Weekly I/O: What is Advertising, Must we change the foot if the shoe doesn’t fit, You can see everyone's tax return in Norway
#76: Advertising is salesmanship, ADHD and Environmental Mismatch, Transparent Tax Return, Action-Thoughts Alignment, Magic in Work Avoided
Hi friends,
Greetings from Mountain View!
Here's your weekly dose of I/O. I hope you enjoy it!
Input
Here's a list of what I'm exploring and pondering on this week.
1. Advertising is salesmanship. Successes and failures in both lines are due to like causes. Thus, every advertising question should be answered by the salesperson's standards.
Book: Scientific Advertising
David Ogilvy, known as the Father of Advertising, once described the book Scientific Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins, "Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It has changed the course of my life."
In this book, Claude Hopkins emphasizes that to grasp the essence of advertising, one must start with this correct notion: "Advertising is salesmanship." Principles of advertising are principles of salesmanship. The only difference lies in scale. Advertising is multiplied salesmanship where the advertiser may appeal to thousands while the salesperson talks to one. In his words:
"The only purpose of advertising is to make sales. It is profitable or unprofitable according to its actual sales. It is not for general effect. It is not to keep your name before the people. It is not primarily to aid your other salesmen. Treat it as a salesman."
"A salesman's mistake may cost little. An advertiser's mistake may cost a thousand times that much. Be more cautious, more exacting, therefore. A mediocre salesman may affect a small part of your trade. Mediocre advertising affects all of your trade."
Therefore, a simple way to answer many advertising questions is to ask yourself, "Would it help a salesman sell the goods?" "Would it help me sell them if I met a buyer in person?" An honest answer to those questions can prevent numerous mistakes. For instance:
"Some argue for slogans, some like clever conceits. Would you use them in personal salesmanship? Can you imagine a customer whom such things would impress? If not, don't rely on them for selling in print."
"Some say "Be very brief. People will read for little." Would you say that to a salesman? With a prospect standing before him, would you confine him to any certain number of words? That would be an unthinkable handicap. So in advertising."
Honestly, the latter example felt counterintuitive to me as I typically prefer concise content. Perhaps it's time to reconsider my approach to advertising.
2. “If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?” ADHD may stem more from an environmental mismatch than a brain problem.
Book: The Ape that Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve
In Orangutans on Ritalin, the developmental psychologist Gabrielle Principe noted that:
"No animal other than us modern humans – our hunter-gatherer ancestors included – suffers ADHD. But plenty of today's elementary school children, who spend eight hours a day jammed inside a classroom, do. The American Psychiatric Association considers it a mental disorder. But it is also exactly what you'd expect if you put any juvenile (insert your choice of species here) behind a desk, made it do seatwork, told it to concentrate, and didn't let it out to play."
The conventional explanation is that ADHD is due to how the brain controls attention. Therefore, ADHD diagnoses often suggest the root of so-called problematic behaviors lies in the person rather than in the environment.
However, many kids with ADHD can focus for hours on tasks they enjoy, indicating that the issue isn't their attentional capacity but rather a lack of interest in things the world insists they should do, such as schoolwork.
Indeed, while many children adapt well to school, it doesn't suit everyone. For kids diagnosed with ADHD, traditional school is a round hole to their square peg because they would thrive in an ancestral-type environment that allows for plenty of movement and play.
So, ADHD might be more a mismatch problem than a brain problem. Though we can't just disestablish schools and let kids run wild, we should consider the words of the American feminist Gloria Steinem, "If the shoe doesn't fit, must we change the foot?"
3. In Norway, you can see everyone's tax returns and who has checked yours, which might widen the happiness gap between the rich and poor.
Article: In Norway you can see everyone's tax returns. There's a catch though
In 2001, Norwegian tax records became easily accessible online, allowing citizens to view each other's income. Likewise, in Sweden and Finland, one can access anyone's tax details with just a phone call.
Because you can search everyone's tax records online, Norwegian started developing Facebook apps that showed all your friends' income. To address privacy concerns, the government later added a twist to the policy that everyone can see who has looked at their returns (which sounds like LinkedIn's profile-viewing feature, huh).
Interestingly, a study by UCLA economics professor Ricardo Perez-Truglia suggests that Norway's transparency in tax records may have widened the happiness gap between the rich and poor by 29% and the life satisfaction gap by 21%. In other words, this makes the wealthy happier and the poor less happy (though Norway still ranks as the world's 7th happiest country).
Ricardo Perez-Truglia also poses another intriguing, yet unverified question:
“One reason why people buy really expensive boots and clothing and things like that is because they want to show off, they want to signal that they’re rich. But in Norway, when the public knows who’s rich and who’s not, what’s the point of buying these types of goods?”
4. "There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do." - Freya Stark
Quote
I care a lot about people's fulfillment with the recognition that its definition varies widely. It can mean achieving fame, acquiring wealth, helping others, or spending time with loved ones.
Despite these varied definitions, I think a universal obstacle to achieving fulfillment is the misalignment of one's actions and thoughts, which aligns closely with this quote in The Journey's Echo from the British-Italian explorer and travel writer Freya Stark.
5. "The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding."
Quote
In case you need some maybe-cliche-but-useful motivation.
Output
Here's what I've published since the last time we met.
1. Inside the Mind of the Legendary Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto
Some more intriguing pieces and reflections on life, music, and death from How Many More Times Will I Watch the Full Moon Rise?
That's it. Thanks for reading. Please share which input you found the most helpful or intriguing. Just reply to this email with a number—it's quick and easy!
And as always, feel free to send me any interesting ideas you came across recently!
Looking forward to learning from you.
Cheers,
Cheng-Wei