This is a guest post by my partner, Dave.
This essay contains nothing of importance. Just some obscure points about human nature. You might as well skip it.
Winston Burdett, an ex-CBS journalist, once said, “I don`t want to be quoted, and don`t quote me that I don`t want to be quoted.” And of course that quote is now included in books of famous quotes.
This is sometimes called the “Streisand Effect.” A photographer once took 12,000 photos of the California coastline for a public project to document coastline erosion. Photograph number 3850 was titled “Streisand Estate, Malibu.” Barbra Streisand discovered that her property was identified in the photo and sued the photographer to remove the photo from the Internet. At the time of the lawsuit, the image had been downloaded six times, but the lawsuit brought attention to the photograph. Over the next month, the photo was viewed over 400,000 times.
This is a paradox of human nature. Is it possible to ever say “ignore this”? Let’s try it — DON’T think of a pink giraffe. Did it work? You can’t bring attention to something and ignore it at the same time.
Parents know about this principle. You can’t leave the house and tell the kids, “I’ll be back in an hour. Whatever you do while I’m away, don’t stuff any beans up your nose.”
Marketers use this principle too. A product that is for “exclusive members only” is the one you want most.
In psychology, this is called “reactance.” It’s why the “secret ingredient” is the most interesting ingredient. It’s why the hidden speakeasies were more glamorous than a regular saloon. It’s why a book sometimes sells better after it has been banned.
This is also a mirror into your own thoughts. The harder you try to suppress a thought, the more persistent it gets. The things you’re most frantic to hide or avoid or deny are probably the very things most worth examining.
For parents, governments, institutions, and individuals, understanding might be better than suppression. Analyze why someone wants a thing rather than simply forbidding it. Leverage human nature instead of working against it. The moment you post a sign that says “keep out,” you’ve already started a battle that you might lose. Analyze what is at stake.
Anyway, you probably have already forgotten about the pink giraffe.
No need to share this with anyone.
Photo credit: Copyright 2002 Kenneth & Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project, www.californiacoastline.org. CC BY-SA 3.0
Pink giraffe from clipart-library.com