Week 4 Responses

1.
The section relating to LA Law personally intrigued me because of a certain case and how it was presented to the jury. A movie of the defendant getting beaten by police was allowed to be shown as evidence, but it had been edited and slowed down to make it seem less violent than it actually was. Something can be edited beyond original recognition these days and it made me think of the Dove evolution PSA. If everything on TV is edited to control how we think, we lose our personality and creativity.
Another topic in the next chapter that got me thinking was the magazine demographic studies. As it turns out, many magazines have devoted readers, and through these readers and their interests, the magazines gain valuable information on who else they can target. For instance, GQ readers are trendsetting men; they are hip, affluent, and above all influential. Maxim readers are men who aren't interested in fashion, they're interested in clothes. "He's a man who has arrived, but is still going places". If magazines can make these bold statements about their readers, can't advertising companies target certain audiences in the same way?
2.
The thesis of the article is that even though our brains are developing at a rate faster than ever before, today's technology is making thinking for yourself a thing of the past.
When Cascio writes about the frightening thought of what life in 2030 will be like, it was as if he had read my mind. If we think of this time incrementally however, it doesn't seem too surprising what new things we will come up with. Take modern discoveries for example. As they are unveiled each year, they are regarded as breakthrough technology, but we become so used to new things that they almost become obsolete in the next year or two. I also agree that as more digital technology we rely on becomes faster and smarter, we do as well. Our brains are adapting to new technologies and this is also true the other way around.
Something I don't agree with in Cascio's article is the use of cognitive-enhancing drugs, and how he says that if you aren't using them, you will fall behind other's intelligence. I believe these drugs are only for people who can't focus their minds in the first place, and in no way is it "cheating".
3.
-Marketing companies have thousands of resources and ways to collect demographic information to better target consumers.
-Corporations are now regarding their products as cultures, specifically Song Airlines' take on providing a brand new experience in flight.
-Product loyalty can be researched and paired up with reasons why people join cults and other organizations.
-Ads can't just be 30 second clips anymore between shows, they have to now be incorporated into the actual shows, to the point where we wouldn't even think twice about their advertising.
-Researchers can now define words such as luxury, and make people think that this is what they need in their life.