Twitteretter

There are two types of money. Money made by working, performing tasks demanded by your occupation, and money made by other means, such as investing or gambling (these two activities can be very different or almost identical depending on each individual’s approach to the former). We seem to derive more pleasure from money made the second way. I have observed that, presented with a speculation opportunity which promises the possibility of large, easy financial returns, most of us, even those typically uninterested in wealth, excitedly jump at it. This is interesting, as one would think that money earnt by effort and toil and by performing duties well should provide more satisfaction. But it does not. I think the reason is that anyone, or almost anyone, can earn money by working, but earning money by investing or gambling makes us feel clever, different to others, special. It feels like a prize to our ingenuity, boldness and courage, earnt by our talent, rather than a salary for our toil ...

Newspaper and article headlines were born as a means to summarise the content of the article, allowing readers to make a judgement, when prioritising, as to what to read. They were a significant innovation, as they allowed newspapers to be read in a different way to books, and thus spread their usefulness beyond the dilettante classes who had the time to read the whole thing. As a result, newspaper reading became, over time, a mainstream activity. Headlines have evolved, however. At some point, they became marketing means to get readers to select your article or pick your newspaper. Tools to cloud your judgement, getting you to read what each media producer wants, not what you would otherwise select. I am not sure who to blame (or credit) or when this happened, although I imagine it was contemporaneous with the incorporation of behavioural psychology to marketing in other industries in the 70s. But, nowadays, the headline mainly tells me what I will not be able to find in the article L...