I have long felt that the main progress in science in the 20th century was in advertising, which hobbled other sciences. Following are some discussions I had with Bing A.I. on this.
The Science of Advertising in the 20th Century
Advertising is the art and science of persuading people to buy products or services. It has been around since ancient times, but it reached new heights of sophistication and influence in the 20th century, thanks to the development of new technologies and media.
In this blog post, we will explore how the science of advertising evolved in the 20th century, and how it affected other fields of knowledge and society at large.
The Rise of Psychology and Consumer Research
One of the major advances in the science of advertising in the 20th century was the application of psychology to understand consumer behavior and preferences. In the early 1900s, psychologists such as Walter Dill Scott and Paul T. Cherington began to study how advertising could attract attention, arouse interest, create desire, and motivate action. They also conducted experiments and surveys to measure the effectiveness of different types of ads and messages.
Psychology promised to turn advertising from an art into a dependable technology, based on scientific principles and methods. Advertisers hoped that by using psychology, they could reduce the risk and uncertainty of their campaigns, and increase their sales and profits. They also wanted to elevate their profession to a level of respectability and legitimacy comparable to law or medicine.
Psychology also helped advertisers to segment and target their markets according to various criteria, such as demographics, psychographics, lifestyles, attitudes, values, and motivations. By understanding the needs and wants of different groups of consumers, advertisers could tailor their messages and offers to appeal to them more effectively.
The Influence of Mass Media and Culture
Another major factor that shaped the science of advertising in the 20th century was the emergence and proliferation of mass media, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, cinema, billboards, direct mail, and later, the internet and mobile devices. These media enabled advertisers to reach larger and more diverse audiences than ever before, and to communicate their messages in more creative and persuasive ways.
Mass media also influenced the culture and society of the 20th century, by creating new forms of entertainment, information, education, and socialization. Advertising played a significant role in this process, by sponsoring and supporting various media content and programs, as well as by creating its own content and culture.
Advertising not only promoted products and services, but also ideas and values. It shaped consumer tastes and preferences, as well as social norms and expectations. It created new desires and aspirations, as well as new fears and anxieties. It reflected and reinforced existing ideologies and stereotypes, as well as challenged and changed them.
The Impact on Other Sciences
The science of advertising in the 20th century had a profound impact on other fields of knowledge and inquiry. It borrowed from and contributed to disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, economics, statistics, linguistics, semiotics, communication studies, media studies, cultural studies, art history, design theory, etc.
It also influenced other sciences in more subtle and indirect ways. For example:
- Advertising stimulated scientific research and innovation by creating demand for new products and technologies.
- Advertising funded scientific research and education by providing grants and scholarships for students and researchers.
- Advertising disseminated scientific knowledge and discoveries by popularizing them through mass media.
- Advertising distorted scientific knowledge and discoveries by exaggerating or misrepresenting them for commercial purposes.
- Advertising challenged scientific authority and credibility by competing with or contradicting it on various issues.
The science of advertising in the 20th century was a powerful force that shaped the world we live in today. It was a source of both progress and problems. It was a tool of both enlightenment and manipulation. It was a product of both rationality and emotion.
It was a science like no other.
How did Bernays contribute to corruption in big business?
Edward Bernays was a public relations pioneer who used the principles of propaganda to influence the masses. He believed that the public needed to be manipulated by an invisible government of experts who could shape their opinions and habits. He worked for various big businesses and helped them promote their products and interests by creating fake grass-roots campaigns, astroturfing the media, and appealing to the unconscious desires of the consumers.
One of his most notorious clients was the American Tobacco Company, which hired him to increase the sales of cigarettes among women. Bernays devised a campaign called "Torches of Freedom", which portrayed smoking as a symbol of women's liberation and independence. He staged a publicity stunt during the 1929 Easter parade in New York, where he hired young women to light up cigarettes and march along Fifth Avenue. He also arranged for photographers and journalists to cover the event, which generated widespread media attention and sparked a social trend.
Another controversial client was the United Fruit Company, which owned vast plantations in Central America and exploited the local workers and resources. Bernays helped the company create a positive image in the US by sponsoring cultural events, publishing books and articles, and inviting journalists and politicians to visit Guatemala, where the company had a strong influence over the government. When a democratically elected president, Jacobo Arbenz, tried to implement land reforms that threatened the company's interests, Bernays orchestrated a propaganda campaign that portrayed him as a communist dictator who posed a threat to democracy and stability in the region. He persuaded the US government and the public to support a CIA-backed coup that overthrew Arbenz in 1954 and installed a military dictatorship that favored the company.
Bernays' methods were effective but unethical. He contributed to corruption in big business by helping them deceive and manipulate the public for their own gain. He also undermined democracy and human rights by supporting foreign interventions that violated the sovereignty and welfare of other nations. He showed little regard for the truth or the consequences of his actions. He was, as one critic put it, "the father of lies".
Recently in my Covid substack I shared this A.I. summary of a recent SOTT article.
FLAWED SCIENCE & SOLUTIONS
The following is a summary of an article that criticizes peer review as a flawed and ineffective system of scientific quality control.
Peer review is the process by which scientific papers are evaluated by other experts in the field before they are published in journals. It is widely regarded as the "gold standard" of science, but does it really work? According to the article, peer review has been a 60-year experiment with no control group and no consistent measurements. It has failed to prevent bad research, fraud, and bias from being published, and it has stifled innovation and creativity.
The article cites several studies that show how peer reviewers are poor at detecting errors, flaws, and fraud in papers. For example, one study found that reviewers caught only 30% of the major flaws in papers that were deliberately manipulated. Another study found that fraudulent papers get published all the time, and are rarely discovered by reviewers. The article also argues that peer review is biased against novel and controversial ideas, and favors conventional and safe research. This creates a culture of conformity and mediocrity in science, and discourages risk-taking and originality.
The article concludes that peer review is not a reliable or valid way of ensuring scientific quality, and that it should be replaced by other methods of evaluation, such as post-publication review, open access, replication, and public engagement. The article claims that these methods would foster more transparency, accountability, diversity, and creativity in science, and would ultimately benefit society.
Thanks for the introduction to another horrible historical figure.
I find the propaganda overlapping the propaganda to be quite laughable.
Funny how the obtainable historical accounts claim hard work/ self made men, when they are obviously connected/ funded by/ to either Jewish bankrolled companies or Freemason funded companies/ interests. Both of which are controlled by the descendants of the priests of Anon - the black nobility etc etc.
It's time to end the bloodlines of these vampirish pedofilic psychopaths.