Bullshit

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[[File:Precious_the_Coprolite_Courtesy_of_the_Poozeum.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A large [[Geologic timeline#Neogene|Miocene]] coprolite from [[South Carolina]]]]
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{{hatnote|Not to be confused with the [[skeptical]] infotainment show [[Penn & Teller: Bullshit!]].}}
{{cquote|Bullshit is a greater enemy of the [[truth]] than [[lie]]s are.|||Harry Frankfurt<ref name=frankfurt/>{{rp|61}}}}
'''Bullshit''' (also known as '''bollocks''' in the [[UK]]), often shortened to '''BS''', is nonsensical claptrap, or words without any particular connection to [[reality]]. Bullshit may be used as a means of obfuscation, or it may simply be a way to pass time or fill space on a page. There's a lot of it, and it is often an indicator that someone is trying to [[Deceit|mislead]] and/or they don't know what they are talking about.

According to programmer Alberto Brandolini:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140729234507/https://twitter.com/krelnik/status/472046082135162881 I love @ziobrando's "Bullshit asymmetry principle" - this is the reason the skeptic movement exists. pic.twitter.com/L53f6QUGfg] by Tim Farley (9:05 AM - 29 May 2014) ''Twitter'' (archived from July 29, 2014).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140714024002/https://twitter.com/hashtag/xp2014?src=hash @ordrespontane Yep! That's the original tweet. Then @theagilepirate took a picture of me at #XP2014 and the roller-coaster begun! :-)] by Alberto Brandolini (@ziobrando) (July 8, 2014) ''Twitter'' (archived from July 14, 2014).</ref>{{efn|The origin of the concept is unknown, but it alludes to Jonathan Swift ("Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it.") and falsely to [[Mark Twain]] ("A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.") Twain's falsely attributed quote was likely a popular revision of C. H. Spurgeon's "Falsehood will fly from Maine to Georgia, while truth is pulling her boots on."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110410002815/http://freakonomics.com/2011/04/07/quotes-uncovered-how-lies-travel/ Quotes Uncovered: How Lies Travel] by Fred Shapiro (April 7, 2011 at 12:00 pm) ''Freakonomics'' (archived from April 10, 2011).</ref><ref>''The Yale Book of Quotations'' (2006) Yale University Press. ISBN </ref>{{rp|615}} Mike the Mad Biologist made note of an "asymmetric advantage of bullshit" in 2009,<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/mikethemadbiologist/2009/04/20/the-asymmetry-of-bullsh-t-and/ The Asymmetric Advantage of Bullsh-t] by mikethemadbiologist (April 20, 2009) ''ScienceBlogs''.</ref> While [[Italian]] blogger Uriel Fanelli also postulated the so-called ''montagna di merda'' (mountain of shit)<ref>[https://urielfanelli.altervista.org/keinpfusch/la-teoria-della-montagna-di-merda/2010-03-26/ La teoria della montagna di merda®] by Uriel Fanelli (March 26, 2010).</ref>&nbsp;— which in turn sounds very similar to [[The Daily Show#Quotes|Bullshit Mountain]]. Brandolini considers it a corollary of the contributions of [[Cognitive science#Influential figures in cognitive science|Daniel Kahneman]].}}

{{cquote|The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.}}

Damn straight.

==Bullshitting==
{{cquote|If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit!|||Unknown (''not'' W.C. Fields)<ref>[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._C._Fields W. C. Fields] ''Wikiquote''.</ref>}}
Bullshitting is, in a way, an artform. It's not exactly lying, as when you're bullshitting, you may in fact be telling the truth in a completely slanted or useless form, or you may simply be saying nothing at all.

Bullshitting on the [[Internet]] is becoming easier due to the prevalence of search engines such as [[Google]], [[wikis]] such as [[Wikipedia]], [[Conservapedia]], and [[RationalWiki]], video services such as [[YouTube]], and [[social media]]. Someone posting on the internet has more than enough time between posts to type whatever they want to talk about into Google or Wikipedia and appear as an immediate genius to others reading the post. The drawback to this is that ''everyone'' can do it, so someone with a genuine [[knowledge]] of a subject can still tend to win out.

[[Large language model]]s and generative [[artificial intelligence|AI]]s in general are bullshit generators, and for example [[ChatGPT]] has massive funding to try to win the war.<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/akex34/chatgpt-is-a-bullshit-generator-waging-class-war ChatGPT Is a Bullshit Generator Waging Class War: ChatGPT isn't really new but simply an iteration of the class war that's been waged since the start of the industrial revolution.] by Dan McQuillan (February 9, 2023, 6:28am) ''Vice''.</ref><ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-seeks-fresh-funding-that-may-value-above-100b-report-2023-12 Just weeks after its dramatic leadership crisis, ChatGPT owner OpenAI is in the market for fresh funding that may value it at over $100 billion, report says] by 
Anil Varma (December 25, 2023, 4:30 AM PST) ''Business Insider''.</ref>

A classic old way of bullshitting is writing [[jargon]] or [[Argument by gibberish|gobbledygook]] to reach the word count on an essay, or to bamboozle people by seeming smarter or more knowledgeable. The use of LLMs has reshaped the landscape of bullshitting and [[Large language model#Plagiarism and cheating|of plagiarism]] by automating the task of sounding more impressive without really having something to say.

