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.
I attempted to read this book by author Chuck Klosterman backward to forward but it started hurting my brain so I decided to stop and do it like any other publication in the English language. Start from page 1 and move to the right. Witty, caustic and thought provoking this is a book you want to read if you believe that the status quo might, just might be wrong. At times bordering on being contrarian about most things around us it tries to zero in on the notion of what makes anything believable and certain in our minds. The fact that there is a fact itself is ironic. Something analogous to the idea that you can never predict the future because there is no future. Many books and movies have tried to play on this concept - best that I recollect (I think I am) was 'The Truman Show'. This book by Klosterman attempts to provoke the reader to at least contemplate that what they think they know may be wrong. He uses examples like concept of gravity, and how it ...
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.
ReplyDelete