This is a FReeper article from 2006 called Using the Delphi Technique to Achieve Consensus [or How the Left builds consensus], posted from the Eagle Forum (Phyllis Schlafly's conservative advocacy group). It discusses how group agitators can manipulate a group's thinking towards their desired end. The original article (with formatting) can be found in the Wayback Machine here.
See this YouTube video from 2011 that chronicles how the Delphi Technique was used in public comment meetings in the San Francisco Bay Area during the push to pass a unified mass transit and land use set of bills: Exposing the Delphi Technique in Public Meetings.
-PJ
Great post—the DEI folks use this technique in “struggle sessions” in all sorts of organizations from big corporations to non profits. It often takes the form of “training”.
Strictly speaking I consider it a weapon, or a munition really. They are usually illegal to export, the Delphi Technique is no different.
I would love if people were informed of this bullshit and spoke up loudly while the usual suspects come out to work their parlor tricks. Refuse to agree to these terms. Make sure the newspaper writes an article (good luck) or perhaps a letter to the editor on a “beware” basis.
One of the problems people have had in the past (not so much as it was, but there’s a reason for this) it was almost impossible to explain to people without sounding like a lunatic. And, as always, it’s easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they have been fooled.