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by jlj
2022 days ago
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"The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer. There are many men who feel a kind of twister pride in cynicism; there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt. There is no more unhealthy being, no man less worthy of respect, than he who either really holds, or feigns to hold, an attitude of sneering disbelief toward all that is great and lofty, whether in achievement or in that noble effort which, even if it fails, comes to second achievement. A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities — all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. They mark the men unfit to bear their part painfully in the stern strife of living, who seek, in the affection of contempt for the achievements of others, to hide from others and from themselves in their own weakness. The role is easy; there is none easier, save only the role of the man who sneers alike at both criticism and performance." https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/04/30/theodore-roosevelt-... |
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Since you're doing this, I'm guessing that you have been a cynic before, and you can see it in others very clearly... and now that you've seen the light, you want others in the position you were in before, see the light too? That's great. I may be misreading it, because, again, I can only read my own mind. So, you may want to correct me.
Anyways, here's the thing. I'm not coming from the cynical position at all. I love how the PR industry works. It is fascinating to me that they are very meticulous and elaborate. I'm a fan of Edward Bernays, the father of PR. I have physical copies of all his books, even the ones that he didn't finish writing and were posthumously published. He didn't start it, but he formalized it as a discipline so anyone can use it and now everyone does.
I have also worked for a company which has their own PR department. The PR representatives wrote articles (sometimes on the behalf of the CEO or CTO and sometimes handed pre-written information to journalists which they could publish with minor modifications). The articles are published everywhere, from local newspapers to forbes, businessinsider, ft, nyt, cnn... you name it. It's fascinating. The information is often times two or three steps removed from the product and reads like any informative news article or some strong opinions from experts or take on other products or reviews of related ones.
So, when I see these patterns, it makes sense that is exactly what is happening.
Also, obligatory link to Paul Graham article on the subject: http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html