Why Do People Bullshit?

What is bullshit?

Sad to relate, we live in a world that pays more attention to bullshit than fact, evidence, and science. Bullshit is a kind of foolish, deceitful, or boastful language that is basically insincere in nature.?Bullshitting does not care about the truth, evidence, or knowledge.?Bullshit, it must be noted here, is different from a lie.?A second-hand car dealer knows that the car that he is selling was involved in an accident, but he deliberately hides this fact while persuading a customer to buy the vehicle that is offered at an irresistible price.?By definition, a liar does whatever he can to hide the truth.?Lies are intentional distortions or concealments of the truth.?Bullshit by definition disregards truth, evidence, and knowledge.?Bullshit claims are made without any attention to the truth at all.?

?Society likes bullshit

There is a saying in English: “when you want to help people, you tell them the truth.?When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.”. Like Google probes into your search history and provides the feeds that you like, bullshitters thrive on spreading rumors, and falsehoods that Society wants to hear.?Not surprisingly, the news regarding an actress demanding an astronomical sum of 400cr has attracted millions of views.?Dozens of videos floated around only to end in total silence when the truth came out. People want spicy news to get that kick in the belly. They want to hear nasty things about others whom they consider unwanted elements at various points in time. To keep their animal spirits alive, they want to know about what is happening in every other home/ every other person, day in and day out.?The juicy bits of news would keep their animal spirits alive.?‘Birds of the same feather flock together’ So, in a Society where bullshit gains attention and attraction, you find many bullshitters gaining prominence.?Bullshitters, basically, play on this weakness that is an inborn quality of ordinary mortals-- on a daily basis for a variety of reasons.

The anatomy of a bullshitter

?Bullshitters are ubiquitous animals.?You can find them everywhere.?They have a genuine hunger for attention.?They want attention at any cost and want to play the role of a ‘social magnet’ to perfection.?Spreading rumors, trash, and absurdities of various kinds-- helps them build a community of like-minded believers.?Such high-propensity bullshitters generally proselytize about their beliefs to anyone willing to listen.?The message is clear:?they are the holy cows and all others outside their circle are rascals of the highest order.??“They do this because convincing otherwise rational people to agree with their opinions reduces any psychological discomfort, they may feel for believing their own bullshit.” (Prof. Petrocelli Detecting Bullshit).?High-propensity bullshitters tend to get offended when asked to prove or provide reasons for their beliefs—which they want everyone to swallow without question.?They show complete disregard for truth, evidence, or established knowledge almost always. According to Kruger and Dunning, incompetent souls are prone to erroneous conclusions or unfortunate choices.?Bullshit is the surefire way to gain fame and name, so they try to play the role of a social magnet voluntarily, and enthusiastically to root out a poor image in the eyes of the general public.?

?High-propensity bullshitters, basically, want to build a vast army of loyal followers and passionate supporters by spreading the bullshit contagion.?They want everyone to come into their fold.?The message is loud and clear.?If you want to belong, you need to reinforce the beliefs of the group and fall in line.?‘You speak out, and endorse our views or else nasty things will follow’.?At some point or another, people will look to you and it will be your turn to say something.?If you waste too many chances to speak or if you rarely have anything purposeful to say, you lose your golden chance to connect with the group.?You become a nonfactor and you do not belong.?Against this backdrop, you are much better off bullshitting than saying nothing"

? A high propensity Bullshitter

• ?He has all the time in the world to bullshit. He derives enormous pleasure by presenting a negative account of everyone who comes in contact.?He shows no mercy while drawing the picture with a black brush.?
• ?He is basically a kind of ‘I am ok you are not ok’ personality.?He is the holy cow full of virtues, morals, and values.?He, typically, believes in what he says.?He will present a friendly face while having the face to face contact.?The moment you turn your back, he rejoices in giving ‘masala’ stories of what, how, when, and where the so-called friend—whom he welcomed with a garland and talked to him like a passionate lover till the other moment—committed blunders of all kinds.?Since he does not care to speak the truth, nor verify the facts, he shows no sign of repentance at any point in time.?
• A bullshitter slips into a negative role, in most cases, due to emotional issues of various kinds.?He constantly compares himself with others and where he finds he lags behind in the race, he will identify ‘targets’ for attack—who might seem to enjoy life in a better way—and begin the negative campaign without any provocation.?The problem with bullshitters is that they genuinely believe that they are good and the targeted ones are of low standard, devoid of ethics, values, and morals.?He will not hesitate to throw brickbats against others—howsoever close they might be in the recent past—if there is the slightest possible discomfort caused to his personal whims and fancies.?

Social ostracism, often, compels even rational individuals to indulge in bullshitting.?Human beings, by nature, are sensitive to the slightest hint of social exclusion.?To avoid this, we are compelled to join the ranks of bullshitters.?To maintain a sense of connection with others and to avoid feeling excluded we sometimes talk about things we know nothing about—and what comes out is bullshit.??

Bullshit therapy

Now comes the question:??how do we cope with bullshitters who seem to thrive and gain popularity in Society.??Should we call bullshit on bullshit or suffer in silence???Are there any ways to handle the situation smoothly, when someone consciously, deliberately, and willingly tries to bullshit upsetting your emotional balance???Well, bullshitters are not our targets.??So attacking bullshit artists is not the answer.??If you attack, they will make your life miserable by mobilizing support from their followers.??Instead, you need to confront them with truth, evidence, and knowledge.??If the bullshitter does not self-correct, attack the claim, not the person.??Be prepared and willing to offer evidence-based reasoning yourself when combatting bullshit.??Do not ever fight bullshit with more bullshit.??Combating bullshit is not easy.??Even when you present facts, people tend to look the other way.??They do not like to take a contra opinion or change their stand because that causes emotional discomfort.??Let them live in their own private world full of like-minded bullshitters.??Remaining aloof and staying away from bullshitters would mean losing some friends—but ‘you would not care for friends who always lied to you, would you? (see, Prof. Petrocelli, Detecting Bullshit)