4 ms·
I wanted to complain about the title not really making the right distinction, that fear is not a product but a sales method. However, the author actually unders
by erikb 9y ago
I wanted to complain about the title not really making the right distinction, that fear is not a product but a sales method. However, the author actually understands that distinction and really talks about fear being the product. That also implies that people desire fear and that fear is produced with industrial efficiency.
Interesting thought.
- rednerrus 9y agoThis is what makes horror movies sell, right?
- SAI_Peregrinus 9y agoFor most of them, yes. But horror is (or at least can be) distinct from fear. "The Silence of The Lambs" is horrifying, but not necessarily considered a horror movie. Likewise "Apocalypse Now", which is mostly about the emotion of horror, but not designed to frighten in any way.
- rfrank 9y ago>That also implies that people desire fear and that fear is produced with industrial efficiency. Or, that what people consume and what they desire aren't always the same things.
- tinym 9y agoAt the very least: * What people buy * What people want * What people say they want * What people would actually enjoy * ...
- pier25 9y agoWhat is most interesting to me is that people do not know what they want or what they are really consuming.
- erikb 9y agoYeah, I also often think about that. We act based of a set of needs. But we don't even need to know what these needs are to continue trying to satisfy them.
- nerdponx 9y agoAre people looking for fear, or validation for their fears?
- bobwaycott 9y agoAre people capable of distinguishing the difference?
- QAPereo 9y agoI don't think people crave fear, they crave stimulation. Joy is much harder to manufacture than dread, and dread makes people act in a predictable, often-profitable manner. In other words, people don't want to be bored more than anything else, and the rest is just about the most stimulating things on offer.
- nowarninglabel 9y ago>Joy is much harder to manufacture than dread Is it though? And is it just harder in our current configuration or absolutely harder no matter how resources are allocated? I'd argue that Joy is easier/cheaper to produce, we just haven't optimized for it (yet).
- Swizec 9y agoJoy is fleeting, fear is forever. Manufacturing joy is easy, yes. Tie a counter to a semi-random process that's semi-controlled by a human and they experience joy when the counter goes up. The so called slot machine. THis is how HackerNews karma, Facebook notifications, your email inbox, and other addictive activities are designed. You experience momentary joy. But fear, fear is forever. How many fears have you been dragging on since childhood that never seem to go away no matter how irrational they are? Could've been from a single event like watching a scary movie about a clown, or a case of near-drowning, or ... well there's a lot of common phobias. The list can go on forever. You always need to make a new slot machine. You rarely need to make a new fear.
- nowarninglabel 9y agoI think that's a fair point, but would argue that it's likely not true for a sizable amount of the population (e.g. my childhood fears have mostly left me). But further, there are lots of services which actually sell getting past your fears, perhaps they are just not selling well enough yet to overcome the amount of fear being produced continuously? Mainly, just questioning how much it is "forever" fear vs. a constant influx of new fear.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]