PBS series, "Hacking your mind"

[cfives]

Possibly confirmation bias, but enjoying the the series so far. Not as important as, "The Century of the Self", but definitely enjoying/agreeing with the sentiments expressed so far.

 

[W800]

tagging so I can put on watch list.

century of the self was life changing for me.

part of what i do now somewhat falls into marcom - it was good to see the reasons to be careful with it.

eta: so funny you posted this. i was going to post a thread entitled "do people think about how they think?"

 

[Eldritch]

Please also add, "The Social Dilemma," on Netflix to this list.

I'm excited about this show. Wandering into the first episode right now it seems like this is all about my life's work on cognitive improvement. Very interested.

 

[Eldritch]

Well, I went ahead and ordered the DVD for sharing out to people.

This is important information that most people will ignore.

 

[cfives]

Well, I went ahead and ordered the DVD for sharing out to people.

This is important information that most people will ignore.

That is a great gift idea, I might do the same! I've been trying to get my niece to watch the Century of the Self for awhile now, it's free on YouTube. She is getting a degree in PR, so it would be extra useful for her to watch, but she still hasn't see it yet for some reason.

 

[Eldritch]

That is a great gift idea, I might do the same! I've been trying to get my niece to watch the Century of the Self for awhile now, it's free on YouTube. She is getting a degree in PR, so it would be extra useful for her to watch, but she still hasn't see it yet for some reason.

Good idea. This thing is full of so much professional expression of things about decision making and social impact I have intuitively figured out on my own and been telling people for decades, I am trying to resist buying like 50 copies and handing them out like Smugzilla.

 

[W800]

That is a great gift idea, I might do the same! I've been trying to get my niece to watch the Century of the Self for awhile now, it's free on YouTube. She is getting a degree in PR, so it would be extra useful for her to watch, but she still hasn't see it yet for some reason.

Bernays' essay "Propaganda" is here: http://www.historyisaweapon.org/defcon1/bernprop.html

Complete with intro from Noam Chomsky.

Here are first few paragraphs. This is from 1928.

THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.

We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.

Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet.

That quote might pique her interest. You can also mention to her that women (the ones who still do) smoke cigarettes because of Bernays. He's also why cake mix requires an egg. It used to not require an egg. He did focus groups and learned that women didn't feel like they were putting "enough of themselves" into it.

Propaganda / marketing is scary stuff.

 

[cfives]

...

Propaganda / marketing is scary stuff.

It certainly is, thanks for the link!

 

[budman]

This is interesting to me .... finding the time and focus to engage in it remains a challenge.

Work shit :laughing

 

[W800]

It certainly is, thanks for the link!

Welcome!!!

She may also want to study Noam Chomsky's ideas. Baudrillard is another one (Simalcra and Simalcrum). In general, any of the French deconstructionalists. They get at what things mean.

By understanding meaning, one can manipulate it. Literally manipulate how people see reality itself. I know this sounds strange. Example - in this country we tend to view Russia as an enemy. In Russia, they actually kind of like the USA. It's two different realities.

Another way to see:

Words themselves are just sounds and squiggles on paper and computer screens. To work, they have to be infused with meaning. Now think about who makes that happen. It's media, marketing, advertising, politics, schools, social media. The "marketplace of ideas." But there's an illusion that the marketplace is free. It's often lead and shifted by a few players. As Bernays says, these shifters often don't know the other ones, BTW.

This essay by George Orwell gets at this:

https://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit