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> it took me many years to realize that the posters who upvote and share these articles are not only aware of the heavy fog, but are able to read though the fog

> it took me many years to realize that the posters who upvote and share these articles are not only aware of the heavy fog, but are able to read though the fog Follow the money. I'm always asking myself "what does this author have to gain from writing this, or holding that position?" It can happen that there is absolutely no financial motive, many times it's pure greed but often it's on a continuum that's a mix of both profit and helping people out. As an example it's common to find articles about technical problem and how {{top-organization}} solved it with {{state-of-the-art}} solution. The last paragraph is "oh by the way, we're hiring". While there's a profit motive in this form of content marketing, there's also genuine help being passed along. Business recommendations tend to be a bit more skewed towards the profit side, and financial recommendations… well those are a class of their own. A health dose of suspicion goes a long way to sort out the BS.

hiuaql 9y ago
You don't have to look to greed or malice, but simply the fact that people carry their unexamined biases with them when they speak their opinions. > > > it took me many years to realize that the posters who upvote and share these articles are not only aware of the heavy fog, but are able to read though the fog They aren't aware of the fog, they have the same subconscious biased perspective that makes the fog look like normal to them.
godelski 9y ago
There is also an ego aspect to it. When people have done well they think it is all skill. Look at people who were really successful on crypto and now give financial advise as if they were an economist. Or go to a casino and talk to someone after they win big. What they can gain is in the ego as well. Though I 100% agree, always follow the money. But never underestimate how often things are written with the purpose of saying "look how great I am, you should envy me."

hiuaql 9y ago

You don't have to look to greed or malice, but simply the fact that people carry their unexamined biases with them when they speak their opinions. > > > it took me many years to realize that the posters who upvote and share these articles are not only aware of the heavy fog, but are able to read though the fog They aren't aware of the fog, they have the same subconscious biased perspective that makes the fog look like normal to them.

godelski 9y ago

There is also an ego aspect to it. When people have done well they think it is all skill. Look at people who were really successful on crypto and now give financial advise as if they were an economist. Or go to a casino and talk to someone after they win big. What they can gain is in the ego as well. Though I 100% agree, always follow the money. But never underestimate how often things are written with the purpose of saying "look how great I am, you should envy me."