Marketing tends to target human aspirations. That is a broad theme which is used stateside to snare the gullibles. It has reached heightened proportions with everything from water to phones to cars being labeled as smart. Clearly we see a trend that highlights the fact that people are not - smart. That they are aspiring to be and therefore affiliating to these items that are labeled smart hoping some of it would rub off.
The only thing that gets rubbed off amongst this aspirational generation is their petty bank balance. But no matter. Soon they are amongst the most talked about and hip crowd who having seen the smartness they exude have also jumped on the bandwagon and are now all sporting smart water bottles in one hand juggling the smart phone in the other.
But wait don't text and drive - also don't drink and drive - even if its a smart car! Some may have managed to shove their device down their throat while pouring water in their ear. Oops!
Time magazine did a cover story recently about how these self-absorbed, texting and picture taking jobless youth would actually help our civilization but I don't feel that cheerful. On the other hand one has to realize that the luxury of zero fee credit is only possible to a select few when there are tons of lackluster, texting cardholders that default and keep the bankers happy.
Here is another essay on the subject of first names. As in birth names. Or names provided to an offspring at birth. While the developed world tends to shy away from the exotic like Refrigerator or Coca Cola for their new production there is a plethora of Jims and Johns and Bobs or Robs. Speaking of which I do not think there is a categoric decision point at the time of birth if a child will be hereafter called as Bob. I mean have not yet met a toddler called Bob or Rob for that matter. At some point though the parental instinct to mouth out multiple syllables runs out and they switch from calling the crawler Robert to simply Robbie to Rob. Now speaking of - it is strange that the name sounds like something you would not want Rob to do - i.e. Rob anyone. Then why call someone that? After all Rob Peter to Pay Paul is not exactly a maxim to live a young life? Is it? Perhaps Peter or Paul might want to have a say in it? Then there is this matter of going to the John. Why degrad...
Maybe the time is ripe to have a new theory- that the total smartness (or idiocy-that sounds more interesting) in the world remains constant. Smart people are being replaced by the gadgets.
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