The Perils of Copywriting
One fine day in 2013, when I was in grade three, still oblivious to the trials and tribulations in life, I was at school. Yawning after a good lunch hour, my drooping eyes failed to decipher what my teacher was trying to achieve by making us do copywriting (also known as Handwriting) . I was sure that I was a "big girl now" and that copywriting was for mere children. It felt unfair that my parents were at home, probably getting to sleep off their noontime after a great meal whilst I spent my long, long afternoons writing letter after letter, word after word and sentence after sentence- "The cow gives us milk".
Many years later, with me doing my degree in Physics, my second year to be precise, I finally understand how copywriting affected my childhood and my thinking- or rather, how it BADLY affected my perceptions. The education system, having been framed by humans, undeniably has it's flaws. It reflects the macho, all-knowing mentality of the typical homo sapien- a thinking that they were above anything and everything. Hubris. Human ego.
About one year after the copywriting incident, when I was in Grade 4 and I truly started believing that I was actually a "big girl now", our school conducted a Light Music Competition. There was a boy in our class (whom we will be referring to as Banjo, for I fear his wrath). My eyes used to turn sour looking at him. Somewhere underneath was probably a handsome boy's features, which was hidden under a constantly runny nose which he continually wiped on his shirt, a lopsided pant which precariously hanged on a weak belt and his overall shabby upkeep. No one ever though Banjo was capable of doing anything right- even standing without toppling over. Which is exactly why it was a surprise to all when he opened his mouth to sing for the competition. It was angelic, mesmerizing and other worldly; I never expected Banjo to sing, but he did. From what I know now, he is a professional singer and it lights my heart up to know that he is no longer judged by the way he presents himself (though now he has improved his appearances), but by who he truly is inside. There might be many other Banjos amongst us, hidden under guises that are circulated as truths; A face value infused at the beginning- our first impressions. I ask of you, nay, beg of you, to overlook such premonitions and give everyone and everything a chance.
I hope you keep in mind the dangers of having unchanging perceptions while I take up web surfing- in particular, an article which struck my attention when I was doing my research for this blogpost, titled "Animals and their contribution to the Indian Freedom Fight".
References:
1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/our-human-condition/202401/life-doesnt-make-sense
2. Stephen G. Michaud, Hugh Aynesworth; Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer.
3. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "steam engine". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Dec. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/technology/steam-engine. Accessed 13 January 2024.
Many years later, with me doing my degree in Physics, my second year to be precise, I finally understand how copywriting affected my childhood and my thinking- or rather, how it BADLY affected my perceptions. The education system, having been framed by humans, undeniably has it's flaws. It reflects the macho, all-knowing mentality of the typical homo sapien- a thinking that they were above anything and everything. Hubris. Human ego.
My further research into this matter left me insecure about the way humans view the world. Allow me to elaborate.
Consider, for example, the very sentence I mentioned earlier. "The cow gives us milk". Now look carefully at each and every word in the sentence. Dissect it. Attempt to understand and empathize with the statement. Feel it in your veins.
You will understand how the sentence is a downright lie.
It is an utterly false statement. Cows do not give us milk. We take milk from them. The audacity of man to assume to own, to claim what is not his and then frame the helpless, the voiceless- it is astounding how heartless man can be. Which is why I am going to rant on about my justified reason to lament.
Milk is a colloidal substance, mainly comprised of calcium, carbohydrates, lactose (and endless other compounds- or so a birdie told me) formed within the body of mammals for the nourishment of their young ones. Which means that a cow's milk is basically cow food. Yet we continue drinking it. I cannot fathom whether the reason behind this atrocity is because people do not comprehend this obvious fact or because they choose to ignore it. As a matter of fact, they choose to ingrain this dangerous piece of misinformation into children's brains, compelling them to write and rewrite these sentences day after day as a part of what they call "copywriting" while it is just another form of manipulation into making humans assume that they are entitled to milk and if a cow fails to GIVE milk, we are entitled to TAKE it.
Likewise, Hens do not GIVE eggs (which are basically it's children, though some hens eat their eggs but they are psycho hens and that is another story), Sheep will NEVER willingly part with it's wool and I doubt that any Fish might be fine with giving it's life away so that we can gulp up fish oil tablets.
Consider, for example, the very sentence I mentioned earlier. "The cow gives us milk". Now look carefully at each and every word in the sentence. Dissect it. Attempt to understand and empathize with the statement. Feel it in your veins.
You will understand how the sentence is a downright lie.
It is an utterly false statement. Cows do not give us milk. We take milk from them. The audacity of man to assume to own, to claim what is not his and then frame the helpless, the voiceless- it is astounding how heartless man can be. Which is why I am going to rant on about my justified reason to lament.