==Bullshit and philosophy==
[[File:Bsahead.png|thumb|right|165px|It's comin' 'round the bend…]]
{{cquote|'''Dole office clerk''': Occupation?
'''Comicus''': Standup philosopher.<br/>
'''Clerk''': Oh. A ''bullshit'' artist.<br/>
'''Comicus''': (grumble)<br/> 
'''Clerk''': Did you bullshit last week?<br/>
'''Comicus''': No!<br/>
'''Clerk''': Did you ''try'' to bullshit last week?<br/>
'''Comicus''': Yes!|||Mel Brooks (Comicus) and Bea Arthur (clerk), ''History of the World, Part I'', at a [[Roman]] unemployment office<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIxGjSHzF8  Unemployment Insurance History Of The World] by cujofriend (Jun 24, 2008) ''YouTube''.</ref>}}

[[Philosopher]] Harry Frankfurt {{lived|1929|2023}}, in his essay ''On Bullshit'',<ref name=frankfurt/> attempts a rigorous philosophical definition of bullshit. For Frankfurt, this consists of drawing a sharp distinction between a bullshitter and a [[liar]]: the difference being that a liar cares enough about the truth to state known falsehoods&nbsp;— or, at a minimum, respects [[reality]] enough to feel a need to evade it. A bullshitter, on the other hand, does not care about whether statements are true or false, because some other goal is paramount&nbsp;— and [[Post-truth|truth is a secondary consideration, if it is granted any relevance at all]]." Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this," Frankfurt writes, "bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."<ref>[https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691122946/on-bullshit On Bullshit] by Harry G. Frankfurt, book summary at Princeton University Press.</ref><ref name=frankfurt>''On Bullshit'' by Harry G. Frankfurt (2005) Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691122946.</ref>{{rp|61}}

In a 2024 academic paper on ChatGPT and other LLMs, Michael Townsen Hicks et al. further distinguished between 'hard bullshit' and 'soft bullshit', describing the former as an "active attempt to deceive the reader or listener as to the nature of the enterprise" (essentially [[propaganda]]) and the latter as requiring only a "lack of concern for truth".<ref>[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5 ChatGPT is bullshit] by Michael Townsen Hicks, James Humphries & Joe Slater (2024) ''Ethics and Information Technology'' 26(38). doi:0.1007/s10676-024-09775-5.</ref>

A common claim among [[neo-Nazi]]s is that [[Holocaust denial|the Holocaust never happened]], that many millions of people purportedly killed in [[Europe]] were in fact not killed, that this massacre was a fabrication of Allied [[Propaganda|propagandists]]. Now this is a factual ''claim'', of which demonstrating the truth value is quite possible. And, it being demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that these people actually ''were'' killed, neo-Nazis have become roundly recognized as liars when it comes to this topic.

''The New Republic'''s Senior Editor, Jeet Heer, applied Frankfurt's thesis to [[Donald Trump]] to demonstrate that, contrary to common and frequent accusations, Trump is ''not'' a liar. Rather, he's a "bullshit artist." Heer writes that Trump would take us to "a [[post-truth]] world" in which "subjectivity is all, where reality is simply what he says."<ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/124803/donald-trump-not-liar Donald Trump Is Not a Liar: He's something worse: a bullshit artist.] by Jeet Heer (December 1, 2015) ''The New Republic''.</ref> Which, of course, would be total bullshit.

==''Bullshit!''==
{{main|Penn & Teller: Bullshit!}}
''Penn & Teller: Bullshit!'' is a skeptical television show on the Showtime network hosted by [[magician]]s [[Penn & Teller]]. The original series concentrated on debunking [[crank]] ideas from [[ESP]] to [[alternative medicine]]. While generally well-received by the skeptical community, it has been criticized for the presenters' tendency to let their [[libertarian]]{{efn|[[Penn & Teller#On libertarianism|Penn subsequently disavowed libertarianism]].}} politics interfere with their [[rationalist]] message (for example, with the episodes "Prostitution" and "Drugs"), as well as their poor fact-checking (for example, misquoting [[Thomas Jefferson]] "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have." The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg5zodsZdds Penn and Teller - The FCC] (Sep 26, 2007) ''YouTube''.</ref>). But this is a modern libertarian-tinged fabrication; the actual quote is "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground."<ref>[Government big enough to give you everything you want… (Spurious Quotation)] ''The Jefferson Monticello''.</ref> Penn and Teller should've stuck to making rabbits appear out of hats, instead of making [[Ayn Rand]] quotes appear on [[South Park Republican|teenagers' Facebook profiles]].

Later series concentrated less on actual [[crank]] practices, and more on concepts such as "[[family values]]" or "profanity", although some basic crank-refuting remained, such as episodes on [[cryptozoology]] and [[New Age]] "[[Alternative medicine|Medicine]]".

