Nature and natural language are certainly forces to be reckoned with, and so Pavlov’s experiments showing that to some extent interpretations of the real world can be influenced by what has become referred to as “behavioral conditioning” were truly groundbreaking. At the same time, we need to recognize that human natural languages are a special… Continue reading Pavlov, Natural Language, Rubber Stamps, Repetition, …
Publicacy 101: Edward Bernays + Propaganda = Industrialization of Institutional Knowledge Acquisition in the Twentieth Century
A short course on publicacy and the relationship of this concept to literacy and also related fields such as public relations, business and general communications, etc.
Let’s Kill “Social Media”
In the early 2010s, teens traded in their flip phones for smartphones and the phone-based childhood began: their social lives moved on to social media. Jonathan Haidt, “How screens stole childhood — and how to get it back” (“TED Talk”, April 2026) Jonathan Haidt and his colleagues have been on a long-standing concerted campaign to… Continue reading Let’s Kill “Social Media”
Economics of Information 2.0: Censorship
Just to remind you, last week I started off with: Traditionally, the field known as the “Economics of Information” has mainly been focused on how market prices happen (in the “supply and demand” scheme of things). “Economics of Information 2.0: Advertising“ And then I talked a bunch about how (predominantly online) advertising today has changed… Continue reading Economics of Information 2.0: Censorship
Economics of Information 2.0: Advertising
Traditionally, the field known as the “Economics of Information” has mainly been focused on how market prices happen (in the “supply and demand” scheme of things). I do not aim to discount the very significant work that has been done here in the last half century (give or take a decade or two). Yet I… Continue reading Economics of Information 2.0: Advertising
Impedant Commerce
This week I felt both devastated and yet also hopeful at the same time (more or less). Actually, the devastation came first: Buzzkill died (see “Life is a scam” [ https://obit.news.blog/2026/07/26/life-is-a-scam ] ). I can’t really explain my very strong emotional reaction. The “NoAgenda Show” has existed for a very long time and seemed to be… Continue reading Impedant Commerce
Online Interventions
A significant part of “the meaning of life” is to intervene in some way — to make a contribution, to have an impact, etc. (cf. Viktor Frankl’s notion of so-called “logotherapy”). I choose to intervene online. I don’t need to march around, get into a car, drive somewhere, or get into a plane to travel… Continue reading Online Interventions
bruh-space: faces + names vs. words + ideas
Are you familiar with this face? You might be — if you are of a particular generation, if you have somewhat of an artistic bent, if you pay attention to popular media, and so on. [1] This is an image of a musician performing on stage as part of a duo that created a bunch… Continue reading bruh-space: faces + names vs. words + ideas
The Irrational Frontier
One thing I haven’t talked about (perhaps even haven’t considered) enough is the “no man’s land” that separates rational media from irrational media. [1] This is nothing new. Shakespeare quite obviously invented “new” (and improved?) words. Strings like “Anthropic” and / or “Perplexity” might be meaningful to you (or not) primarily depending on which linguistic… Continue reading The Irrational Frontier
Indigena Revisited
I hope I didn’t give anyone too much of “Great Expectations” last week, when I suggested for you to tune in again this week for more enlightenment. Enlightenment is not something that happens at the drop of a hat … it crystallizes slowly. And just as trustworthy information is fertile ground for growth in enlightenment,… Continue reading Indigena Revisited
Socio Business blog 