Popping Off!

Think about all of the images, objects, and stories you’re confronted with throughout the day—from memes, to advertisements, to flags waving in the wind. In Mythologies, 20th-century French philosopher Roland Barthes says that all of these contain subtle messages that subconsciously shape the way we view the world. He calls these messages myths.

According to Barthes, Myths occur when society’s dominant institutions—the government, the advertising industry, or Hollywood, to name a few—imbue an image, object, or phrase with meaning. By creating these associations, the dominant social institutions create and reinforce cultural beliefs and values that are unconsciously adopted by the masses. Mythologies aims to open our eyes to these manipulations and teach us how to avoid them.

In this guide, we’ll discuss Barthes’s theoretical framework behind myth, examine some of the examples he gives from 1950s French culture, and consider whether they’re still present in contemporary culture today.

During the 2016 US Presidential elections, at a time when pundits had Trump at 2% likelihood of winning, Dilbert creator Scott Adams predicted that Donald Trump would win -- primarily because of his persuasive power. According to Adams, what looked to outsiders like blunders were instead examples of a Master Persuader channeling a nation’s energy to help his candidacy.

Win Bigly describes the persuasion strategies Trump used throughout the campaign, how Hillary’s campaign fell short in comparison, and how you can apply these strategies to be more persuasive yourself. Learn the ranking of the most effective persuasion methods, why visual imagery is so powerful, and how to come up with killer slogans.

In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman argued presciently 35 years ago that television was reshaping our culture and trivializing public life—news, politics, religion, education, and business—by turning it into entertainment. He warned that we would become so inundated with irrelevant information that we’d lose sight of what was important—even worse, we wouldn’t care as long as we felt entertained. With the proliferation of digital media today and worries about excessive “screen time,” his analysis still resonates.

In The Silva Mind Control Method, José Silva teaches his unique method of using the power of your mind to heal your body, sharpen your memory, and solve everyday problems with seemingly superhuman powers.

Silva began his career as an electronics repairman before becoming interested in altered mental states and applying his knowledge of electrical energy to the human mind. The Silva Mind Control Method, published in 1977, is an abridged version of the content taught in the courses Silva developed.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to tap into particular mindsets to unlock your innate psychic power and how to use that power to help yourself and others. Through commentary, we’ll compare Silva’s approach to that of other writers who embrace visualization and manifestation, such as Rhonda Byrne (The Secret) and Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich), and explore what modern science says about the mind-body connection.

Think about all of the images, objects, and stories you’re confronted with throughout the day—from memes, to advertisements, to flags waving in the wind. In Mythologies, 20th-century French philosopher Roland Barthes says that all of these contain subtle messages that subconsciously shape the way we view the world. He calls these messages myths.

According to Barthes, Myths occur when society’s dominant institutions—the government, the advertising industry, or Hollywood, to name a few—imbue an image, object, or phrase with meaning. By creating these associations, the dominant social institutions create and reinforce cultural beliefs and values that are unconsciously adopted by the masses. Mythologies aims to open our eyes to these manipulations and teach us how to avoid them.

In this guide, we’ll discuss Barthes’s theoretical framework behind myth, examine some of the examples he gives from 1950s French culture, and consider whether they’re still present in contemporary culture today.

Why do we make the same bad choices over and over? Why do we constantly find ourselves in unfulfilling relationships, hating our jobs, and rubbing people the wrong way—and not knowing why? The authors of The School of Life have an answer: because you lack emotional intelligence. According to them, we’re not taught how to understand and cope with our feelings and the feelings of others, and this leads us to make poor decisions and to be miserable. However, by developing emotional intelligence across several realms of life, you can better understand yourself and lead a happier life.

The School of Life is an educational organization that offers materials to support personal growth. Several of its authors collaborated on this book. In this guide, we’ll discuss the authors’ argument that we don’t have emotional intelligence and examine how they say you can gain emotional intelligence about yourself, others, relationships, and work. We’ll supplement this with scientific research that backs up or contradicts some of the authors’ claims, and with insights from other self-help authors on ways to implement the authors’ advice.

In The Silva Mind Control Method, José Silva teaches his unique method of using the power of your mind to heal your body, sharpen your memory, and solve everyday problems with seemingly superhuman powers.

Silva began his career as an electronics repairman before becoming interested in altered mental states and applying his knowledge of electrical energy to the human mind. The Silva Mind Control Method, published in 1977, is an abridged version of the content taught in the courses Silva developed.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to tap into particular mindsets to unlock your innate psychic power and how to use that power to help yourself and others. Through commentary, we’ll compare Silva’s approach to that of other writers who embrace visualization and manifestation, such as Rhonda Byrne (The Secret) and Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich), and explore what modern science says about the mind-body connection.