Summary of Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West's Calling Bullshit

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 Bullshit is not a modern invention. It has its origins in deception, which is not a new phenomenon. Animals have been deceiving one another for hundreds of millions of years.
#2 The marine crustacean mantis shrimp is a good example of how bullshit is not very sophisticated. They have to molt to replace their hammer claws, which are hard and protected by a shell, but they are still vulnerable during that time.
#3 The bullshitting behavior of ravens is similar to that of humans on the Internet. They do not have a theory of mind, but they do understand the effect their actions have on others. They are cautious about caching their food in view of other birds.
#4 Humans have a theory of mind, which allows us to understand how others will interpret our actions. This allows us to use communication to manipulate others, which is why there is so much bullshit in the world.

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 28 mars 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669372233
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West's Calling Bullshit
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10 Insights from Chapter 11
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Bullshit is not a modern invention. It has its origins in deception, which is not a new phenomenon. Animals have been deceiving one another for hundreds of millions of years.

#2

The marine crustacean mantis shrimp is a good example of how bullshit is not very sophisticated. They have to molt to replace their hammer claws, which are hard and protected by a shell, but they are still vulnerable during that time.

#3

The bullshitting behavior of ravens is similar to that of humans on the Internet. They do not have a theory of mind, but they do understand the effect their actions have on others. They are cautious about caching their food in view of other birds.

#4

Humans have a theory of mind, which allows us to understand how others will interpret our actions. This allows us to use communication to manipulate others, which is why there is so much bullshit in the world.

#5

We use language to communicate efficiently, but we also use it to palter. We can palter by saying something that is technically not untrue. This is called paltering. Paltering is possible because of the way we use language.

#6

Humans are able to refer to external objects with language, which is a novel feature of human communication. However, humans also use language to convey things about themselves and others.

#7

The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is much greater than that needed to produce it. This is because it takes much more effort to debunk bullshit than it does to produce it. This is especially true in the field of medicine, where many people spread false information about vaccines and autism being linked to them.

#8

The vaccine scare that was caused by the debunked research of Andrew Wakefield has had disastrous public health consequences. Vaccine rates have risen from their nadir shortly after the paper was published, but remain dangerously lower than they were in the early 1990s.

#9

The spread of bullshit is easy to measure. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow users to pass on rumors from one person to the next. These platforms also allow users to refute these rumors.

#10

The ways we acquire and share information are changing rapidly. In the next chapter, we will look at how and why this happened.

#11

The small sample size of Wakefield’s study was the least of its problems. It was found that for many of the twelve patients, the Lancet paper described ailments and case histories that did not match medical records or reports from the parents.

#12

The full quote is: Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed or the company parted.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The rise of the Internet changed what kinds of information get produced, how information is shared, and the ways in which we find the information that we want. While there have been many benefits, there have also been major drawbacks.

#2

The printing press, when coupled with public libraries, democratized the written word. But it also brought vast amounts of trivial entertainment that would obscure important information.

#3

The Internet has allowed for the spread of amateur writers and journalists, who can reach audiences as large as those of professional journalists. But the quality of reporting is often much lower, and much of it is saccharine drivel.

#4

Because there is so much more volume and so little filtering, we find ourselves overwhelmed, exhausted, and losing the will to fight a torrent that only flows faster with every passing hour.

#5

The Internet news economy is driven by clicks. When you click on a link and view a website, your click generates advertising revenue for the site’s owner. The Internet site is not designed to perpetuate a long-term relationship; it is designed to make you click, now.

#6

The most successful headlines don’t convey facts, they promise you an emotional experience. The most common phrase among successful Facebook headlines is will make you, as in will break your heart, will make you fall in love, or will make you gasp in surprise.

#7

We are becoming more and more isolated from one another, and this is especially true when it comes to political views. People are sharing more and more false news stories about liberal conspiracies, and they are doing it because it signals their own political beliefs.

#8

Social media establishes, reinforces, and celebrates a shared framework for thinking about the world. It is primarily about maintaining and reinforcing common bonds. The danger is that what was once a nationwide conversation fragments beyond repair.

#9

The problem is not just that these best minds could have been devoted to the artistic and scientific progress of humankind. The problem is that all of this intellectual firepower is devoted to hijacking our attention and wasting our minds.

#10

Social media allows the spread of misinformation, which is false information that is not deliberately designed to deceive. And it can be used to spread disinformation, which is false information that is deliberately designed to deceive.

#11

Social media posts are unconstrained by most borders, and they are shared organically. When social media users share propaganda they have encountered, they are using their own social capital to back someone else’s disinformation.