Bs is everywhere. We know what it is when we see it, but how do we define it, spot it and avoid it? Today's blogs takes the smelly tour into the world of bs.
Defining BS:
Bs is something that is not a lie, but is exaggerated, dramatized, underplayed or spun to give someone a false impression. It is deceit with a goal of misleading.
Whilst I am not naïve enough to believe there was a time before bs, I think it is on the rise and becoming more socially acceptable. We see bs everywhere:
Advertising
Newspapers
Politicians
Company CEOs
Dating website photos or descriptions
Social media, including linkedin (“humbled and honoured to….” or “my start-up has a trillion customers, and this is how you can do the same”).
One of the challenges we all face, is that old media which is newspapers and news channels have lost a lot of trust. They are thought to perpetuate old ways of thinking, push agendas of the owners and otherwise try and keep out fringe ideas.
This resistance to change might be a lack of openness or repaying favours for access to mainstream politicians but it has forced those outside of the mainstream to find their own channels. This has tended to be on social media, podcasting and blogs/vlogs.
Why BS is so popular
The sad truth is that BS is that it is cheap and effective. Our brains can get anchored to the first spin or side of the information we hear, and then actively try and find confirming evidence and be skeptical about contrary views.
"Bs asymmetry" or Brandolini’s Law, captures the core of this problem, “The energy needed to refute bs is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.”
Most content producers produce bs for these 3 main reasons:
People want it: It allows people to project a state of the world that they or other people want without the shackles of reality e.g. overselling a product or making up a reason for failure that points the finger at a conspiracy
It's cheap to make: It is easier to produce bs than actually doing the work. Good writing requires arguments and evidence, needing to look for numbers. In a world where people need to feed the 24/7 news cycle, research is time consuming and so bs becomes the only way to satisfy it.
It's effective: It can help form people's views. It has been shown that repetition of false ideas can be very sticky and hard to change even when the idea is completely debunked.
How do you spot bs?
BS is not just the typical biased article anymore. It has used technology well and packaged up much more cleverly these days. I think some excellent modern-day examples are:
“Exclusive” channels that promote scams or speculative investments
Memes (funny pictures and captions) that make outrageous claims but package them up as humour
Youtube channels that are paid to promote some brands and use them all the time in their content without saying they are advertising
Celebrities being interviewed on podcasts and sharing their views on things they are not expert on
Fake reviews on websites like Trip Advisor or Google to entice first time users to give it a try.
I don't think we can do much about all the bs out there. It is just exhausting to try and boil the ocean. We are best focusing on the bs that actually makes a difference to our decision-making. Perhaps things, that for example impacts our health, finances and relationships. Although it sounds withdrawn, I feel I gain a much better grip of my mental health by avoiding the doom and gloom of the news or newspapers. For example, by following what is happening in Ukraine, am I helping them? I often reflect on what I am doing when I get caught following each micro-move, it is interest or have I been hacked for immediacy on an emotive topic.
If something actually matters to you, perhaps you can use a framework.
BS and conspiracy detector framework:
What is the claim? - All stories, memes and interviews have a claim. What is it? Let's say for argument's sake it is that vaccinations increase the chances of other diseases.
What are the assumptions? In the case of vaccinations, it is that pharma and government are in cahoots for profit motives. This is plausible but where it hacks people's thinking is by making them think this is the only or most plausible outcome. There are of course other plausible ideas that pharma actually gets paid through things working well, or the mechanisms in government work.
What evidence is there that this claim is true? The vaccination to autism claim centred around a study on 12 people in 1998. A subsequent 650,000 person study showed no such claim to be true.
Who is the expert behind the claim? Often bs and conspiracy theories never quite let you follow the thread through to the end. It's always cloaked in secrecy or hearsay. The autism myth leads back to that first claim on the small sample.
How you should avoid bs
Avoid news as entertainment. Most of social media is just that.
Ignore any source that provides immediacy. Crappy content is everywhere.
Realise any source you are looking at has bias
If something really matters get a sample of primary views from those you believe to be experts in that field
As an interesting and important take-away, the older people that have read my blog and fed back, have often said that spreading your headspace thin, on things that have no impact on you, is a surefire way to distract you from things within your control. A lot of bs can be avoided by avoiding the crossover between news and entertainment.
So what?
BS is everywhere! The news, annual reports, dating sites, social media. It misleads us by exaggerating, framing, underplaying or spinning reality. News ways of communicating it include memes, fake reviews, and influencer promotions
Why bs works: Our brains are wired to anchor on the first piece of information, seek confirming evidence, and resist contrary views. Brandolini’s Law reminds us that debunking bs takes exponentially more effort than creating it.
Reduce and narrow: Reduce exposure to sensational news and social media. Concentrate on reliable sources and topics within your control to protect your mental clarity.
Focus on what matters: Avoid wasting energy on all the bs out there. Prioritize identifying and addressing the misinformation that directly impacts your health, finances, or relationships.
Next week I will be discussing "A person in the bottom half". Until then, please feel free to read the back catalogue in the democracy series.
Democracy series
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