[Ads-l] Quote: "There is no such corrupting lie as a problem poorly named."

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

I think you are correct that they is an underlying adage. The saying
in the SANS newsletter probably evolved from a saying popularized by
the politician Daniel Patrick Moynihan who credited the French author
Georges Bernanos.

I looked at the Wikiquote webpage for Bernanos who died in 1948 and
did not see a match. I have not yet tried to search in French. Here is
a match in English in 1969.

Date: November 12, 1969
Newspaper: The Town Talk
Newspaper Location: Alexandria, Louisiana
Article: Moynihan-Paradox in Nixon's Inner Circle
Author: Arnold B. Sawislak (UPI)
Quote Page B10, Column 3 and 4
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/image/214445849/?terms=corrupting

[Begin excerpt]
A frequent theme in Moynihan pronouncements is that human beings
suffer less from what they don't know than from what they do know that
is wrong. He recently began a magazine article with a quotation from
Georges Bernanos: "The worst, the most corrupting of lies are problems
poorly stated."
[End excerpt]

Garson O'Toole

On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 3:48 PM Andy Bach <afbach at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In a SANS newsletter they included[1] that line which has the smack of
> an adage but, admittedly brief search, came up with nothing, save a
> few conspiracy theories about government. Any guesses?
>
> a
>
> [1]
> North Carolina County Loses $1.7 Million in Business Email Compromise Scam
> (July 30 & 31, 2019)
>
> Cabarrus County in North Carolina lost US $1.7 million to a social
> engineering scam. The thieves sent email messages that were
> manipulated to appear as though they were from the contractors for a
> new high school the county is building. They sent a request to update
> the banking account on file, and the school district made a $2.5
> million payment to an account at Bank of America. A month later, the
> actual contractors contacted the county about the missed payment. Bank
> of America was able to recover about $776,000.
>
> Late changes to account numbers or addresses should be confirmed out
> of band before use. Never have such confirmations been easier or more
> necessary than now (This is a "Business e-mail fraud," not
> "compromise." Do not blame the messenger. E-mail is not compromised;
> it is working as intended. "There is no such corrupting lie as a
> problem poorly named.")
>
> --
>
> a
>
> Andy Bach,
> afbach at gmail.com
> 608 658-1890 cell
> 608 261-5738 wk
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org