Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

jacek.zlydach.pl

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

651–657 of 657 posts

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#651

Post by yellowapple »

magduf wrote: post #647
yellowapple wrote: post #645

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you have the means, though I don't, at least not comfortably (I probably could swing buying a newer car, but it'd definitely be painful). There are millions of Americans out there for whom that's probably out of the question entirely. And then there's the people who can't afford streaming radio (and/or a device + data plan to actually stream it) or buying music outright, or otherwise don't want to pay for those…

>I don't, at least not comfortably (I probably could swing buying a newer car, but it'd definitely be painful) Remember also, older cars cost a lot: they might not cost much to buy, but they cost a lot to keep running, because of repair costs. If you do your own work and have the time, this might not be a big issue, but for a lot of people it definitely is, and it's why they trade up to a newer car every so often: th…

I feel like I'm at a dealership, lol

No, my repair costs + price of my current car ain't anywhere near what it'd cost to buy a newer car, at least not yet (if it gets to that point where it really is cheaper to buy a newer car than to fix my current one, then fine, but so far that hasn't been the case). This kind of assumption also hinges on the idea that newer cars don't break down as often (which may be true statistically, but is nowhere near guaranteed).

At best, one could argue that I'd save a lot in gas due to efficiency gains and/or electric drivetrains. That's probably true in the case of electrics, which is why I'm saving up to that effect, but those are - unfortunately - pretty expensive, especially for my needs (I routinely haul enough stuff to justify at least an SUV, if not an outright truck). In any other case, it'd take a long time to get to break-even.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#652

Post by magduf »

yellowapple wrote: post #651
magduf wrote: post #647

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I don't, at least not comfortably (I probably could swing buying a newer car, but it'd definitely be painful) Remember also, older cars cost a lot: they might not cost much to buy, but they cost a lot to keep running, because of repair costs. If you do your own work and have the time, this might not be a big issue, but for a lot of people it definitely is, and it's why they trade up to a newer car every so often: th…

I feel like I'm at a dealership, lol No, my repair costs + price of my current car ain't anywhere near what it'd cost to buy a newer car, at least not yet (if it gets to that point where it really is cheaper to buy a newer car than to fix my current one, then fine, but so far that hasn't been the case). This kind of assumption also hinges on the idea that newer cars don't break down as often (which may be true statis…

Depending on how much work you do on your own car, and how long you keep it, new cars may not be a great investment, since they depreciate so rapidly. Basically there's a bathtub curve: too-old cars have very high repair costs, and too-new cars have high depreciation. So if you really want to be frugal, you want a car that's between 2 and 10 years old I think, depending on your finances and what you want to drive.

>This kind of assumption also hinges on the idea that newer cars don't break down as often (which may be true statistically, but is nowhere near guaranteed).

It's absolutely true statistically. It might not be guaranteed because there are lemons out there (as well as Chryslers...), but in general it's absolutely true: machines wear out over time so of course older cars have more things breaking on them. But some are definitely better than others. I know someone with an '01 Toyota Camry with 300,000 miles on it and it's still running great, though it's needed a few minor body things fixed (like a side mirror, probably broken by getting hit by something). I wouldn't expect an '01 Chevy to be that reliable, and certainly not an '01 Chrysler.

>I routinely haul enough stuff to justify at least an SUV, if not an outright truck

My suggestion here if you want to save gas is (assuming whatever you're hauling isn't too heavy, and this is an occasional task and not everyday) to get a car, add a tow hitch, and get a 4x8 utility trailer. I had one of these for a while and it was pretty fantastic for things like hauling appliances or furniture in town.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#653

Post by Zeklandia »

solipsism wrote: post #631
Zeklandia wrote: post #625

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Good thing there's no authority telling us why we exist and we're each free to decide for ourselves. You aren't. Everything you do, even doing nothing, has consequences that are beyond your control. Even worse, your actions have consequences not just for you but for others, even people who don't yet exist. We only exist today because generation after generation of the people that came before us have worked together…

Doing what we are here to do. Life exists because the universe had latent potential that unthinking matter could not release. The whole universe is working to exhaust its potential. Intelligent life is just another step in that process. Haha... yeah ok. I know better than to try to convince religious people that their irrational views are baseless. It never gets anywhere. But you snuck by my guard because your religi…

I'm not sure what you think religion is. But this is not religion, nor is it baseless. In fact, the opposite. This is ordinary, empirical science.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#654

Post by JoeAltmaier »

Zeklandia wrote: post #653
solipsism wrote: post #631

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doing what we are here to do. Life exists because the universe had latent potential that unthinking matter could not release. The whole universe is working to exhaust its potential. Intelligent life is just another step in that process. Haha... yeah ok. I know better than to try to convince religious people that their irrational views are baseless. It never gets anywhere. But you snuck by my guard because your religi…

I'm not sure what you think religion is. But this is not religion, nor is it baseless. In fact, the opposite. This is ordinary, empirical science.

Gotta admit is sounds like pretty spooky-lukey crystal pyramid stuff. Stringing sciency words together doesn't qualify as real science.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#655

Post by therealdrag0 »

wpietri wrote: post #578
dragonsngoblins wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even with absolutely 0 advertising I probably wouldn't be working to build apartments for the homeless. Sure maybe I'm not seeing some movie, or buying some piece of chocolate I heard discovered through advertising but in that case I'm going to be spending my time watching/reading/playing/indulging in various other hobbies and vices and any money I would otherwise have spent I'd be saving. Absolutely no benefit to fu…

You believe these things about yourself, but it's not like you have much evidence, so maybe consider the alternatives. One function of advertising is demand generation. It makes people believe they need things they don't. The broad message of most ads is "spend more money to be successful/popular/happy". Is it really impossible to think that if people stopped getting told that all day long they'd focus less on spendi…

Well yes, but that doesn't mean those "other things" are not entertainment related. I am not a very lavish spender myself. I rarely buy things and have ad-block on every platform I use. However, I read books, or exercise, or hangout with friends and discuss theoretical topics. My lack of major participation in consumerism, doesn't de facto lead me to become a saintful servant. Everyone is different, but one of my key drivers is mental stimulation; this is a big reason I read so much and advertising has nothing to do with that.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#657

Post by Zeklandia »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #654
Zeklandia wrote: post #653

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what you think religion is. But this is not religion, nor is it baseless. In fact, the opposite. This is ordinary, empirical science.

Gotta admit is sounds like pretty spooky-lukey crystal pyramid stuff. Stringing sciency words together doesn't qualify as real science.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." ―Arthur C. Clarke

Wikipedia has several articles about these phenomena (e.g., information theory, thermodynamics):

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_level

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastability

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_vacuum

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_in_thermodynamics_and_...

PBS Space Time has some great videos on the cosmological side of all this. Their video "Are You a Boltzmann Brain?" does a great job of explaining entropy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhy4Z_32kQo

Kurzgesagt has some entertaining videos on the subject, too:

* The Most Dangerous Stuff in the Universe - Strange Stars Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_8yK2kmxoo

* The Most Efficient Way to Destroy the Universe – False Vacuum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijFm6DxNVyI

Most of this is unnecessary for the subject of this thread, which is more about biology, ecology, and evolution than physics.

Post reply on HN