OT: Social Engineering

[thisDude]

Is it happening?

[KenElevenShadows]

[quote]Originally posted by thisDude: [b]Is it happening?[/b][/quote]I'm not sure. What is it?

[thisDude]

Ken said: [quote] I'm not sure. What is it? [/quote]A simple way to describe it is acheiving a desired net result from or for a people without explicitly stating it as policy. Depending on your viewpoint, some might say (not me) that the Crusades were an example: Using a newly introduced belief system as leverage to conquer a far off distant land. Similar to how Al-Queada uses religion to acheive their political goals. But if it is happening, it's not limited to religion. A little "outside of the box" thinking may reveal synergistic relationships that are seamingly unrelated. or maybe I'm a paranoid android.

[KenElevenShadows]

Well, maybe we can apply your definition to something like how everyone in the United States seemed to kinda come together after 9-11 and rally behind Bush. Would that be something that counts, or are you looking for something a little different? By the way, I'm using this as an example of "social engineering", so please don't start turning this thread into a pissing match about whether we should support Bush or not. We've got other threads for that!! Or another type of social engineering, by your definition, might be something like how our schools are basically designed to get students used to working with people for people, and not simply educate them. Part of school intrinsically molds people into society and encourages people to be a functional cog in society. In our society, that means showing up at work on time, working successfully with other people, taking direction from others, participating in society, and being a consumer (among other things). Or I suppose in another way, it could be to adopt something vaguely resembling Christian values. Even though there is supposed to be a separation of church and state here, many of our laws are still based on mainstream morals, which are of course in this country, Christian beliefs. Am I nailing it or missing it? :)

[Franknputer]

The main problem with social engineering is that it's really hard to be social and mix at the same time. Oh - and you usually don't get paid, either. :D

[Joachim P. Dyndale]

I'd define it as being almost a synonym for manipulation of other people. It's used all the time. People say things, suggest things, that make another person or body of people do/believe something without knowing that they are being manipulated. There are actaully quite a lot of articles on social engineering on the net. A lot of them can be found on pages dedicated to hacking and similar subjects. ;) Just search for '"social engineering" +hacking +phreaking' on [url=http://www.google.com]www.google.com[/url] or something... It's actually pretty scary what one can achieve using social engineering. (No, I'm not a hacker and I've never tried any social engineering. I'm just interested.)

[rickpowell]

My definition of social engineering: The systematic use of governmental power to achieve behavior modification in the population as a whole, or in a specifically targeted group within the population. This covers a lot of territory. A few examples: The systematic increase in penalties for drunken driving in the U.S., aided by the carrot-and-stick policies of the US Department of Transportation and fueled by grass-roots organizations such as MADD. The use of set-asides for designated minorities and women in U.S. state and federal contracts for the purpose of achieving "goals" (a cetain percentage of the work to be given to qualified MBE/WBE firms). The systematic promotion of the white Aryan race in Nazi Germany by government-promoted selective breeding techniques and policies that discouraged the intermingling of other cultures into the social fabric. Social engineering is not a bad or good thing, per se, IMHO. However, it is often looked down upon by those who favor a more limited kind of government. When governments become more encompassing, in any political persuasion, they tend to do more social engineering. RP

[thisDude]

[img]http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ansci/facilities/images/sheep.jpg[/img]

[george costanza]

[quote]Originally posted by thisDude: [b]Is it happening?[/b][/quote]All the time; usually in ways that go unnoticed. Like George Clinton said, "We got free alterations for y'all!"

[CarmenC]

[quote]Originally posted by rickpowell: [b]My definition of social engineering: The systematic use of governmental power to achieve behavior modification in the population as a whole, or in a specifically targeted group within the population. This covers a lot of territory. A few examples: The systematic increase in penalties for drunken driving in the U.S., aided by the carrot-and-stick policies of the US Department of Transportation and fueled by grass-roots organizations such as MADD. The use of set-asides for designated minorities and women in U.S. state and federal contracts for the purpose of achieving "goals" (a cetain percentage of the work to be given to qualified MBE/WBE firms). The systematic promotion of the white Aryan race in Nazi Germany by government-promoted selective breeding techniques and policies that discouraged the intermingling of other cultures into the social fabric. Social engineering is not a bad or good thing, per se, IMHO. However, it is often looked down upon by those who favor a more limited kind of government. When governments become more encompassing, in any political persuasion, they tend to do more social engineering. RP[/b][/quote]I agree. Check out the US tax code... :wave: [img]http://attrition.org/gallery/politics/bin_laden/bin_what.jpg[/img]