The High Cost of Honesty in a Sea of Low-Cost BS
As the cost of propagating BS drops to near-zero, the value of honestly achieved analyses and conclusions rises proportionately.
Longtime correspondent Michael M. recently recommended this long-form article The Market For Lemons, The Market For Bullshit, And The Great Cascading Credence Crash Of 2016.
The article discusses the soaring market for self-serving narratives, rigged statistics like the jobs report and unemployment, and officially sanctioned PR campaigns aimed at creating approval (or passive acceptance of) a corrupt, phony status quo.
All bubbles, even the one in distributing BS, eventually pop, decimating all who relied on the bubble for their livelihood.
Michael’s comments were thought-provoking:
“Honesty requires more time to analyze if bullshit is being peddled and customized towards you (after you have honestly presented your opinion).”
“Technology is primarily being used to replicate bullshit quicker and at almost zero cost.”
Michael had previously sent the following comments in response to a link in Musings 27 on honesty:
“THE ABILITY TO BE HONEST is a very good point. I understand it as having the strength and time (!) to carry the consequences of being honest.
Being honest makes you more vulnerable, for as you become predictable, you are easier to game and you have fewer options to respond to weird/ crazy/ offensive behavior.
You need extra time to constantly ask yourself if offers or opinions presented to you (after you have honestly presented your opinion) are true, or marketing versions (BS) that have been tailored for you.”
The gist of the “market for BS” article is that BS is now so cheap to distribute and so over-abundant that the “market for BS”, i.e. its believability, will soon crash.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
