Magic of Numbers
It's hard to believe, but numbers, measurements, and magnitudes play no less, and often a greater, role in manipulating consciousness than words.
Manipulative techniques, relying on numbers, are built on the reputation of impartiality and precision.
A person may doubt the source of certain data, their reliability, but in the manipulation of consciousness, numbers are used not to deceive someone but to distort reality or create a new one.
On one hand, making a person doubt their own abilities, and on the other, playing on the natural desire to seem "smart," "knowledgeable in complex matters"; few are willing to readily admit, not only to others but also to themselves, that they are unable to understand complex data, calculations, and interpret them correctly.
This is clearly evident, for example, during election debates, when candidates bombard each other with various figures expressed in percentages, prices, losses, indicators of inflation, statistical data, results of polls, etc., not allowing the opponent to comment or even refute specific data.
Calculations here are not made to convey information to the opponent, but rather to implant a certain frightening or enticing number into the voter's consciousness.
Even if the number is completely absurd, like "5 million jobs."
In general, the use of numbers, especially in the form of complex calculations, formulas, equations, tables, etc., lends an air of "solidity" and apparent reliability to any information.
This is especially true in the context of currency exchange rates: everyone is familiar with manipulative mantras about the dollar against the national currency, which serve not for banking or attempts at stock speculation but rather have a purely political purpose – to increase tension and anxiety in society.
Almost each of us has experienced the so-called "left-digit effect": a price is set, say, not 60,000 but 59,999 – with this approach, the buyer feels like they are purchasing the item not for sixty thousand rubles but for fifty-nine thousand.
Its impact is linked to the fact that people read from left to right and often do not pay attention to the last digits. Therefore, purchasing a gadget with a price tag of "9999 Dollars" seems much more advantageous than buying the exact same device for 10000 – and the benefit is not in the saved cent!
Marketers refer to the infamous "nine" as a "magic number" and consider its use not as deceiving buyers, but as a common unconscious perception by people. From our perspective, it's pure manipulation!
Historical figures also hold significant importance in manipulating consciousness.
We are not talking about discussions among professional historians that take place within the scientific community and involve various approaches to periodization of historical events, source analysis, and so on. Instead, we're referring to media speculations that arise depending on the authorities' needs for specific indicators in each particular period.
For example, according to the American historian Robert Conquest, whose works were widely cited during the Perestroika, the number of prisoners in the USSR simultaneously amounted to 10 million people in 1937-1938.
Subsequently, these data were repeatedly refuted (currently, the most accurate data are considered to be those of V.N. Zemskov: 3,777,380 people were arrested throughout the period of repressions), but they managed to play a role in manipulating the consciousness of the Soviet people.
However, despite Conquest's data being disproven multiple times, politicians, depending on their beliefs, continue to compete. On one hand, attempting to "shock" citizens with even larger figures of losses, and on the other hand, conversely, pushing the repression figures to the levels of statistical error.
Inflating data on something genuinely tragic may be associated not only with manipulation but also with sincere misconceptions ("fear has big eyes").
On September 11, 2001, during live broadcasts from the scene, it was reported that there were "tens of thousands dead" in the Twin Towers that were attacked. However, in the final counts, it turned out that a total of 2,983 people died during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Certainly, every person's life is valuable, and their death is a tragedy. Nevertheless, initial data on the victims of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and technological catastrophes tend to be more trusted by viewers than the refined and, fortunately, often reduced loss figures.
Since viewers who do not trust the authorities in reducing such data see it as an attempt for some reason to "conceal" the real losses—similar to propaganda during active military operations. One of its principles is to avoid reporting their own casualties and downplay their numbers, while exaggerating the losses on the enemy's side. It is believed that this approach sustains the morale of the army and the population.
One way or another, exaggeration or understatement of figures is a crucial component of any campaign aimed at manipulating consciousness.
For instance, data on participants in street protests are always presented as follows:
1) From the organizers' perspective – the highest number;
2) From the police or other law enforcement agencies – the lowest number;
3) From "independent observers" (journalists, experts, etc.) – the average number.
I dare to assume that this "average number" doesn't result from actual independent counts but rather by simply finding the arithmetic mean of the highest and lowest data.
