Take a look at arXiv.org and tell me out of all of them which papers seem to stand out.<p>There&#x27;s too little time in a day and in a life for anyone to become independently aware of all happenings of personal interest. We rely on other to curate what we see, and it happens that many parties vie for our attention. Hence the development of propaganda and news aggregators, like the one you&#x27;re on now.<p>I recommend reading Edward L. Bernay&#x27;s work <i>Propaganda</i> for a more thorough understanding about the role of &quot;PR&quot; in society. It&#x27;s a good foundation. I actually remember reading another rather good post by Paul Graham on the subject, which you might find interesting.