Well, I didn’t mean convincing anyone to adopt her values, I meant convincing them to adopt a particular course of action by communicating the facts that they would find most convincing.
E.g., if I want to convince someone to go to the store and get me chocolate-chip ice cream, perhaps the most effective way to convince Sam to do this is to let him know that I would really appreciate it (which is true), and the most effective way to convince Pat to do it is to let her know I’d pay her $10 (which is also true). That reflects a difference in their values, neither of which has anything to do with my own, but the course of action is the same across all three of us.
What I had been thinking about was choosing ways to express the value of the target turning against the Volturi, in terms of the target’s values. E.g., “it would be worthwhile for you to do so, in order to avenge your dead mate” or “it would be worthwhile for you to do so, in order to avenge your shamed mother” or whatever it is.
That doesn’t change anyone’s values, it just communicates true things to them, which Elspeth knows, that most effectively convince them that it’s consistent with their values to do something in particular, which it is. (I mean, unless it actually isn’t consistent with their values to do so, in which case presumably that would be useful knowledge as well.)
But, OK, I think I understand you: Elspeth’s power lets her communicate that some fact X is true in a way that most effectively convinces the target of the truth of X, but it doesn’t help her select true Xes to communicate for other purposes.
Well, I didn’t mean convincing anyone to adopt her values, I meant convincing them to adopt a particular course of action by communicating the facts that they would find most convincing.
E.g., if I want to convince someone to go to the store and get me chocolate-chip ice cream, perhaps the most effective way to convince Sam to do this is to let him know that I would really appreciate it (which is true), and the most effective way to convince Pat to do it is to let her know I’d pay her $10 (which is also true). That reflects a difference in their values, neither of which has anything to do with my own, but the course of action is the same across all three of us.
What I had been thinking about was choosing ways to express the value of the target turning against the Volturi, in terms of the target’s values. E.g., “it would be worthwhile for you to do so, in order to avenge your dead mate” or “it would be worthwhile for you to do so, in order to avenge your shamed mother” or whatever it is.
That doesn’t change anyone’s values, it just communicates true things to them, which Elspeth knows, that most effectively convince them that it’s consistent with their values to do something in particular, which it is. (I mean, unless it actually isn’t consistent with their values to do so, in which case presumably that would be useful knowledge as well.)
But, OK, I think I understand you: Elspeth’s power lets her communicate that some fact X is true in a way that most effectively convinces the target of the truth of X, but it doesn’t help her select true Xes to communicate for other purposes.
Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks!