Ask someone how much their TV cost them and they will quote you the price of the TV. Few, if any, will quote the price they pay for watching the TV!
However, it’s the cost of watching a TV set that it most expensive for those of us interested in creative thinking. A guy feeds his mind with TV shows most evenings, then wonders why he finds it hard to be creative. He’s confused why he seems to think just like all his TV watching co-workers and friends.
The reason brands pay a fortune to advertise on TV, is that it works. TV is an extremely powerful tool for telling people what to think. For instance, in the UK, when an election is under way, the main political parties have to be evenly represented on The BBC.
GIGO: Garbage In Garbage Out
In computer science they have a saying, Garbage In Garbage Out (or GIGO for short). In other words, if the input is bad the output is bad. If we choose to feed our mind with the same mass-media junk as the average consumer, our creative output is likely to suffer. Really suffer.
You can’t feed your mind the same predictable diet as the masses, without paying the price. If you want to think differently, then feed your mind with different inputs.