement was describing sex. Its irritating quality comes from its relentless ability to produce the desired result in the hearer. It is super effective.

"That's what she said!" is a pornogenic phrase. It immediately generates sexual thoughts.

On a distant part of that spectrum, we have the New Testament. Jesus would teach in parables in order to speak openly about things which, if explicitly taught, would get him censured by the state. He would occasionally end these parables with the phrase "He that hath ears, let him hear." This was a way of letting those in the know that he was speaking in parable. It was an intellectual dog-whistle.

One day, I noticed that "He that hath ears, let him hear." has a similar effect as "That's what she said." That phrase had the ability to immediately take my mind somewhere it had no intention of going moments before. But instead of suddenly thinking of sex, I was suddenly thinking of hidden wisdom.

"My boss is really getting on my nerves." said I.

"He that hath ears, let him hear." said my inner voice.

That phrase instantly makes you look for deeper meanings in whatever was just said.

"He that hath ears, let him hear." is a sophogenic phrase. it immediately generates a search for a deeper meaning, leading to wisdom.

Sophogenic as a word, though, is cumbersome and distracting. In future posts, I will refer to sophogenic phrases as dog-whistles. They are short phrases that help orient the mind in the direction of wisdom.

Other dog-whistles include phrases like "Truer words have never been spoken" or "Thus saith the Lord."

If you value wisdom and self-knowledge, try this experiment. The next time you find yourself complaining about something, say it again, then follow it up with "He that hath ears let him hear." It's fun! It feels like solving a riddle, or discovering a conspiracy. If you make a habit of this, you may find yourself gaining wisdom from even the most unlikely sources.