How To Spot Bullshitologists Online
One thing that the internet has taught me is that the human gullibility runs on unlimited fuel. I spend quite some time every day gathering information from various sources. One thing that I soon got to realize was that there is enough baloney out there to render a human mind useless.
In order to maintain the will to keep login-in and browsing the unfathomably clusterfucked web, I had to develop a good filter for distinguishing what was good information and what was trash.
People are in more and more desperate need to be heard. This is the first realisation a level headed individual can make upon reading something online. In a form of desperation (and perhaps necessity) most people try to create arguments that are overblown and sensationalised. Instead of getting right to the point of what they want to say, they try to fiddle around with the reader’s emotions as if they are going to get laid.
Many writers are very well aware that the human mind is especially susceptible to bullshit and so they try to take advantage. Other authors are simply too far deep the conformity rabbit hole. They are repeating the same crap as others have taught them because they don’t know any better.
Very few writers remain bullshit free due to the laws of demand and supply. People line up for comfortable lies rather than harsh truths. After all, who really wants to deal with reality in a world powered by hypocrisy and pretentiousness?
“Truth is Love. The unconscious tunnels our deepest desires into a path of fulfillment. Our destiny can tear the fabric of space, allowing consciousness to give rise to cosmic positivity”.
^ See that? Sounds pretty legit right? Ignore the fact that you have no idea what it means. You can “feel” its right. Something in your mind makes sense when you read it. So many beautiful words weaved together so you can allow yourself to have a pleasantly rewarding brainfuck.
[ If you want to entertain yourself further then check out this automatic bullshit generator ]
The aforementioned example is just one of many. Usually we see this “hopeful” and “positive” vibe in everything around us. Readers for example act much like junkies. Most wage-slave all day in pretty dull and soul crushing jobs.
The bullshitologists are opportunists that sell positivity in a world that is way too realistic. People desperately seek for positivity sedatives until they numb themselves to sleep.
Often it is extremely hard to tell the bullshitologists apart. They use scientific references and publications to frame their arguments. They use appeal to authority so they can have a solid reputation. They even use past selective experiences in order to appear credible.
Perhaps the most obvious of all is that they dress up their arguments in fancy words. For example they won’t say that “X thing sucks”. They would rather say “X has questionable qualities that might not be pleasant to the average person”.
Does the article appeal to everything we agree with? Does the person sound awfully nice? Does he try to please everybody by overgeneralising everything to oblivion? Then in all likelihood you have allowed yourself to get caught into the bullshitologist's numbing web.
Lastly, in order to spot a bullshitologist we have to first be honest with our own selves. Are we bullshitologists ourselves? Do we like to please others for the sake of being accepted? Are we enabling a bullshit culture so we can have a place to belong? If so, then we are getting back exactly what we deserve.
I'm kind of glad the bullshitologists aren't generally sophisticated enough to pull me in. Makes it a lot easier to scan articles and find out quickly whether it's something I want to read.
Which reminds me, Steemit needs the option to load more text in post preview so I don't have to click through every damn post.
That is a great suggestion actually
Your star is rising here on steemit. I'm so glad to see this. Great posts, new followers, a lot of comments, bigger rewards. Good job my friend. Cream always come on top.
Thank you man. You have been following my blog since the beginning and you were always a breath of fresh air. Glad I have found like-minded people like you to express myself.
Great article @kyriacos
I agree with all of your points especially when people past selective experiences, because sometime those experiences the claim to be facts are outdated. Very well said.
πολύ ωραία
ευχαριστώ. nicely put.
Great post! Many people will write or tell you what they think you want to hear rather than write or speak what they truly feel. I would much rather hear from real people than these posers.
not many of us feel the same way
The whole internet is full of so much bullshit, but the worst part about it is that some people actually believe it... Keep up the great posts
Same as the real life?
Yeah..
Some? I think most people take it in like alchoholics take down whiski.
I honestly see most people buying up everything on facebook and twitter like crazy. especially on reddit, it is the single largest echo chamber for leftism I have seen in my entire life. Everything and anything is downvoted there, even if you source your material and it is factual. Of course both sides do it though, I will be fair on those points.
But I really don't blame people for falling into the trap that is the echo chamber. The part I do blame people for is the emotional craziness they type online. If we all took the the time to settle down more and have conversations the internet would be a better place and both/all sides would be able to come to better ways of solving problems.
Great article! My mom once told me that the word "gullible" was not in the dictionary... but it WAS written on the ceiling! Of course I looked up. Thanks!
beautiful ! :)
Great post! It's really hard for anyone to remain bullshit-free, since unfortunately popular demand favors bullshitologists. Just like you mentioned people come at home tired by their jobs, thinking of their own problems and are desperate for some positivity, even though they know deep down that it does not reflect reality. People don't realize that cutting all the bullshit and looking at life directly in the eye is a much better solution for a lot of their problems, since they won't create false expectations and deal with life just as it comes.
Awesomely put @elemenya.
Everyone is an expert in a bull market!
exactly
it comes down to what I can get from you
If I am a great person to you, I get respect, support, friendship, financial relationship, and all sorts of other nice things from you in return
If I am a person who is not so great, but I can fake it, then I can get those same things from with with a little bullshit
cough, cough
If I am a person that is moral, but I constantly contradict you, correct you, and nag you, then I must be a really great person to you in order to overcome the negative reactions I generate from my other actions.
OTOH, since positive outlooks can be generated by bullshit, people can "get motivated" to go accomplish with pep talks, and sales meetings, and pep rallies.
An understanding of transactional relationships is only cynical if a person decides to make it that way...or use it that way ;>
My personal opinion if it is woth anything is that you can only pull the wool over someones eyes for so long then the real you suddenly appear. So dont do anything or say anything you dont believe in as it will only help for a short time, then you look like the fool.
more or less it can end up like a giant jerk circle but it will soon fall apart. This trend is mostly noted in pyramid schemes. There can never be overwhelming positivity.
Take anything too far, and it loses value. Also that the "pep rallies" don't work for everybody in all situations. I tried my hand at sales, and only got aggravated at sales meetings...I was no good at sales anyway, and all those meetings did was keep from from making more pitches.
To make it clear, I agree with the point of your post; too much positivity is a bad thing, especially when it is generated by bullshit.
I think a lot here on Steemit is writing posts that they know will gather a decent amount of upvotes, and they do it just to earn those rewards and to fit in. Especially on a platform on steemit where some people have huge amount of influence, there are a lot of bullshitologists. We all want a piece of the pie. I am no better, but I feel like I get better for each post I make. We don't have to fit in, they have to accept the way we are. Thanks for sharing. It was very thought provoking in a good way.
Glad you liked it. Indeed. The reason I wrote it is because I have been spotting more and more of them lately. feels like a giant farce.
I can see how they get triggered by this platform to write those kind of posts. Because we are being rewarded in money, you will do everything you can to make it big. Because of this steemit will start feeling like a job, unless you are not aware of what you are doing. That's the very sad part. Finally we have the opportunity to write about stuff we enjoy writing about and then we choose not to.