When a prominent political figure famously boasted about mastering "the weave"—a self-described technique of jumping between topics that "brilliantly come together"—developer Dave Rupert saw an unexpected technical challenge. In a recent experiment, Rupert leveraged software engineering principles to visualize this disjointed rhetorical style using version control metaphors.

Decoding Rhetoric Through Git Paradigms

Rupert analyzed a 4-minute presidential address, mapping each topic shift to Git operations:
- Branches represented new thematic tangents (e.g., tariffs → stock market → Oval Office renovations)
- Commits captured individual statements
- Cherry-picks tracked callbacks to earlier phrases
- Merges indicated attempted thematic reunions

Using Mermaid.js's GitGraph syntax, he built a custom <git-graph> web component to generate interactive visualizations. The diagram exposed ten distinct branches in just 240 seconds of speech, with frequent context switches between policy claims, self-congratulation, and unrelated asides.

gitGraph
    branch tariffs
    checkout tariffs
    commit id: "I was very happy... government group"
    branch radical-left
    checkout radical-left
    commit id: "a radical left group..."
    checkout tariffs
    merge radical-left
    commit id: "took in $4 trillion..."
    branch stock-market
    checkout stock-market
    commit id: "stock market went up a thousand points"

Technical Insights from the Experiment

Rupert's approach revealed how "the weave" operates:
1. Shallow Topic Engagement: Most branches contained 1-3 commits before jumping elsewhere
2. Forced Cohesion: Cherry-picked phrases created illusion of continuity between unrelated ideas
3. Depth Bias: Trivial topics (e.g., gold decor) received disproportionate attention versus policy substance

"When you break it down, you see it for what it is: a mishmash of talking points," Rupert observed. "The git metaphor works because it exposes the lack of true narrative merge conflicts—these thoughts never meaningfully reconcile."

Why This Matters for Developers

Beyond political analysis, this experiment demonstrates:
- Conceptual Flexibility: Version control systems can model unconventional real-world systems
- Visualization Power: Abstract communication patterns become tangible through domain-specific tooling
- Critical Analysis Frameworks: Technical methodologies offer new lenses for evaluating information integrity

Rupert's unconventional approach underscores how developer tools can illuminate complex human behaviors—revealing structure within apparent chaos while raising questions about coherence in modern discourse. As natural language processing advances, such interdisciplinary experiments may pioneer new techniques for parsing truth from rhetorical fragmentation.

Source: Dave Rupert's "Git Diagramming The Weave"