From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.0 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_20,FREEMAIL_FROM autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,1ea92c0e5255811d X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-03-07 11:36:03 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!sn-xit-02!sn-xit-06!sn-xit-09!supernews.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news-out.visi.com!hermes.visi.com!uunet!ash.uu.net!spool0901.news.uu.net!spool0900.news.uu.net!reader0901.news.uu.net!not-for-mail Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 14:35:54 -0500 From: Hyman Rosen User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.4a) Gecko/20030302 X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Way OT: Adam Smith and Software Markets References: <1047043964.776224@master.nyc.kbcfp.com> <87isuvw9tb.fsf@inf.enst.fr> <1047052877.215272@master.nyc.kbcfp.com> In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Organization: KBC Financial Products Message-ID: <1047065756.226519@master.nyc.kbcfp.com> Cache-Post-Path: master.nyc.kbcfp.com!unknown@fixedcost.nyc.kbcfp.com X-Cache: nntpcache 3.0.1 (see http://www.nntpcache.org/) NNTP-Posting-Host: 204.253.250.10 X-Trace: 1047065757 reader1.ash.ops.us.uu.net 1519 204.253.250.10 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:35048 Date: 2003-03-07T14:35:54-05:00 List-Id: Jason wrote: > I don't know about telepathy, but hypnosis really does "work". > Granted, it doesn't really work the way they show in the movies, but > pick up a psych 101 textbook if you don't believe me. Have you *seen* what's in psych textbooks? Psychology has come up with more crackpot notions of what goes on in a human mind than you can shake a stick at. > If advertising does not influence the choices that people make Well, *of course* advertising influences the choices that people make, or else what would be the point? The reason even makers of ubiquitous products advertise is that there's a free market. If you don't advertise, and your competitors do, pretty soon you will lose your market share because your customers will forget you. It's just that this influence isn't "reducing your free will". Advertisers try to appeal to people in a variety of different ways, engaging both reason and emotion. Those who find hidden messages are saying more about themselves than about the ads. > I for one would like to see more substantive advertising (this product > is better because of these points) and less associative advertising > (watch this hot chick drink this product). I for one would much rather watch hot chicks than see a dissertation on why the bite of Coca Cola is tastier than the sweetness of Pepsi. Fortunately for me, so do lots of other people :-)