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>Bullshit is far more insidious than a lie, for bullshit can (and often does) turn out to be coincident with the truth. When that happens the bullshitter goes u
by thfuran 4y ago
>Bullshit is far more insidious than a lie, for bullshit can (and often does) turn out to be coincident with the truth. When that happens the bullshitter goes undetected and is free to infect our understanding with more bullshit made up on the spot.
If the bullshit is turning out to be true, what's the issue with more of it? If it's not true but still believed and so causing problems, what's the practical difference between it and an undetected lie that makes it more insidious?
- IIAOPSW 4y agoA lie is anti-correlated with the truth. Bullshit is uncorrelated with the truth. The problem with trusting a coin flip because it happened to be right this time is that now you trust the coin a source of information, when really its a source of entropy. The lie will be found out just as soon as the truth comes out, whereas the bullshitter might get enough lucky flips in a row that people start taking their advice seriously.