An experimental observatory
Who shaped
that choice?
The hidden systems that shape attention, perception, and choice—in our environments, our interfaces, and ourselves.
Experience them.
Then see where the strings were.
Independent research, experiments, and public understanding.
Start with a small choice.
Make two quick choices, then see both presentations together.
This voluntary demonstration changes how information is presented. Some details, including any simulated claims, are explained after the final step. You can reveal them or leave at any time.
Your responses stay in this browser tab. No research data is submitted.
Read the mechanism first01 / Enter the experiment
A choice.
A second look.
Start with an experience.
Leave with the mechanism.
Choose your reading rhythm
Make two small choices, then look back at them.
Four price offers
Judge four offers, then compare your responses.
A field note, three times
Read a short passage and give your assessment.
9 demonstrations to try. 6 protocols to examine.
View all 15 studies ↗02 / Six research lenses
The architecture
of influence.
A supermarket shelf, a recommendation feed, a menu, a conversation. Different environments. Related questions about who shapes what becomes possible.
Attention
What gets into awareness?
Look at what enters the foreground, what interrupts a task, and what becomes difficult to ignore. A shelf, a notification, and a headline can all arrange the order of attention.
Perception
What does context change?
Explore how the surroundings of an object or a message change its interpretation. Separate what changed in the stimulus from what changed in the judgement.
Desire
Where does wanting come from?
Examine the cues around wanting: who appears to want something, what it seems to represent, and whether availability changes its appeal.
Choice
Who arranged the alternatives?
Trace the options, their starting states, and the effort required to choose differently. Ask whether the person can see and meaningfully resist the intervention.
Memory
What remains after the moment?
Compare what was presented, what felt familiar, and what was remembered. Remembered experience is an object of study in its own right.
Adaptation
What happens when the environment learns?
Follow the loop from observation to prediction, adaptation, and influence. Distinguish what a system actually knows from the authority its interface appears to claim.
006 / Physical environment03 / Beyond the screen
The room is
an interface.
Light, sound, scent, spacing, materials. What if the surroundings change how we judge the object itself?
The physical world belongs in the observatory as much as any app or algorithm.
Explore the field protocol ↗04 / The operating principle
Experience first.
Reveal immediately.
Explain completely.
Understand the mechanism. Make the mechanism visible. Then ask whether understanding it gives agency back.
How the observatory works ↗05 / The question underneath
How much of
the environment
is an interface?
Neural Marketing explores influence beyond obvious persuasion.
We ask what an intervention does, how strong the evidence is, who benefits, and whether the person understands and can meaningfully resist it.
Demonstrations make ideas tangible. Experiments test hypotheses. Field studies look outward. Interventions ask whether the same principles can serve a person’s own goals.
Does revealing the mechanism help? ↗06 / Closing reflection · The human weight
What if the person
you are judging
could have been you?
A choice, a context, an explanation. After exploring the mechanisms, turn the question toward the person living with them.
What might you want to understand before judging someone’s behaviour? Five reflective chapters, with two optional demonstrations and viewing companions from Vsauce’s Mind Field, connect influence to compassion and responsibility.
Reflect on the human weight ↗