How do you choose the things you like most? Are you a product of your surroundings, or do you decide all things based on your own meticulous research? Is there any chance that your own deeply held beliefs were sold to you through the power of television or print?

Have you ever driven into a newly developed neighborhood and wondered why the houses all look the same? Everyone seems to have chosen the same color, the designs of the homes show no creativity or individuality, it seems as though everyone picked from the same list of six choices. If so many people can be sold such conventionality when it comes to choosing where they will live, imagine the possibilities when it comes to the small stuff. In today's world, individuality is expressed through tattoos and body piercings, which is fine, since everyone is doing it.

You are a baseball fan. You have extensive knowledge of the game because you watch and listen, you pay attention to detail, you know who the great ones are, and you know who the great ones were from generations before. You won't be fooled, and you can't be sold, this is baseball, and you know what you know.

In the old west, ranchers identified their livestock through a process known as branding. The concept was simple - just heat up an iron and burn your unique symbol into the hide of every animal you owned. From that point on, anytime someone saw your mark, they identified the animal as yours - your name, and the name of your ranch entered their brain, and everyone moved along. Some brands were seen more often than others, with the increased exposure, and the additional number of "brain hits", those marks gained credibility, those ranches were seen as more prosperous and powerful, and the ranchers who owned those marks grew in stature.

A lot has changed since the 19th century, people are much more sophisticated, technology has advanced mankind to a point where knowledge surrounds each of us