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[Dutchling]

I don't understand what that was actually about. The layout and order of the slides was weird... What was the point? That people don't like annoying security features?

I hope not. Common sense would have given the 'researchers' the same answer.

[anzki4]

I hope not. Common sense would have given the 'researchers' the same answer.

Except that Common Sense Is Neither Common nor Sense. I would much rather questions that are obvious according Common sense be researched, rather than to just assuming you know the answer.

[Mech#4]

This is an interesting slideshow but I'm astounded at one of their observations. Users like ads.

AAAAARRGHHg FUCK USERS. DAMN ALL USERS TO HELL. I read three slides and was ready to dox them using their pictures and then do some unspeakable things _{to their front yard ornaments}.

That all makes sense to me. I think it's the focus solely on what their research tells them that makes it seem strange. I don't know what CTP is (Edit: I think it means click to play)  but the gist is they're trying to figure out whether people like the "click to play" feature of some update to Flash.

Enter the world of usability research! Usability research tells us that the average user understands very little about the programs they are using on their computers. They don't want things to get in the way of their viewing, so having to click to start a flash video is an annoyance that they didn't have before, ergo it is worse now (despite all the other areas it may have improved.) It's kind of like, there's no problem with something until a problem occurs. Uh... better phrasing. "The program I was using was working fine until I updated it, then it doesn't work now and it's worse then what I had before".

The last part is based on the previous graphs, giving reasons why people click on ads (or the click to play thingy, not sure). Either they like clicking on ads, or they're exploring according to the analysis.

Gender would be there due to research showing that males and females are more or less likely to click on something. This is why I don't really like marketing stuff, it enters this weird realm based solely off results of research.

[Greiger]

Advertisers track male or female for a few reasons.  First, they can spot any differences between their primarily male and female demographics that can potentially improve their other advertisements targeting that particular gender.

Second if they keep track of a user and know they are female they can have improved targeted advertising.  Such as analyzing your buying habits and guessing that you are pregnant(possibly before you even know) and trying to sell you stuff popular with expecting mothers.

Scientific studies track male or female because.... uh.... I donno, it's a very easy thing to get the info on and it has potential to provide additional insight I guess.

[Pnx]

Scientific studies track male or female because.... uh.... I donno, it's a very easy thing to get the info on and it has potential to provide additional insight I guess.

They do it because the world is convinced that males and females are very, very, different. Which is true mostly because the world is convinced that males and females are very, very, different. Which is why scientific studies have to track males and females.

[10ebbor10]

Scientific studies track male or female because.... uh.... I donno, it's a very easy thing to get the info on and it has potential to provide additional insight I guess.

They do it because the world is convinced that males and females are very, very, different. Which is true mostly because the world is convinced that males and females are very, very, different. Which is why scientific studies have to track males and females.

There's a significant difference in Brain structure and usage between genders. Pretty sure that's genetical, not nurture.

[misko27]

This is an interesting slideshow but I'm astounded at one of their observations. Users like ads.

Ooh, so that's why my sister kept raging at Flash.


Anyway, this is a little old, but someone has gone out of his way to post Lord of the Rings themed service announcements in the NYC subway. Here's one:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And 2 more

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Here is his website:http://puckworks.blogspot.com/

[Karnewarrior]

Scientific studies track male or female because.... uh.... I donno, it's a very easy thing to get the info on and it has potential to provide additional insight I guess.

They do it because the world is convinced that males and females are very, very, different. Which is true mostly because the world is convinced that males and females are very, very, different. Which is why scientific studies have to track males and females.

There's a significant difference in Brain structure and usage between genders. Pretty sure that's genetical, not nurture.

Much in the way of consumerism is cultural, though, I expect. If our culture was completely non-existant and girls were seen as exactly the same as boys they would probably have very similar tastes in products.

But at this point it's so ingrained culturally that girls are different from boys. The problem is when people assume that means males are different from females.

[Pnx]

This is an old, old, argument, and there's been a lot of different studies and conflicting data etc... but I honestly find it hard to believe that when you raise two groups of people in completely different ways, they wouldn't develop different brain patterns. Some of it probably is just biology, but a significant portion of it is probably also cultural.

[Loud Whispers]

Much in the way of consumerism is cultural, though, I expect. If our culture was completely non-existant and girls were seen as exactly the same as boys they would probably have very similar tastes in products.
But at this point it's so ingrained culturally that girls are different from boys. The problem is when people assume that means males are different from females.

Males are different from females, it's ingrained in our DNA. In cultures devoid of Western consumerism there are still divides in mechanical careers and social careers amongst the genders, even when great pains are made to try and make the children gender neutral. Our wants and dreams are in our blood as much as it is in our brain. Some things we will never change.

This is an old, old, argument, and there's been a lot of different studies and conflicting data etc... but I honestly find it hard to believe that when you raise two groups of people in completely different ways, they wouldn't develop different brain patterns. Some of it probably is just biology, but a significant portion of it is probably also cultural.