Milk is a colloidal substance, mainly comprised of calcium, carbohydrates, lactose (and endless other compounds- or so a birdie told me) formed within the body of mammals for the nourishment of their young ones. Which means that a cow's milk is basically cow food. Yet we continue drinking it. I cannot fathom whether the reason behind this atrocity is because people do not comprehend this obvious fact or because they choose to ignore it. As a matter of fact, they choose to ingrain this dangerous piece of misinformation into children's brains, compelling them to write and rewrite these sentences day after day as a part of what they call "copywriting" while it is just another form of manipulation into making humans assume that they are entitled to milk and if a cow fails to GIVE milk, we are entitled to TAKE it.
Likewise, Hens do not GIVE eggs (which are basically it's children, though some hens eat their eggs but they are psycho hens and that is another story), Sheep will NEVER willingly part with it's wool and I doubt that any Fish might be fine with giving it's life away so that we can gulp up fish oil tablets.
(I cannot help but feel a bit hypocritical, but the moment has passed)
Paralyzed (metaphorically, of course) by this painful revelation, I attempted to decode many other copywriting sentences to discover more lies, like "The sun rises in the east". Ah, but it does not!
Before you all start pelting me with figurative stones, I ask of you the patience to analyze this sentence. The sun truly DOES NOT rise in the east. In fact, the sun does not move at all. It is situated in the middle of the solar system doing absolutely nothing! (I personally think that it is the laziest celestial body in the solar system). I can also vouch (with many references) that it is we, the earthlings who are in motion due to the continuous rotation and revolution of the earth around the sun. This movement of earth from the sun's west to east makes it SEEM as if the sun were moving. It is basic relative motion- Grade 4 science!
It is all a matter of perception. We, as children, were bombarded with a lot of facts and demanded to accept it as "universal truths". Very few question it- It is agreed worldwide for a reason, after all. Which is why we, as humans, must embrace our curiosity and question everything. Change our perspective. Look into the rhythm.
Check out another sentence- "The earth is round". This you many know the answer to. The earth is not round, as one may wrongly presume, but instead is oblate, like a round boiled egg which got squished at the top and bottom, and slightly tilted sideways.
Paralyzed (metaphorically, of course) by this painful revelation, I attempted to decode many other copywriting sentences to discover more lies, like "The sun rises in the east". Ah, but it does not!
Before you all start pelting me with figurative stones, I ask of you the patience to analyze this sentence. The sun truly DOES NOT rise in the east. In fact, the sun does not move at all. It is situated in the middle of the solar system doing absolutely nothing! (I personally think that it is the laziest celestial body in the solar system). I can also vouch (with many references) that it is we, the earthlings who are in motion due to the continuous rotation and revolution of the earth around the sun. This movement of earth from the sun's west to east makes it SEEM as if the sun were moving. It is basic relative motion- Grade 4 science!
It is all a matter of perception. We, as children, were bombarded with a lot of facts and demanded to accept it as "universal truths". Very few question it- It is agreed worldwide for a reason, after all. Which is why we, as humans, must embrace our curiosity and question everything. Change our perspective. Look into the rhythm.
Check out another sentence- "The earth is round". This you many know the answer to. The earth is not round, as one may wrongly presume, but instead is oblate, like a round boiled egg which got squished at the top and bottom, and slightly tilted sideways.
"Water is tasteless, colorless and odorless" this might be partially true, but it depends on where you are standing. Dirty water can have taste (thought not a good one. Trust me, I have tried), may have color if the dirt is a soluble solute, and odor depending on the water body.
My Twelfth Grade English teacher used to tell us that the steam engine was found in such a way- a change of perspective. For centuries, women have cooked food and have witnessed steam rising out of a pan, unsettling lids which were precariously placed on them. Yet not one of them thought it could be harnessed as a potential energy source. Only recently did a man think so, and it is because of this man- one Mr. Thomas Newcomen, that people were able to modify it into the modes of transportation we are lucky to use to our heart's content today.
There might be many other things that we overlook in the race to obtain power, money and time. The most mundane and obvious things may seem different when viewed in a different light. Ted Bundy, the American serial killer, was a loving husband and father, despite what he did to women all over America in his little "killing spree". I am not defending him-I never can and never will- but I think it is safe to assume that anyone who has taken up interest in true crime as I have, anyone who has spent their nights pondering about solved and unsolved murder, rape and missing cases find it hard to imagine that Bundy was successful in masking his identity because the people around him took him for mere face value. We take many things at face value all the time. For example, reread the above sentence mentioning Ted Bundy. I have typed "murder, rape and missing cases" in that order. As humans, we are bound to believe, if not consciously, at least at a very small nook in our subconscious mind, that these words are arranged in the decreasing progression of their intensity of terror. This is the exact reason why I framed it that way- to make you understand subconscious manipulation a little better. Think about it, is not a rape much more terrifying than murder? To have been violated and left to live with oneself, feeling dirty and insecure, is not that more horrifying?
