Mass Media Manipulates: Balancing Awareness & Trend Adoption

A person without a sense of humour is like a waggon without springs jolted by every pebble in the road.
Henry Ward Beecher 1813-1887, American Preacher, Orator, Writer

Mass Media: The Puppeteer of Everything

Updated Feb 27, 2024

Amid the chaos – wars, soaring budget deficits, inflation, experts predicting a meltdown in equity and commodities, and a housing market teetering on the brink of collapse – we thought it apt to offer some light-hearted musings. At the very least, we hope to elicit a chuckle, if not outright laughter, from our readers.

Consider this: without thought, there is no thinker. It is the thought that creates the thinker.

And here’s a curious phrase we often use: “I am going to do this from the bottom of my heart.” Why not from the top of our hearts? Could we be holding back, giving less than our all, hence we say we’re doing it from the bottom?

The Pursuit of Perfection?

For a man to achieve perfection, two essential qualities must be cultivated in harmony: compassion and wisdom. Compassion embodies love, charity, kindness, tolerance, and other attributes of the heart. Wisdom, on the other hand, represents the intellectual faculties of the mind, such as logic and rationality. Both qualities are crucial for development; focusing on one at the expense of the other can lead to imbalance, a misguided sense of knowledge, or self-satisfaction. Overemphasizing emotional development can result in a well-intentioned fool while overemphasising intellectual development can create a cold, unfeeling intellect. To attain perfection, one must strive to develop both qualities equally.

Mass Media Manipulates: The Perspective Shift

Consider the phrase “circle of friends” we often use rather than “line of friends”. What does being at the centre of a circle imply? It suggests a form of closure, a barrier against the outside world. Thus, when we talk about our “circle of friends”, we’re essentially saying that we’re closing ourselves off from new experiences. This concept can be extended to the markets and the advisors we follow. We tend to associate with those who share our beliefs; worse, we pay advisors who echo what we want to hear. If they dare to deviate, we react angrily and contemplate severing ties.

Have you ever wondered why we look down when ashamed or belittled? Sure, we aim to avoid eye contact because we feel inferior, but why not look up and beyond those trying to diminish us?

When we decide to marry, we use the term “settle down”. But why “down”? Why not “settle up”? Shouldn’t we be better off when we unite with one another? If the angle of observation is manipulated, it can significantly alter a person’s perspective.

Mass Media Manipulates: The Misconception of Teamwork

From a young age, we’re inundated with the idea of working for the group’s benefit and being a team player. But let’s scrutinize this concept. If you’re constantly prioritizing the group’s interests over your own, how can you truly understand what’s beneficial for the group if you’re oblivious to your own needs?

Shouldn’t we identify our self-interests and understand what’s good for us? Only then can we possibly begin to consider the group’s interests. The current system is inherently flawed because those who are supposed to advocate for our interests are often unaware of their own. The inevitable outcome is a catastrophe. And if you take a moment to observe, do you see genuine teamwork in action?

Mass Media manipulates Perceptions.

Relationship: A Voyage of Two

The operative word here is ‘ship’, and as is commonly known, a ship can only have one captain. If there are more, it’s destined to sink sooner or later. This principle holds true for any relationship as well. When two individuals attempt to share power, it often results in chaos, which is why many relationships (particularly marriages) tend to hit the rocks.

I think I understand, or I Believe I Understand

Often, people use this phrase to suggest that they have a reasonable understanding of a particular topic. However, it’s a paradox – you can’t simultaneously think about and know something.

If you know something, there’s no need to think about it, and if you’re thinking about it, you can’t truly know it – in other words, you’re not entirely sure.

So, when someone uses this phrase, what they might actually be implying is, “I’m just as confused as you are and have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing or saying.”

United, we stated, and divided, we fall.

Not if you break away in advance and let all the losers fall down by themselves. That’s what mass psychology is about spotting the weak links and moving away just before those links snap or, on the flip side, spotting the weak links and taking a position before they suddenly strengthen.

A stitch in time could save nine.

That is true, provided it was put in the right place; otherwise, it could result in 20.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Provided you have not mistaken poison for the cure, then the concept of cure is out the window, and all that comes to mind is funeral arrangements.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Well, that depends on whether it’s alive or dead.

A penny saved is a penny earned

Not when you take inflation into consideration

The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.

Henry L. Mencken

Words that Resonate: Memorable Articles

Stock Market Manipulation: The Dominion of Financial Engineers

Feb 29, 2024 A Financial Engineer's Guide to Avoiding Stock Market Manipulation Pitfalls In the shadowy corridors of high finance, ...