We are chemicals. Our brain is decided by chemicals, as is everything else about our body. I do not see why then we would make this odd exception to preferences and personality. The details vary, but the core characteristics will always present themselves. Can you raise someone into homosexuality, or is it genetic?

[Pnx]

This is an old, old, argument, and there's been a lot of different studies and conflicting data etc... but I honestly find it hard to believe that when you raise two groups of people in completely different ways, they wouldn't develop different brain patterns. Some of it probably is just biology, but a significant portion of it is probably also cultural.

We are chemicals. Our brain is decided by chemicals, as is everything else about our body. I do not see why then we would make this odd exception to preferences and personality. The details vary, but the core characteristics will always present themselves. Can you raise someone into homosexuality, or is it genetic?

Honestly, there may be people that will hate me for saying this, but given that what people find sexually attractive tends to depend a lot on cultural factors, I think the answer might be "Yes, but not reliably".

[tahujdt]

This is an old, old, argument, and there's been a lot of different studies and conflicting data etc... but I honestly find it hard to believe that when you raise two groups of people in completely different ways, they wouldn't develop different brain patterns. Some of it probably is just biology, but a significant portion of it is probably also cultural.

We are chemicals. Our brain is decided by chemicals, as is everything else about our body. I do not see why then we would make this odd exception to preferences and personality. The details vary, but the core characteristics will always present themselves. Can you raise someone into homosexuality, or is it genetic?

Honestly, there may be people that will hate me for saying this, but given that what people find sexually attractive tends to depend a lot on cultural factors, I think the answer might be "Yes, but not reliably".

Hence the pedophiliapederasty of Ancient Greece.

Oh God, now I'm going to have this thread show up in my 'New replies' box. Does anyone know how to switch that off?

[LordSlowpoke]

This is an old, old, argument, and there's been a lot of different studies and conflicting data etc... but I honestly find it hard to believe that when you raise two groups of people in completely different ways, they wouldn't develop different brain patterns. Some of it probably is just biology, but a significant portion of it is probably also cultural.

We are chemicals. Our brain is decided by chemicals, as is everything else about our body. I do not see why then we would make this odd exception to preferences and personality. The details vary, but the core characteristics will always present themselves. Can you raise someone into homosexuality, or is it genetic?

Honestly, there may be people that will hate me for saying this, but given that what people find sexually attractive tends to depend a lot on cultural factors, I think the answer might be "Yes, but not reliably".

Hence the pedophiliapederasty of Ancient Greece.

Oh God, now I'm going to have this thread show up in my 'New replies' box. Does anyone know how to switch that off?

edit your post, go to attachments and other options and untick "notify me of replies"

i have no idea why you would want to do that as i'm sure your input in this thread would be appreciated but by all means go ahead

[MadMalkavian]

I am baffled as to why Hot Pockets are marketed as sandwiches when they are clearly calzones or perhaps even turnovers. Sure, sandwich sounds nicer but for some reason calling a Hot Pocket a sandwich sounds kind of misleading to me. Maybe I should buy more Hot Pockets and see if I can figure out why they call them sandwiches by studying the anatomy of several Hot Pockets?

[Karnewarrior]

Males are different from females, it's ingrained in our DNA. In cultures devoid of Western consumerism there are still divides in mechanical careers and social careers amongst the genders, even when great pains are made to try and make the children gender neutral. Our wants and dreams are in our blood as much as it is in our brain. Some things we will never change.

I'm not talking about Consumerism specifically (well, maybe I was, but as an example).

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a culture where girls and boys are raised in total homogeny. Equality would be easy, but I'm talking girls treated prescisely the same way, pushed towards the same carreer fields, peer pressured into getting the same items/partaking in the same actions, all of that.

It's incredibly difficult to find a natural human settlement untouched by culture since every group of humans since the start of time developed some sort of culture and pretty much all of those found some differentiation between males and females that makes them girls and boys.

Essentially what I'm saying is that it's kind of impossible to get untainted data on what is a natural difference between male wants and female wants without also imbibing some of the local culture as well. This skews the results and that feeds itself which makes Girl/Boy possible. We can't reliably tell where culture ends and nature begins because nobody exists in that state, TMK.

Can you raise someone into homosexuality, or is it genetic?

Holy thorny question batman.

The answer is probably yes, to an extent, the same way you can raise a homosexual to look, think and act heterosexual. But I doubt either way that it would alter their brain chemistry enough to make them truly of the other side. They'd just learn to fight it off.

They'd probably feel like a recovering drug addict. "Martha, I don't want to talk right now, I'm having Yaoi cravings again."

"Oh dear, how terrible."

Whether or not that's better or worse than being openly gay depends on religion, left-right wing leanings, and all kinds of other philosophies and opinions people tend to get all in a tizzy over, so I won't say any more on the subject. I don't want to be assaulted by a fundamentalist (also I'm technically not allowed to talk about controversial things since dumb people think I speak for the Air Force when I said nothing of the sort. Because the AF is a giant homogenous group of people who all think and look exactly the same.[/sarcasm] Bleh.)