Marketing Hype

by Albert E.
(Heaven)

Why the Curve Never Hits the Truth: Marketing Hype vs. Real Science - Everyone's selling something, but the air doesn't care. We're slowing things down, following the math, and asking what works in the real world if you've ever felt like environmental talk sounds louder than it is honest.

You're the genius, Albert E...Why don't you start - As a mathematician, I have a word or two to think about in the context of differentating marketing from hype. That's "hyperbola". In math, this shape describes the curve of a function which, in essence, shoots off infinitely in one direction without really getting anywhere (in the other direction). That is, there is a straight line (blue, called an asymptote) that this red curve never approaches. Think of this simple example:

1/x

No matter how big you make that "x", the value of this expression will get closer to, but will never actually reach zero.

Very similar to marketing hype: no matter how strongly you shoot off in one direction (through exaggeration), you can never bring a rational listener to that line (true conviction in this case).

Barry's Response - Thank you very much. Interesting analogy.

I'll try to clear things up with a few definitions I found on the net.

HYPE - advertising, promotion. Almost exaggerated in its enthusiasm for the product's or service's purported benefits. Commonly known as public relations, zealous announcement, broadcasting or hoopla.

I suspect it's short for HYPERBOLE - exaggeration, amplification, big talk, embellishment, laying it on thick, overstatement. Maybe even stating that you're from Heaven.

A HYPERBOLA is a curve, like the red ones in the sketch above. A rounded line or object, concavity, contour, curvature, half-moon, roughly similar in shape to a parabola, trajectory.

Search this site for more information now.

In a finite world, marketing hype shows up whenever someone promises infinity

Infinity doesn't exist in physics. Press releases don't matter to Air. Smoke rises because buoyancy says so, not because a brand campaign asks.

Meteorology teaches us that the atmosphere doesn't follow simple rules. The wind shifts. There's a flip in stability. Plumes behave until they don't. It's not about predicting the future, it's about mapping possibilities. It's like, "Here's what could happen if the wind does this, the stack does that, and reality doesn't get weird." Reality usually does.

That's where hype falls flat

The hype speaks in absolutes. Ranges are what science talks about.

We use certainty a lot in mainstream climate messaging because it sells. Clicks go to deadlines. Donations are mobilized by fear. It's a middle ground between zero risk and total collapse. Flare stacks don't destroy the planet. It's also not harmless. It's possible for both statements to be true at the same time.

It's a secret young people need to know: good science is built on disagreement. Skeptics who ask about natural variability aren't enemies of clean air. Meteorologists still study solar cycles, ocean mixing, and long-term data consistency. Compassionate people pushing for tighter controls aren't anti-industry by default; many have watched communities suffer.

Stewardship fits here too. Don't panic about stewardship. Restraint with care. Make sure you measure first. Think before you act. Don't waste what you've got. Gas burning without thinking violates that ethic. It's also dangerous to shut down systems without understanding them.

When it's honest, air quality consulting sits in this uncomfortable middle. Not savior nor villain. Translator. Making math, weather, and chemistry choices people can live with.

Marketing hype is like a hyperbola, but real environmental science is messy, grounded, sometimes inconvenient, but always true. There's no shouting. The problem persists.

What could revolutionize the industry

Don't sell certainty. Don't be afraid of uncertainty. Show young scientists how models fail and why that's important. Instead of hiding assumptions, invite public critique. Let students tweak dispersion inputs and see what happens. It's always curiosity over compliance.

Marketing hype doesn't go away when you expose it. It shrinks. It doesn't need to shout; it just needs space.

You're invited

...if you've ever felt talked at instead of talked with. Don't back down. Get better at asking questions. Comment below and tell me where hype ends and responsibility begins.