==-isms==
There are bullshit terms tossed around by those who don't like the way reality actually works. These are generally terms that have a real base word, but adds the suffix "-ism" to express that the idea must be a philosophical or [[religious]] notion. Such ''isms'' include "[[scientism]]", "[[Darwinism]]", "[[transgenderism]]", and "[[evolutionism]]". Such terms can on rare occasions be used legitimately ''within'' the field of study, but when someone starts using such terms to attack mainstream scholarship, they are [[snarl words]] and usually full of bullshit.

==Real bullshit==
Bullshit is also the solid waste material from ''Bos taurus'' (cattle) of the male gender. It is not nice to step in, but makes good fertilizer. It is often compared to [[money]] in that it can be beneficial to spread it thinly over a large area, but highly toxic (not to mention disgusting) when too much is [[Income inequality|concentrated in one place]]. This usage differs from the metaphorical usage discussed above in that metaphorical bullshit, while toxic in high concentrations, is toxic in low concentrations as well. Genuine bovine bullshit figures prominently as an ingredient, reagent, and fuel in [[Ayurvedic medicine]] as well—appropriately enough.

Polite [[euphemism]]s for bullshit, in the literal or figurative sense, include "bovine feces", "bovine excrement", "bovine scat", and "bovine stool", the last two of which even preserves the initials. Another euphemism for it is "cow patties" or "cow pies" (not to be confused with moose turd pies).<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zb1qsVqjwg Utah Phillips - Moose Turd Pie] (Feb 18, 2011) ''YouTube''.</ref>

It is also used in [[Third World]] countries as a cheap source of fuel for fires. It's necessary that it be made extremely dry by laying it out in the [[Sun]].

In Rwanda, dried cow dung (presumably from either gender of cattle) is used in the traditional art form of ''imigongo''. During the 1994 [[Rwandan Genocide]], the art form was nearly lost.<ref>[https://www.afar.com/magazine/from-the-ashes-rwandas-traditional-imigongo-art-is-on-the-rise From the Ashes: Rwanda’s Traditional Imigongo Art Is on the Rise] ''AFAR''.</ref>

==How to tell if you believe in bullshit==
{{main|Scientific method}}
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Credit to [[Maddox]].

==Academic qualifications explained==
{{main|Alternative Medicine Education}}
[[File:Urolito Fernandes.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A urolite (fossilized urine stream)]]
* '''BS''' &mdash; bullshit.
* '''MS''' &mdash; more shit.
* '''PhD''' &mdash; piled higher and deeper.
* '''MD''' &mdash; much deeper.
* '''Dr''' &mdash; dilated rectum.
* '''Ed. D''' &mdash; Educated but dumb
* ''See also [[anti-intellectualism]], [[anti-science]], [[credentialism]], and [[professor of nothing]]''

* Scatology or coprology &mdash; in [[biology]], the study of feces; in [[paleontology]], the study of some really old shit: coprolites and urolites; in [[archaeology]], the study of outhouses and ancient toilets; in [[literature]], the study of the obscene. In paleontology and archaeology the discovery of coprolites or ancient toilets is a scientific treasure because of the relative scarcity of their preservation, and because they provide [[evidence]] of the diets of [[humans]] and other [[animals]].

==See also==
{{fun|shit}}{{fun}}
*[[Argumentum ex culo]]
*[[Ben Stein]]
*[[Creationism]]
*[[Deepity]]
*[[Fake news]]
*[[Feces therapy]]
*[[Management speak]]
*[[No Bullshit]] — the falsely named [[alt-right]] [[YouTube]] channel
*[[Post-truth politics]]
*[[Technobabble]]

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==External links==
*[http://www.cracked.com/article_18458_6-subtle-ways-news-media-disguises-bullshit-as-fact.html "6 Subtle Ways The News Media Disguises Bullshit As Fact"], ''[[Cracked]]''
*[http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/53-how-to-detect-bullshit/ How to Detect Bullshit], Scott Berkun
*[http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/high-minded-bullshit/ High-Minded Bullshit], ''Pop Matters''
*[http://ordrespontane.blogspot.com/2014/07/brandolinis-law.html?m=1 Brandolini’s law], Ordre Spontané
*[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPnZfvKID1Sje5jWxt-4CSZD7bUI4gSPS Calling Bullshit] a video course in bullshit detection by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West of the University of Washington Information School
*[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/judgment-and-decision-making/article/on-the-reception-and-detection-of-pseudoprofound-bullshit/0D3C87BCC238BCA38BC55E395BDC9999# On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit], Cambridge University Press

==Bibliography==
*Frankfurt, Harry G., ''On Bullshit'', Princeton University Press, 2005, ISBN 0691122946. [https://www2.csudh.edu/ccauthen/576f12/frankfurt__harry_-_on_bullshit.pdf pdf]
*Law, Stephen. ''Believing Bullshit: How Not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole'', Prometheus, 2011, ISBN 1616144114.
*Penny, Laura.''Your Call Is Important to Us: The Truth About Bullshit'', Crown, 2005, ISBN 1400081033.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

{{logfal}}
[[Category:Anti-intellectualism]]
[[Category:Deceit| ]]
[[Category:Fallacious arguments| ]]
[[Category:Shit articles]]

Categories: Anti-intellectualism, Deceit, Fallacious arguments, Shit articles