I thought the section about the psychology of deception was interesting. Ultimately, the human mind wants to depend on the beliefs and information it already knows; even if evidence opposing the ideas are overwhelming. One aspect of the article touches again on the notion that language does our thinking for us. This idea is something that we cannot avoid. Overall, I agree with the concept. It isn't a matter of intelligence, but rather a matter of whether or not we take the intiative to stop and look at the larger picture. In doing so we can identify fact from fiction or override the beliefs that we hold onto. However, many individuals hold what they hear as truth, especially if it matches what they already think. As a result we end up holding onto bad information.
Overall, I really enjoyed the psychological route of the chapter. The study of the mind is something that I have always been interested in and it was neat to see it applied to propaganda. There are many traps that the mind can fall into, which prevent us from being informed accurately. By taking a closer look at these traps and concepts I feel that I will look twice as close at a particular ad, campaign, etc. in hopes to find the honest truth of the matter. Ultimately this is the objective of the text, which is to get us to take a better look at propaganda and find the truth within it.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
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I agree that this article makes you look closer at the information that you are receiving and assuming is true. I also liked the psychological aspect of the chapter as well. I thought that the traps that were described were very interesting and made me think of the traps that I've fallen for in the past. This chapter really makes you wonder how much information you believe to be true really is true.
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading you're blog entry!