The use of average figures, in general, opens unprecedented opportunities for manipulating public consciousness.
Although it is widely known that average values can only be used when there is no significant disparity between the parts of the whole, they are still successfully employed for consciousness manipulation by state statistical agencies worldwide. For example, when publishing data on "average salaries."
It turns out that average indicators are derived from a dataset in which salaries of junior specialists and top managers of large state-owned corporations are mixed. To put it bluntly, salaries of daycare teachers and high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Education are blended together.
When calculated this way, the figures for each sector do look quite decent. However, they fail to provide any real insight into the actual incomes of the majority of employees in this field.
In this sense, the persisting illusions about the extraordinary earnings of programmers and other IT specialists in the USA are illustrative.
Indeed, in average figures, incomes in this industry are high, but the salaries of leading specialists in Silicon Valley are far from what ordinary computer professionals can earn. Nevertheless, many IT specialists still harbor dreams of moving to the USA, but often find themselves greatly disappointed when it finally happens: their income turns out to be, if not equal, only slightly higher than the corresponding qualified salaries in their home country, while the purchasing power and the overall cost of living turn out to be completely different.
Of course, highly skilled professionals, especially "computer geniuses," are in demand in the American IT industry. Still, to find them, one must, like gold prospectors, sift through hundreds of kilograms of sand. In this case, the "sand" is represented by the intricate messages, ranging from advertisements to private conversations, about the extraordinary incomes of IT specialists.
Distorted images also arise as a result of the unscrupulous use of relative numbers without specifying absolute values.
Interestingly, when media caught in such manipulations are confronted, they often attribute them to something like a copyediting error or technical glitch. Additionally, data on something is often presented without correlation with previous and usual figures.
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic (March-April 2020), many information sources displayed daily death tolls. However, information about mortality during the same period in previous years was not provided. Readers were left with the choice either to delve into the matter themselves (the data on the number of deaths in March-April 2020 differed at the level of statistical error compared to previous years) or to be alarmed by the daily death toll and strictly adhere to all precautionary measures.
Manipulation often involves presenting and evaluating certain information without any qualitative decryption.
It's a well-known phenomenon: opposition politicians (this happens in any country with a government and opposition) lament when the state increases pensions and other social benefits.
However, consciousness manipulation through numbers is not limited to political, economic, and social life. There are more serious interventions into a person's internal and, perhaps even, intimate world.
Particularly in recent years, a global trend has emerged to alter age-related quantitative and qualitative characteristics.
To achieve this, concepts like "boomers," "zoomers," and "millennials" are widely disseminated and introduced in the media. These terms are intended to suggest that individuals falling within these purely quantitative (birth years) definitions have some fundamental differences in goals, tasks, and worldviews.
The UN and WHO continually shift age boundaries towards an increase in the age of hypothetical "youth." If many youth programs used to conclude around 27 years old, these programs have gradually extended to 35 years old. Currently, the World Health Organization has extended youthfulness up to 44 years. Other age categories have also been shifted, and, for instance, old age now only begins at 75.
Partly, these changes are associated with the increase in life expectancy and quality of life in developed countries. However, mostly, they serve as a cover-up for the lack of qualified and reliable professionals in the labor market, as well as economic difficulties, resulting in the retirement age being raised in many countries.
By formally extending the young and middle age, global organizations almost encourage those dreaming of retirement, manipulating them into considering themselves not yet old, i.e., ready to work without any privileges or benefits.
The same goals are pursued by authorities when extending the age of safe childbearing for mothers.
On the one hand, it's positive that medical advancements and improved quality of life give hope for motherhood to women of any age. On the other hand, it contributes to the emergence of "deferred motherhood," leading to health problems for women and their children. On the third hand, every individual's life differs from the advertising image, and theoretical possibilities don't necessarily translate into practical ones, leading to family dramas and personal tragedies.
In general, blurring the lines between social and passport age provides ample ground for consciousness manipulation. Just recall election campaigns where opposition members use slogans like "hide grandma's passport," thereby showcasing the conservatism and loyalty of elderly people towards the existing power, influenced either by senility or induced by it.
In one way or another, the "magic of numbers" is widely employed in consciousness manipulation—from simple commercial contexts to complex social and political scenarios.
To be continued...