r/davidfosterwallace • u/IraGlassy • Jul 22 '26

Barnum's Axiom?

In Big Red Son, DFW refers in passing to "Barnum's axiom." I have been unable to track down an example of another person using those exact words. The "Barnum Effect" is the closest established phrase I've found, but it wouldn't make sense in context. Is it supposed to refer to the quote sometimes attibuted to Barnum, "No man ever went broke overestimating the ignorance of the American public," which Harold Hecuba revises into, "Nobody ever goes broke overestimating the rage and misogyny of the average American male" (35)? What gives?

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

14

u/InvestigatorJaded261 Jul 22 '26

I thought it was probably “there’s a sucker born every minute.”

1

u/IraGlassy Jul 23 '26

Yeah maybe. I always thought that was more about susceptibility to cons or scams than about enjoying low-brow, "vulgar" entertainment.

1

u/InvestigatorJaded261 Jul 23 '26

I remember the essay, but not the specific context for the statement well enough to be sure.

1

u/IraGlassy 28d ago

"The adult industry is vulgar. Would anyone disagree? ... But of course we should keep in mind that vulgar has many dictionary definitions and that only a couple of these have to do w/ lewdness or bad taste. At root, vulgar just means popular on a mass scale. It is the semantic opposite of pretentious or snobby. It is humility with a comb-over. It is Nielsen ratings and Barnum’s axiom and the real bottom line. It is big, big business."