not unique

i have recently been examining this idea that certain rules do not apply to me. i never liked associating myself with titles because i thought they were too constraining/defined. in college when reading about sociological experiments i assumed that i would have always been one of the outliers; the exception that proved the rule.

but recently i read a very engaging article that forced me to acknowledge that science can in fact trump the idea of individuality, originality, or uniqueness. i just represent another piece of data

the article is about marketing, and collecting information about consumers so as to best advertise to them- and it is in fact a science. it's interesting for a variety of reasons (ex: target, as a company, knew a girl was pregnant and was advertising baby products to her before her own father knew - pg 7 of the article) one of the ones that most struck me was the exact science to our habits.

duhigg breaks our habits into a cycle: it starts with a cue; a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future.

if able to identify the cues, routines, and rewards that you internalize, you might come to know as much about yourself as your local marketers do.