DON’T COUNT ON A ‘SMOKING GUN’

Arguably the most famous moment in forensic linguistics came in the mid-1990s, when it was used to help identify and convict terrorist Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. His manifesto included the term “you can’t eat your cake and have it, too,” instead of the more conventional form “you can’t have your cake and eat it, too” — a difference that alerted both investigators and Kaczynski’s family. Despite this, most forensic analysis focuses on subtle differences in writing style that aren’t obvious to the average person.

“We aren’t aware of how often we use ‘in’ vs. ‘into’, but different individuals will have slightly different preferences, which can be detected through statistical comparison,” said Shlomo Argamon, forensic linguist at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Forensic linguists have also had “eureka” moments in deciphering the age and background of a suspect.

A famous case involved a kidnapper who left his victim’s family a note instructing them to leave their ransom on the “devil strip” — a term specific to Akron, Ohio, referring to the patch of grass between a street and sidewalk. Police were then able to arrest their only suspect with Akron origins.

However, demographics are probably going to be of little use in the White House op-ed: The author is almost certainly educated, relatively wealthy and Caucasian.