According to the authors, calling bullshit is a performative utterance in which one repudiates something objectionable. The scope of targets is broader than bullshit alone. You can call bullshit on bullshit, but you can also call bullshit on lies, treachery, trickery, or injustice.
The most important principle in bullshit studies is Brandolini's principle. Coined by Italian software engineer Alberto Brandolini in 2014, it states:
"The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of
magnitude bigger than [that needed] to produce it.” Producing bullshit is a lot less work than cleaning it up. It is also a lot simpler and cheaper to do. Lies are designed to lead away from the truth, bullshit is produced with a gross indifference to the truth.
The authors also mention about The Goodhart’s Law : when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. In other words, if sufficient rewards are attached to some measure, people will find ways to increase their scores one way or another, and in doing so will undercut the value of the measure for assessing what it was originally designed to assess.
Finally, there are 6 ways to spot bullshit :
1. Question the source of information
2. Beware of unfair comparisons
3. If it seems to good or too bad to be true…
4. Think in orders of magnitude
5. Avoid confirmation bias
6. Consider multiple hypotheses
This book is highly recommended.
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