The Reality Distortion Field:

Mick: Amusing video, but what I think is really fascinating is how we subconsciously filter out these adjectives. The spin is obligatory, expected, but almost totally ineffective.

What Jobs etal are trying to do is convey an emotional reaction, but we instinctively know that its contrived and insincere.

Contrast this announcement with the driveless, super-thin Macbook Air.

The Macbook Air was sufficiently technologically impressive to generate an emotional reaction all by itself. When Jobs took the Macbook Air out of the envelope, you could hear audible gasps from the audience. You get some hoots and hollers during the iPad announcement, but no gasps, hence the necessity for emotionally aggrandizing adjectives throughout everyone's presentation.

There is an important lesson here, and its reemphasized for us on an almost daily basis--don't talk--show. If it doesn't show well, go back to the drawing board. Linking this to the political sphere, perhaps to most effective piece of political theater we've collectively seen was Charles Johnson's (Little Green Footballs) animated comparison of the Killian memo with a version typed in Microsoft Word. Nothing else needed to be said--CBS was hosed, Rather's career over and the conservative blogosphere off and running. A three second loop constituted a shot to the heart of a massive left-wing conspiracy to take down a President.

Don't talk--show.