Gus Van Horn blog Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 The Weekly Standard brings us an amusing evisceration of an entire genre of advertising, journalism, and what could only be very generously termed pop science: All that's required is a catchy theme--"Generation Nice" is perfect--and a thick filter to block distractions or contrary evidence from entering in. As corrected, [ New York Timesstaffer and "public 'intellectual'" Sam] Tanenhaus's story begins by denouncing the common charge of millennial narcissism. It is a canard, he insists, a cheap shot. How does he know? The correction notice for the article, as indicated by the Standard, has severed all factual links between the conclusions made in the article and reality. As for what might motivate such silliness, the article pretty much nails it. It's never pretty when journalists cross-pollinate with academics. The hacks, clutching "data" and "studies," take on the bogus authority of the eggheads, and the eggheads, startled by the thought that somebody might at last pay attention to their work, reach for the mindless sensationalism of the hacks. Entire segments of Good Morning Americaand the NBC Nightly News often result. Things only get worse when the academics and the journalists collide with marketing consultants, each of them appealing to the authority of the others. The sharp-edged world in which people live and act slips away, and a gauzy world of focus groups and surveys takes its place. I would further speculate that the respective desires for authority and attention often derive from a deep-down suspicion that one isn't really engaging in productive work, or at least a failure to understand what that would entail. The article draws an apt parallel between this and astrology, but it could have gone further, such as by considering some of the many thinking errors (Search "satisfied customer" and see links in following text.) made by their respective fans. -- CAV PS: As of this morning, a quick Google search reveals that I am not the first to come up with the neologism in my title. That said, it doesn't show up at Word Spy, although sevensilly generational labels do. Link to Original Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epistemologue Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 "The article draws an apt parallel between this and astrology" - what article?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dream_weaver Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 (edited) The one linked through "evisceration" in the first sentence to "Millennial Mongers" Edited September 24, 2014 by dream_weaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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