The volunteers knew the taste of strawberries perfectly well. That was the problem. The associations that came with the word “strawberry” overwhelmed the taste of chocolate. Every trickster’s hope, says Jim Steinmeyer, who designs illusions for magicians, is “finding smart people who bring a lot to the table — cultural experience, shared expectations, preconceptions. The more they bring, the more there is to work with, and the easier it is to get the audience to make allowances — to reach the ‘right’ conclusion and unwittingly participate in the deception.” - steve portigal
Yet another article on kosher technology "But Zomet has invented Sabbath-friendly wheelchairs, sound systems and elevators that stop on each floor, and developed a Shabbat scooter with Michigan-based Amigo Mobility International." - steve portigal
"After tons of testing and research, The Audrey, a kitchen computer designed for women, promised to be the next big thing. It flopped. Alex Cohen talks with Don Fotsch, co-creator of The Audrey about why the device failed." Utterly content-free; they talk about how great Audrey is and simply blame the bubble bursting for the failure. It was the economy, it wasn't us. I'd like to see a better analysis. Anyone got one? - steve portigal
Douglas Rushkoff's 2004 PBS special about "What's going on in the world of today's marketers and advertisers? What are the new and surprising methods they're using to decipher who we are and what we want? And where is this taking us?" - steve portigal
I don't agree with the term "tricking" in the headline of the article, but some interesting examples of persuasion around social issues (teen pregnancy, smoking, messy urination, etc.) - steve portigal
Alcatel-Lucent, the parent company of Bell Labs, is pulling out of basic science, material physics and semiconductor research and will instead be focusing on more immediately marketable areas such as networking, high-speed electronics, wireless, nanotechnology and software. The idea is to align the research work in the Lab closer to areas that the parent company is focusing on, says Peter Benedict, spokesperson for Bell Labs and Alcatel-Lucent Ventures. "In the new innovation model, research needs to keep addressing the need of the mother company." - steve portigal
