In chapter 6 of unSpun, "The Great Crow Fallacy," a crow's intelligence regarding nut cracking is discussed. The chapter goes into great detail about the common mistake that people make of believing what they see. However sometimes things do not appear to be what they seem. For instance, a crow dropping a nut in front of oncoming traffic with the intention of the nut cracking, so the crow can eat it. Ultimately, this turned out to not be the case.
I believe a lot of times I do accept the things that I see rather than further investigation into the matter. It is easier than checking facts and sources. But I have realized that if i do not bother to look into the things I see on a daily basis than how will I ever know what is true? If I want to decipher between the things that are true and untrue than a little more effort may have to occur into the matter. If people would not have challenged the crow's intelligence then we would have given the crow more credit than it deserves.
After initially learning about propaganda I believed that the key to avoid being convinced about one thing or another was to be a careful observer of the messages that you receive. Although after reading the first couple chapters of Toxic Sludge is Good for You! I was informed that the best PR is the kind that isn't even noticed. It is blindly accepted without being labeled as a stunt or tactic to persuade.
Turns out things are not so clear in a lot of cases and it is up to us all to dig a little further for answers.
Monday
Get your facts straight
Reading chapter 5, "Facts Can Save Your Life" made me think about some old sayings I am familiar with. Although the adages can be accurate this is not always the case.
When reading about Daniel Bullock, a doctor who was conned by a tax-shelter promotor it seems that someone of his stature , considering his education,would not have been deceived so easily by some con mon. He believed that this promotor would provide a legal way of evading taxes. That whole notion seems completely ridiculous,but sometimes we want to buy into an idea so badly that we choose not to use the rational part of our mind to truly think about it. It seems that when something is too good to be true, it usually is. This appears to be what happened with Bullock. It was too good to be true. Unfourtanetly he had plently of time to think about this in prison for tax evasion.
Another interesting point made in the chapter deals with another saying, you get what you pay for. This is something that I have been told and believed to be a true in a lot of cases. The Grey Goose effect deals with this notion that because something is more expensive then it is of better quality. When Grey Goose came out and was more expensive everyone believed it was the best. This happens a lot in marketing, where they will raise the prices on a product to make it seem of better quality and more desirable. Although I understand the reasoning behind it, it just still seems absurd that we are so shallow that raising the prices of something makes us want it more. It is something that I have been guilty of, since I also believed that the price could be a correlation to quality. Clearly in this chapter we learn that this is not always the case. Sometimes, it is just another mere tool used to mislead us.
When reading about Daniel Bullock, a doctor who was conned by a tax-shelter promotor it seems that someone of his stature , considering his education,would not have been deceived so easily by some con mon. He believed that this promotor would provide a legal way of evading taxes. That whole notion seems completely ridiculous,but sometimes we want to buy into an idea so badly that we choose not to use the rational part of our mind to truly think about it. It seems that when something is too good to be true, it usually is. This appears to be what happened with Bullock. It was too good to be true. Unfourtanetly he had plently of time to think about this in prison for tax evasion.
Another interesting point made in the chapter deals with another saying, you get what you pay for. This is something that I have been told and believed to be a true in a lot of cases. The Grey Goose effect deals with this notion that because something is more expensive then it is of better quality. When Grey Goose came out and was more expensive everyone believed it was the best. This happens a lot in marketing, where they will raise the prices on a product to make it seem of better quality and more desirable. Although I understand the reasoning behind it, it just still seems absurd that we are so shallow that raising the prices of something makes us want it more. It is something that I have been guilty of, since I also believed that the price could be a correlation to quality. Clearly in this chapter we learn that this is not always the case. Sometimes, it is just another mere tool used to mislead us.
Wishful Thinking
When reading "UFO Cults and Us", it is amazing to learn that we truly are innate stubborn people. Science has even shown that no matter who we are we cannot argue with that, although many of us will still disagree (hence our stubborness) . I am a sucker for a good argument. When I am trying to get my point across sometimes I get so focused on what I am saying and stand by my statements because in my head they are right. Although what are the chances in all of the debates or conversations that I have gotten into that what I was saying was completely accurate. Even though I would like to believe I was also right I know that that cannot always be so. None of us want to be proven wrong. Next time some one tells me that I am stubborn, which has happened, I am just going to say that I am programmed that way, it is just the way that all of our brains work. It was just incredible the lengths that certain people take in order to sustain their believablilty. Whether that means lying about a UFO landing or false claiming that the president's top political adviser has commited perjury. The "Psychology of Deception" remains to teach us a lot about ourselves and how often our minds really trick us. We all want to believe in certain things, and sometimes we deduce all logic in order to hold on to those beliefs.
Thursday
Why do we always fall for it?
Reading the first few chapters of unSpun really showed me a lot. It should how effective propaganda can truly be in advertising. Although we would like to believe that we could not be swayed very easily, the chapters I read show that time and time again that we all buy into propaganda. We are constantly misled and deceived.
Chapter two, "A Bridesmaid's Bad Breath," is a perfect illustration of how advertisers are able to convince us of what they like. When you think about the whole concept of a lonely woman whose terrible breath was the reason for nobody marrying her it seems comical, but that type of tactic was able to launch Listerine into becoming a mainstream, successful business. It proved to be one of the most successful ad campaigns ever by simply playing into a consumer's fear.
When trying to prevent being deceived by the media, unSpun even gives us warning signs to look out for. One I found particularly dangerous was "The Dangling Comparative." This is when words such as "larger," "better," and "faster" are labeled on products to convince us that whatever they are trying to sell is truly the best out there. When I watch commercials and infomercials I now realize how often those words are tossed around. However it still continues to be a very powerful strategy. Consumers believe that we have the "best" of something until a short time passes and the next best thing comes along. Then we run out and buy this new "best" thing.
I used to think that propaganda was something that was saved for the military and political gain. Now I have come to see that every time I turn on the television or open a magazine I am bombarded with words and images used to persuade me to do something or buy something. Although we have caught on to what they are doing the advertisers are still succeeding in sending out their messages to the masses.
Chapter two, "A Bridesmaid's Bad Breath," is a perfect illustration of how advertisers are able to convince us of what they like. When you think about the whole concept of a lonely woman whose terrible breath was the reason for nobody marrying her it seems comical, but that type of tactic was able to launch Listerine into becoming a mainstream, successful business. It proved to be one of the most successful ad campaigns ever by simply playing into a consumer's fear.
When trying to prevent being deceived by the media, unSpun even gives us warning signs to look out for. One I found particularly dangerous was "The Dangling Comparative." This is when words such as "larger," "better," and "faster" are labeled on products to convince us that whatever they are trying to sell is truly the best out there. When I watch commercials and infomercials I now realize how often those words are tossed around. However it still continues to be a very powerful strategy. Consumers believe that we have the "best" of something until a short time passes and the next best thing comes along. Then we run out and buy this new "best" thing.
I used to think that propaganda was something that was saved for the military and political gain. Now I have come to see that every time I turn on the television or open a magazine I am bombarded with words and images used to persuade me to do something or buy something. Although we have caught on to what they are doing the advertisers are still succeeding in sending out their messages to the masses.
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