Gullibility

I was just reading my email, actually, I was reading the subject lines of most of my email and I realized that I should be offended. We have become used to advertisers treating us like we are sol gullible that we would accept the nonsense they tell us at face value. Stuff like, “2000 year old secret talisman brings wealth, health, romantic love” etc… It offends me even more when these advertisers pretend that their products are based on science. Apparently this ruse works, since these advertisers keep using this technique. People in general are so unfamiliar with science that claims of scientific backing for absolute baloney are not even questioned. Everything from government scientists defecting to share secret knowledge with the public about: UFOs or psychic powers or ancient ruins on Mars to “research” breakthroughs in psychic powers, attracting the opposite sex or secret money formulas.

It makes sense to advertise such things to the readers of the supermarket tabloids, but I’m a little disappointed that my merely having an email address is reason to believe that I’m this gullible. It seems that the information age is also the disinformation age as well as the age of faster finding and fleecing of the credulous. I have a friend that keeps seeing these things and saying “I’d get rich if I just didn’t have a conscience.” I’ve actually discovered that many of these people, the really successful ones, believe their nonsense themselves. True belief definitely has an advantage, even if it is True Belief in the False.

Troy
troy@starkeffects.com
http://www.starkeffects.com