Advertising is about persuasion. Companies spend billions of dollars per year trying to convince us to buy their products. But sometimes, rigorous philosophical training can help us avoid that influence. Consider the following ad:
Only deep immersion in Immanuel Kant helped me recognize the flaws in this reasoning!
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) It has been well publicized that premiums for Obamacare insurance plans have been rising at a disturbing rate. Local news is filled with reports of 21.5%, 36.3% and even higher price hikes. President Trump complained in February that Obamacare premiums “have increased by double and triple digits,” even remarking that premiums in Arizona “went up 116%…
Here is a picture, courtesy of the Financial Times, showing obesity rates among OECD nations. Only 5% of people living in Korea and Japan qualify as obese. Yet obesity rates are drastically higher in the United States; if someone’s in American, there is practically a 4 in 10 chance they are obese. Not something to…
Here is a news article from Canada, experiencing the kind of healthcare inflation that causes them to call experts in the U.S. for advice—people like me, but also some actual credible authorities! Some see it as an eternal struggle: the goodhearted doctor championing the best treatments, no matter the cost, while doing battle against the…
Here’s a picture from a New England Journal of Medicine article showing that in 2015 and 2016, Obamacare premiums grew more slowly than private insurance premiums rose before the law came into effect: The Obamacare markets are new and unsettled. But so far they aren’t leading to runaway inflation. But what will happen to these…
President Ronald Reagan was famous for espousing anti-government views. To this day, he is lionized by Republicans, who frequently quote his “less is more” attitudes towards government. Which makes it kind of ironic that when he was in office, Republican faith in government rose significantly. In fact, when you ask people whether they trust the…
It is gratifying to occasionally see some of my blog posts picked up and developed by other folks, to spread the word about the topics I care about. Here is a blog post, and a video, that expands on one of my recent Forbes essays. Increase sales, add excitement to the store, and you’re set….