On B.S.

[botias]

This last month pretty much everything I've attempted to do has crashed and burned. But only one two actual casualties, and things are looking up! So, I am going to talk about drinking water and bullshit. That whole eight glasses a day thing? Complete excrement of the bovine.

I just finished a cute, slightly too smug, book that endeavored to define exactly what bullshit is. The conclusion was that B.S. is not a lie exactly, but an idea put forth without the person caring whether it is true or not, or practicing due diligence to find out if it is true. A liar, by contrast, knows what the truth is but chooses to offer something else entirely. So a Feng Shui practitioner is (probably) just bullshitting you, but a person asking you to help him plunder Nigeria is a liar-liar-pants-on-fire.

The eight glasses of water thing is practically an urban legend. In fact, a check at Snopes reveals that it is an urban legend. On the other hand, running around in the cold with wet hair may actually make you more likely to catch cold.

Comments

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

So a Feng Shui practitioner is (probably) just bullshitting you, but a person asking you to help him plunder Nigeria is a liar-liar-pants-on-fire.

Hee-- nice distinction. The book sounds like fun!

I'm reliably informed that you can substitute coffee for water to no ill effect :D

[botias.livejournal.com]

It is a nice distinction. The author maintains that bullshitters are greater enemies of truth than liars because they make no acknowledgment of it whatsoever.

Yes, I believe that is so about the coffee in moderation. :D

[prophecygirrl.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, running around in the cold with wet hair may actually make you more likely to catch cold.

God, I hate it when my mother is right. :D


Thanks for this -- I love operational definitions. They help organize my thoughts, which usually are not. Organized, that is.
(See?) Will check out the book.

[botias.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I agree that there is more B.S. today than in times past, as the author asserts. But I would agree that there's plenty enough to warrant some academic attention to its qualities. :)

[diachrony.livejournal.com]

Ha! I was so pleased years ago to read a major newspaper article stating baldly that the "8 glasses of water a day" myth was just that - bullshit.

Since then, I just drink when I'm thirsty. I definitely feel better than I did when I tried to chug down water without being thirsty.

On the other hand, I've noticed I *do* tend to catch a cold if I have wet hair out in the cold weather - yet people have always told me *that* was a myth!

I know better than "people," obviously.

[botias.livejournal.com]

Obviously. :) Really anything that stresses your body has the chance of weakening your immune system.