--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we're doing, or, I should say, what…" description: "\"“What we're doing, or, I should say, what you're doing, since no one has taught me any good words, is dropping recipes into people's brains to cause a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/max-barry-7380_language_what-we-re-doing-or-i-should-say-what-yo_2286998.jpg" --- # What we're doing, or, I should say, what you're doing… ![“What we're doing, or, I should say, what you're doing, since no one has taught me any good words, is dropping recipes into people's brains to cause a neurochemical reaction to knock out the filters. Tie them up just long enough to slip an instruction past. And you do that by speaking a string of…” quote by Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/max-barry-7380_language_what-we-re-doing-or-i-should-say-what-yo_2286998.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/max-barry-7380_language_what-we-re-doing-or-i-should-say-what-yo_2286998.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/max-barry-7380_language_what-we-re-doing-or-i-should-say-what-yo_2286998.jpg) > ““What we're doing, or, I should say, what you're doing, since no one has taught me any good words, is dropping recipes into people's brains to cause a neurochemical reaction to knock out the filters. Tie them up just long enough to slip an instruction past. And you do that by speaking a string of words crafted for the person's psychographic segment. Probably words that were crafted decades ago and have been strengthened ever since. And it's a string of words because the brain has layers of defenses, and for the instruction to get through, they all have to be disabled at once.' Jeremy said, 'How do you know this?' 'Do you think I'm smart?' 'I think you're scary,' he said.”” [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Manipulative language can bypass mental defenses when crafted for specific audiences, exploiting psychological vulnerabilities. **In simple terms:** Targeted words can influence thoughts. Key Takeaway Question the intent behind language. Themes psychology communication manipulation Mood cautious critical Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - advertising - political speech - propaganda - personal persuasion Key Concepts cognitive bias psychographic targeting Questions to Reflect On - Are you aware of how language shapes your decisions? - What safeguards can protect against covert persuasion? A Different Perspective Such tactics can be ethically questionable and may erode trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Mind control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-control/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [Brains cause technology, society, art, science, soap operas, sin. A remarkable set of effects for such a small chunk of coagulated atoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-mcginn/brains-cause-technology-society-art-science-soap-operas-sin-a/) [Colin McGinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-mcginn/) > [I probably have more words to say in 'Mr. Robot' than I've had in my entire career put together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-robinson/i-probably-have-more-words-to-say-in-mr-robot-than-i-ve-had-in-my/) [Craig Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-robinson/) > [I love you more than the words in my brain can express. I can't imagine even loving you less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-you-more-than-the-words-in-my-brain-can-express-i-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know, you don't see with your eyes You see with your brain And the more words your brain has The more things you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/you-know-you-don-t-see-with-your-eyes-you-see-with-your-brain-and-the/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [ “\[T\]here is some other way of understanding and getting along with the process of nature than by translating it into words. After all, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/t-here-is-some-other-way-of-understanding-and-getting-along-with-the/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [The learning is the heavy lifting. You need to get the words into your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/the-learning-is-the-heavy-lifting-you-need-to-get-the-words-into-your/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [“The mind boggles, in other words, but the brain toggles- sometimes quite rapidly, from one task to the next.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-maushart/the-mind-boggles-in-other-words-but-the-brain-toggles-sometimes-quite/) [Susan Maushart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-maushart/) > [“You went to school," Lee said. "I mean, at some point. And it didn't suit you very well. They wanted to teach you things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/you-went-to-school-lee-said-i-mean-at-some-point-and-it-didn-t-suit/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“ 'Two things.' 'Name them. I am instructing you to name them.' 'I don't think you've been in love. Not recently, anyway. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/two-things-name-them-i-am-instructing-you-to-name-them-i-don-t-think/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“He'd basically fallen in love with her on the spot. Well, no, that wasn't accurate; that implied a binary state, a shifting from not-love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/he-d-basically-fallen-in-love-with-her-on-the-spot-well-no-that-wasn/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“ 'Your brain doesn't process language quite like other people. Why that is, I have no idea.' 'I have a superior brain?' 'Uh,' Eliot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/your-brain-doesn-t-process-language-quite-like-other-people-why-that/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Wil ate without enthusiasm. His bacon tasted like nothing. Like a dead animal, fried. His eggs, aborted chickens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/wil-ate-without-enthusiasm-his-bacon-tasted-like-nothing-like-a-dead/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“ 'And so we exchange privacy for intimacy. We gamble with it, hoping that by exposing ourselves, someone will find a way in. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/and-so-we-exchange-privacy-for-intimacy-we-gamble-with-it-hoping-that/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Australians were very practical, Emily had found. They did things quickly and purposefully and to the absolute minimum standard required. It was refreshing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/australians-were-very-practical-emily-had-found-they-did-things/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“What was it Like?" "What was what like?" he said, although he knew. "Quick, I imagine. But you must have perceived something. A split…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-said-although-he-knew-quick-i/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) ## More by Max Barry > [“Well, I like to know where I'm going before I try to get there. It's a mistake to try to execute a plan before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/well-i-like-to-know-where-i-m-going-before-i-try-to-get-there-it-s-a/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [Hey, I saw this old British movie, all the people spoke so different, you could hardly understand them. But everyone here speaks American as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/hey-i-saw-this-old-british-movie-all-the-people-spoke-so-different/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [By this action, the Government has proved that so long as it exists, none of us are truly free. Government and freedom are mutually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/by-this-action-the-government-has-proved-that-so-long-as-it-exists/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Thanks for being the kind of person who likes to pick up a book. That's a genuinely great thing. I met a librarian recently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/thanks-for-being-the-kind-of-person-who-likes-to-pick-up-a-book-that/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“I met a librian recently who said she doesn't read because books are her job and when she goes home, she wanats to switch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/i-met-a-librian-recently-who-said-she-doesn-t-read-because-books-are/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [I read once that you need two things to be happy: any two of health, money, and love. 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A split…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-said-although-he-knew-quick-i/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [People resist a census, but give them a profile page and they'll spend all day telling you who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/people-resist-a-census-but-give-them-a-profile-page-and-they-ll-spend/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [every story written is marks upon a page The same marks, repeated, only differently arranged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/every-story-written-is-marks-upon-a-page-the-same-marks-repeated-only/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Fifteen years ago, this would have been insider trading, but that quaint concept had disappeared a decade or two ago when so many brokers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/fifteen-years-ago-this-would-have-been-insider-trading-but-that/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“With Lola, everything was solvable. She was my independent variable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/with-lola-everything-was-solvable-she-was-my-independent-variable/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“The newspapers said nobody made it out alive." "Surely you didn't trust them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/the-newspapers-said-nobody-made-it-out-alive-surely-you-didn-t-trust/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Attention words. A single word wasn't enough. Not even for a particular segment. 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Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) TimBur > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What we're doing, or, I should say, what you're doing, since no one has taught me any good words, is dropping recipes into people's brains to cause a neurochemical reaction to knock out the filters. Tie them up just long enough to slip an instruction past. And you do that by speaking a string of words crafted for the person's psychographic segment. 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