In his Ted Talk, my idol, the late Sir Ken Robinson talks about Shakespeare (please click the hyperlink and watch it at least once. I guarantee you it is funny). He asks the crowd if they can ever imagine Shakespeare as a child. But he once was one, was he not? It is hard to imagine that he must have cried and laughed and whined for food, but he must have at some point of his life. Attempt to imagine one of your favorite teachers as a child. Recollect the common things that children do, what you may have done yourself in your babyhood, and assign these characteristics to your teacher. Imagine them doing it. Isn't it fascinating, the possibility that they might have once been like us?
My Twelfth Grade English teacher used to tell us that the steam engine was found in such a way- a change of perspective. For centuries, women have cooked food and have witnessed steam rising out of a pan, unsettling lids which were precariously placed on them. Yet not one of them thought it could be harnessed as a potential energy source. Only recently did a man think so, and it is because of this man- one Mr. Thomas Newcomen, that people were able to modify it into the modes of transportation we are lucky to use to our heart's content today.
There might be many other things that we overlook in the race to obtain power, money and time. The most mundane and obvious things may seem different when viewed in a different light. Ted Bundy, the American serial killer, was a loving husband and father, despite what he did to women all over America in his little "killing spree". I am not defending him-I never can and never will- but I think it is safe to assume that anyone who has taken up interest in true crime as I have, anyone who has spent their nights pondering about solved and unsolved murder, rape and missing cases find it hard to imagine that Bundy was successful in masking his identity because the people around him took him for mere face value. We take many things at face value all the time. For example, reread the above sentence mentioning Ted Bundy. I have typed "murder, rape and missing cases" in that order. As humans, we are bound to believe, if not consciously, at least at a very small nook in our subconscious mind, that these words are arranged in the decreasing progression of their intensity of terror. This is the exact reason why I framed it that way- to make you understand subconscious manipulation a little better. Think about it, is not a rape much more terrifying than murder? To have been violated and left to live with oneself, feeling dirty and insecure, is not that more horrifying?
In his Ted Talk, my idol, the late Sir Ken Robinson talks about Shakespeare (please click the hyperlink and watch it at least once. I guarantee you it is funny). He asks the crowd if they can ever imagine Shakespeare as a child. But he once was one, was he not? It is hard to imagine that he must have cried and laughed and whined for food, but he must have at some point of his life. Attempt to imagine one of your favorite teachers as a child. Recollect the common things that children do, what you may have done yourself in your babyhood, and assign these characteristics to your teacher. Imagine them doing it. Isn't it fascinating, the possibility that they might have once been like us?
About one year after the copywriting incident, when I was in Grade 4 and I truly started believing that I was actually a "big girl now", our school conducted a Light Music Competition. There was a boy in our class (whom we will be referring to as Banjo, for I fear his wrath). My eyes used to turn sour looking at him. Somewhere underneath was probably a handsome boy's features, which was hidden under a constantly runny nose which he continually wiped on his shirt, a lopsided pant which precariously hanged on a weak belt and his overall shabby upkeep. No one ever though Banjo was capable of doing anything right- even standing without toppling over. Which is exactly why it was a surprise to all when he opened his mouth to sing for the competition. It was angelic, mesmerizing and other worldly; I never expected Banjo to sing, but he did. From what I know now, he is a professional singer and it lights my heart up to know that he is no longer judged by the way he presents himself (though now he has improved his appearances), but by who he truly is inside. There might be many other Banjos amongst us, hidden under guises that are circulated as truths; A face value infused at the beginning- our first impressions. I ask of you, nay, beg of you, to overlook such premonitions and give everyone and everything a chance.
I hope you keep in mind the dangers of having unchanging perceptions while I take up web surfing- in particular, an article which struck my attention when I was doing my research for this blogpost, titled "Animals and their contribution to the Indian Freedom Fight".
References:
1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/our-human-condition/202401/life-doesnt-make-sense
2. Stephen G. Michaud, Hugh Aynesworth; Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer.
3. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "steam engine". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Dec. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/technology/steam-engine. Accessed 13 January 2024.
Once again a humourous article which uses with to drive home the message in quite an impactful manner. Leaves the reader with absolute surety of your funny bone. Gripping, impactful yet brings a smile. And of made me feel guilty of the milk in the coffee I was sipping.
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